In this crazy season of college hoops, we all anxiously awaited the inaugural release of this year’s NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings. That day finally came on Monday, and to no one’s surprise it was a mixed bag of predictable programs at the top (Gonzaga and Baylor), teams surprisingly out of the top 20 (Kansas, Creighton and West Virginia) and the usual outliers (Colgate).
The top-ten teams were pretty much as expected, as all have jumped off to great starts and/or played powerhouse schedules to this point. The next group of ten featured mid-majors like Boise State and undefeated Drake. With The Valley going to a conference schedule where each team plays consecutive games against the same opponent, the games next Sunday and Monday in Des Moines between Loyola and Drake could go a long way in deciding the conference champion.
As you work your way down the NET rankings, some teams you expect to see annually in the Top 25 are missing. And when I say missing, I mean missing from the top 100. Who could have predicted at the beginning of the season that Duke, Michigan State and Kentucky would be outside the top 100 in January? Of course, all three could move up substantially during league play, especially considering the power conferences they reside in. But this will certainly be a huge talking point in the weeks ahead.
This season, I’m very excited about the new Bracketology by TKBrackets podcast. On each episode we will take a look at the most recent bracket and highlight teams that have made moves. We will also have guests on like the top bracketologists in the country, NCAA staff members who help put the official bracket together, former selection committee members and the biggest names in college basketball.
Check out the latest podcast and get caught up on all the past episodes right here at Buzzsprout or anywhere you go to listen to podcasts.
LAST FOUR IN: Indiana, Seton Hall, Arkansas, NC State
FIRST FOUR OUT: Oklahoma, Purdue, Colorado State, BYU
NEXT FOUR OUT: Richmond, SMU, Maryland, Arizona State
CONFERENCES WITH MULTIPLE BIDS
Big Ten: 10
ACC: 9
SEC: 6
Big 12: 6
Big East: 5
Pac-12: 4
A-10: 2
MW: 2
AAC: 2
