Rutgers was the most divisive club on the edge of the NCAA Tournament, but they were finally chosen on Selection Sunday to join the field of 68.
This group created history once more when they qualified for the big dance despite having the lowest NET ranking (No. 77).
Tom Burnett, commissioner of the Southland Conference, made the rounds after this year’s bracket was revealed. He is the chair of the selection committee.
In the end, Rutgers’ 6-6 record versus Quad 1 opponents, 8-6 record against NET Top 40 teams that also advanced to the field of 68, and two Quad 1 road victories all contributed to its selection to the NCAA Tournament.
In the end, such successes took precedence over the statistics and prognostic indicators that many Bracketologists value most. The key differential between teams on the bubble was defeating good teams, as it should be.
Dayton also looks like a weird comparison because they only had half as many Quad 1 victories and had three more Quad 4 defeats than Rutgers.
NCAA Committee Chair on Selection Process
Tom Burnett gave an open account of the lengthy conversation in response to a follow-up query about any potential bracket adjustments made on Sunday as the final conference championships came to a close.
By the time bracketing was discussed today, Burnett said, “we had to consider maybe ten distinct contingencies.”
“So the committee had to go through 10 different seed lists and 10 different brackets. Naturally, we had to go through all of today’s outcomes to gather the necessary data points.
And we eventually narrowed it down to a few brackets and, of course, the one we released tonight.
The Final Report
Rutgers was predicted to make the NCAA Tournament by just 84 of 211 sites in the Bracket Matrix’s final report.
That’s only 39.8%, and the only team to succeed that had even worse expectations was Notre Dame, who were predicted to succeed in just 75 out of 211 locations, or 35.5%.
Ironically, their First Four matchup will take place on the Dayton Flyers’ home court on Wednesday at 9:10 p.m. ET.
Conclusion
The selection process is criticised every year since some clubs are selected while having less impressive credentials, while others are passed over despite having a vociferous fan following.
Burnett made an appearance on television shortly after the NCAA Tournament bracket was made public to talk about the decisions that went into choosing the 68 teams who would compete.
Burnett voiced scepticism on how well things would go. But the journey is never easy. We’ve been treated to some excellent basketball this week.
And many of us stayed up late watching the various conference tournaments, so that played a big part in it.
