As most of you know, the NCAA quit using the outdated RPI and came up with their own NET rankings last year for determining the NCAA at large berths. Somehow, our baby Utes are ranked No. 54 in the first rankings, which were released today.
https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1/ncaa-mens-basketball-net-rankings
Now, thanks to all the automatic qualifiers from crap conferences (like the Big Sky), teams really need to be in the top 45 or so to get into the 68-team field as an at large. But starting at 54 is waaaaaay better that I thought we’d be after losses to Coastal Carolina and Tulane.
The good news is that the Net rankings are really high on the PAC-12 as a whole. That means losses won’t hurt that much and six or seven PAC teams could get in. With Kentucky and No. 3 SDSU the only remaining non-league games left, our strength of schedule will only get better from here on. My guess is a 9-9 record in conference play and one win in the Pac-12 tourney would be enough to get us back to the NCAAs.
It won’t be easy. We definitely could have a sub-.500 record in the league this year — especially if Rylan Jones is out for an extended period. But the Utes are better than I expected and it’s nice to have a little optimism in basketball for a change.
https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1/ncaa-mens-basketball-net-rankings
Now, thanks to all the automatic qualifiers from crap conferences (like the Big Sky), teams really need to be in the top 45 or so to get into the 68-team field as an at large. But starting at 54 is waaaaaay better that I thought we’d be after losses to Coastal Carolina and Tulane.
The good news is that the Net rankings are really high on the PAC-12 as a whole. That means losses won’t hurt that much and six or seven PAC teams could get in. With Kentucky and No. 3 SDSU the only remaining non-league games left, our strength of schedule will only get better from here on. My guess is a 9-9 record in conference play and one win in the Pac-12 tourney would be enough to get us back to the NCAAs.
It won’t be easy. We definitely could have a sub-.500 record in the league this year — especially if Rylan Jones is out for an extended period. But the Utes are better than I expected and it’s nice to have a little optimism in basketball for a change.
