If NET Rankings Really Count, The NCAA Basketball Tournament Will Be Loaded with Big Ten Teams

Apparently the NCAA has decided to scrap the old RPI rankings and there is a new formula in town. This year they will use NET rankings to help determine at-large bids and seeds. Not knowing, or caring, how they determine the rankings, I still decided to check and see the tournament prospects of everyone’s beloved conference.

10 B1G teams are currently ranked in the top 50. And by current, I mean as of the 4th, the NCAA and all. You can see for yourself on the NCAA website! Northwestern sits at 56, while Penn State is 72nd. 12 within striking distance. I am not going to pretend to know exactly what this means for the conference, as the NCAA selection process has always been sticky. However, the RPI was a solid indicator. With this many teams ranked this high in the new ranking system, I think it is a pretty safe bet that there will be double the amount of NCAA qualifiers out of the Big Ten than a year ago. 9 teams are currently in the top 34. Last season 4 B1G teams qualified.

Now that the conference season is fully underway, I think it’s time to discuss your favorite team’s prospects for the NCAA tournament, and the over/under on B1G invites. Buckeyes will make it, and I put the conference number somewhere around 9.