Big East-Big 12 Battle

[tacitus]

The NET is still subject to fluctuate a lot. But currently the pecking order in the NET conference rankings are: 1) Big 10, 2) SEC, 3) Big 12, 4) Big East. The Big 12 has the best NC win percentage at the moment (0.8551) and the Big East is second (0.8052). By the time conference play starts, the order of the NET rankings more or less corresponds to the NC records. So these annual series with the Big 10 and Big 12 are great for the league, and, by extension, great for X. We went 6-2 in the Gavitt Games this year, beating all three of the Big 10’s ranked opponents at the time, with the only two losses coming on the road against potential tournament teams. That is huge! But now we have an even better opportunity in the Big East-Big 12 battle. The Big East has a chance to beat up to four ranked teams as well as get multiple quad-1 wins, with few risks for “bad” losses. Moreover, we can turn the table on the Big 12 in terms of NC record and likely be the first or second conference in the conference NET and RPI rankings by the end of December. All of this SHOULD translate into 5 or more bids, even if we beat up on each other during conference play! (Assuming the Selection Committee uses the NCAA’s own metrics…)

(Foot note: overall, the Big East is currently 12-5 in the Big East-Big 12 Battle and 24-24 in the Gavitt Games.)