Nebraska Basketball: How Cornhuskers can ensure NCAA Tournament bid

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LINCOLN, NE – DECEMBER 8: Glynn Watson Jr. #5 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers celebrates in late game action against the Creighton Bluejays at Pinnacle Bank Arena on December 8, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /

1. Maintain Favorable Metrics

When the NCAA tournament committee sits down to pick and seed the participants in the NCAA tournament, a series of metrics are used. Those metrics run the gambit of different statistical formulas. The NCAA created a new efficiency metric this season for the purpose of picking teams for the NCAA tournament. The NET ranking is what the NCAA has created and chosen to use in place of the traditional method of RPI. The new NET is a more accurate and predictive measure than that of the RPI. It is also the metric the NCAA has chosen to use to select and seed the teams.

As of the latest update of the NET the Huskers came in with a NET ranking on 13. That ranking is third best in the entire Big Ten behind Michigan and Michigan State. The NET ranking is exceptional for a team trying to make the tournament. Nebraska is scoring very well in the efficiency rankings as well. Ken Pomeroy has created a KenPom ranking, which is a computer program that ranks teams based on their offensive and defensive efficiency, as well as an overall efficiency ranking. The Huskers come in at 14th on the KenPom ranking.

ESPN has also created a metric, which much like the KenPom rankings is not used to pick the field or help seed teams. The metric is usually a good predictor of who will play in the NCAA tournament, however. That is the Basketball Power Index (BPI). The BPI factors in efficiency, strength of schedule and pace of play. The purpose of the metric is to determine how much team A is than Team B, and how will that team project going forward. The KenPom predictive metrics factor in a lot of the same things. Nebraska current sits at 15th in the BPI. While many do not care for the BPI, because it hard to understand and mirrors a lot of what KenPom already predicts.

Even though the KenPom and BPI are not used to help seed and select the teams, the metrics have always been a very good predictor of who will actually make the tournament. A power conference team wants to stay in the top 40 within these metrics. Teams in the top 40 usually have a good chance at being selected for the tournament.

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