NCAA Creates New Ranking System for Basketball Tournament

Nothing but NET. That's the name of the new ranking system that the NCAA released today that will replace the RPI for measuring at-large teams for the field of 68. The NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) will measure teams based on game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses. Unlike the old RPI, game date and order have been taken out of the equation so early and late season games have equal importance. In addition, NET will cap a team's victory margin at 10 points to discourage running up the score.

"What has been developed is a contemporary method of looking at teams analytically, using results-based and predictive metrics that will assist the Men’s Basketball Committee as it reviews games throughout the season," said Dan Gavitt, senior vice president of basketball for the NCAA in the official release. "While no perfect rankings exist, using the results of past tournaments will help ensure that the rankings are built on an objective source of truth."

It will be interesting to see if the new NET will have a positive or negative effect on mid-majors getting at-large bids into the NCAA Tournament. In recent years, the RPI did not help many programs from conferences like C-USA get an extra team into the Dance, so hopefully the new ratings system will benefit mid-majors.