NCAA Basketball: Examining 5 teams ranked in AP Top 25 with varied metrics

BYU Cougars

AP Rank: 14

KenPom: 4

NET: 3

Although we do not know the specific NET formula, it has been proven that wide margins of victory can increase a team’s NET ranking -- and BYU is no stranger to that.

Ranked fourth in KenPom and third in NET, Mark Pope’s Cougars rattled off wins such as a 47-point victory over Houston Christian, a 57-point victory over Southeastern Louisiana, a 41-point win over Evansville and a 28-point win over Arizona State. 

Unsurprisingly, the 11-1 Cougars are first in the country in terms of average scoring margin, outscoring opponents by an average of 29.1 points, according to Team Rankings.

Despite their AP ranking (14th) lagging behind their metrics, one reason that can be attributed to this would be their non-conference strength of schedule. According to KenPom, the Cougar’s NCSOS ranks just 304th in the country, which places them near the bottom 15 percentile in all of college basketball in terms of NCSOS.

Although their NCOS is not strong by any means, BYU has been one of college basketball’s biggest surprises as they were picked to finish second to last in the Big 12 Preseason Poll.

Led by Jaxon Robinson (the team’s leading scorer at 16.5 PPG who comes off the bench),  Spencer Johnson (11.5 Pts, 6.1 Reb, 5.1 Ast) and a balanced scoring effort throughout the roster, the Cougars have the pieces in place -- both offensively and defensively -- to make some noise in the upcoming months.

Although the Cougars have just one Quadrant 1 and one Quadrant 2 victory a piece, the Big 12 will leave no shortage of opportunities for the Cougars to grab quality wins.

Their scoring margin won’t be +29.1 in a couple of months for now, but it's safe to say BYU is positioned for a strong performance in Big 12 play and will surely not finish second to last in the Big 12 come March.