QT: Atlantic 10 trending toward a single bid

Think back to early November.  Back to when Dayton and Saint Louis were expected to be Top 25-ish teams.  Combined with the likes of Davidson, VCU, George Mason and others, the Atlantic 10 was poised to garner some serious attention in the Selection Committee room.

A month in, the landscape has changed, and not for the better.

Heading into play today (Saturday, Dec. 10), only two A10 teams are positioned within the Top 100 of the early NET ratings: Saint Louis (82) and Massachusetts (97).  Dayton has fallen all the way to 189, coming off a 28-point defeat at Virginia Tech.  The Flyers have yet to beat a team with a winning record.  VCU (145) has a couple of decent wins against Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt, but is reeling from a recent home loss to Jacksonville.  George Mason generated some early buzz, but that disappeared after three consecutive defeats at the Paradise Jam.

QT: What we learned from the Committee

The 2022 Men’s NCAA Selection Committee revealed its initial Top 16 seeds last Saturday. In terms of teams selected, there were really no surprises – although we were all curious to find out how this year’s committee would manage Houston’s NET (and metrics) vs. its actual results, especially given how the make-up of the team has changed due to unfortunate injuries.

Quick Takes: Michigan on a roll

Welcome back to Quick Takes! Let’s get started.

Michigan is on quite a roll. The Wolverines thumped Minnesota in Ann Arbor to move to 5-0 in the Big Ten. Looking ahead, the schedule is favorable for Big Blue, too. Michigan only has to play Iowa, Illinois and Rutgers once, all three at home. That’s the type of advantage that could bring a regular season B10 title to Crisler Arena.

Additional Quick Takes:

Bracket Bits: Could the Big 10 reach double-digit bids?

Could the Big Ten reach double-digits bids in 2020?

It’s a fair question given that 11 teams currently rank in the Top 50 of the NET ratings and 12 teams sit within the Top 60.

Why do those stats matter?  It’s simple math – even for non-analytical equation minds like mine.  With the exception of Northwestern and Nebraska (at least for now), nearly every league game provides an opportunity to add a beneficial NET victory to one’s Team Sheet.  High ratings also tend to minimize the impact of losses – margins not included – provided those losses remain within acceptable limits (more on that below). 

Bracket Bits: Big East teams building strong NETs

Members of the Big East are building some strong NETs.

How strong have Big East teams been to this point?  Take a look at some of these numbers – via Warren Nolan …

Nine of the Big East’s ten teams currently rank in the Top 55 of the NCAA’s NET Rankings (through Thursday, December 26) – led by the surprising Butler Bulldogs at No. 3.  Four of BU’s ten wins are currently in Quadrant 1 – as is their only loss (Baylor by a single point).

Here’s where the other teams rank … Villanova (21), Creighton (24), Georgetown (29), Seton Hall (34), DePaul (36), St. John’s (47), Marquette (50), Xavier (52).  Oddly, its Providence, a sneaky preseason pick to win the league, which has struggled – currently ranked 122.