How important is NCAA tournament success in evaluating college basketball conference selection rankings? It’s a question to think about when ranking the performance of the Power Sports Six Conferences from the 2022-23 season. Unlike the 2021-22 campaign when the Big 12 ranked first in our conference after producing the national champion after a great regular season, things aren’t as clear this time.
The Big 12 enjoyed another stellar regular season but did not send a team to the Final Four in 2023. The conference hierarchy is also complicated by the contradictions of the Big Ten and the Big East. The Big Ten did well head-to-head with the Big East, sent a greater percentage of their teams to the Big Dance and ranked 23.5 higher in the season-ending average NET ranking.
However, the Big East team lifted the national championship trophy on April 3 while a fat Big Ten team watched the NCAA Tournament from home after another disappointing post-season performance for the conference. Elsewhere across the country, the SEC fell one place from last season while the ACC and Pac-12 continued to move up the rear.
In our annual conference strength rankings, we’ve combined a number of factors, including regular season, NCAA tournament and all-around talent to take a complete shot at the conference scene in college basketball from the 2022-23 season.
Draft predictions are taken from the latest CBS Sports NBA Big Board panel, which features the 50 best prospects for the 2023 NBA Draft. Here Final ranking of last year’s conference power.
1.Big 12
This season snapped the Big 12’s streak of four consecutive NCAA Tournaments with a team in the Final Four, but the league had two Elite Eight teams in Kansas State and Texas. Their runs were enough to make him a respectable postseason for the conference after he stood clearly above the pack during the regular season. With no really bad teams — Oklahoma was the worst-ranked team in the league at the gridiron at #70 — the Big 12 became a self-sustaining tournament of Quad 1 and Quad 2 games for its members through the 2022-23 season. With BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF joining the conference next season, that calculus could change. But each of those four teams were among the top 100 teams in the net while playing in weaker leagues this past season, and the addition of the Cougars gives the Big 12 another national power.
By the numbers
- 1st in NCAA Tournament bid percentage: 7 out of 10 (70%)
- Third Place in NCAA Tournament Record: 9-7 (56.3%)
- The first in the top 50 NBA Draft Prospects for each team: .60 (six total)
- First in the average net ranking: 30.2 (33.2 last year)
- 1 in the average NET ranking excluding the bottom two teams: 21.3 (23.8 last year)
2. The Big Ten
If NCAA Tournament victories are the only measure of success, the Big Ten doesn’t belong in the second rank. Still, the conference put together another strong season overall, with the average NET ranking improving thanks to some moves from the bottom of the league. Only Minnesota at No. 222 finished outside the top 100 on the grid. Even the Ohio State team that finished 16-19 finished 49th in the net. Why? Because the Buckeyes beat Cincinnati, Texas Tech, and Rutgers while in non-league play. Their only non-conference losses came against San Diego State, Duke, and North Carolina. Casual fans may not be paying attention yet, but November and December are important months in college basketball. The Big Ten did well early on, and boosted their league metrics. A few examples that might seem surprising in retrospect given how the rest of the season played out: Purdue over Marquette (November 15), Indiana over Xavier (November 18), Illinois over UCLA (November 18), Maryland over Miami (November 20), Wisconsin over Marquette (3 December).
By the numbers
- T-2 in NCAA Tournament bidding percentage: 8 out of 14 (57.1%)
- Fifth in NCAA tournament history: 6-8 (42.9%)
- T-2 in the Top 50 NBA Draft Per Team: .57 (eight total)
- 2nd place average net ranking: 54.1 (57.2 last year)
- Second place average net standings excluding the bottom two teams: 39.3 (45.6 last year)
3. The Big East
The Big East Summit was as good or better than any conference in the country. In addition to national champion UConn, Creighton was seconds away from reaching the Final Four, and Xavier achieved a 16th-place finish. While Marquette shone in the second round, the Golden Eagles won the Big East regular season and tournament titles. These four each made the top 18 in NET’s final rankings. By comparison, the top four of the top 12 are Texas, Kansas and Baylor, and Kansas is 19th. Butler (125), DePaul (155), and Georgetown (240) all offered nothing of value, which led to lower overall metrics for the league. With Villanova also in transition following the retirement of head coach Jay Wright, the league lost one of its NCAA Tournament anchors. Given that seven of the Big East’s 11 teams were either in their first season with a new coach or their last season with an existing coach, overall league performance for the 2022-23 season was strong. If Ed Cooley drives Georgetown, Rick Pitino injects life into St.
By the numbers
- Fourth Place in NCAA Tournament Aspect Ratio: 5 out of 11 (45.5%)
- First in NCAA tournament history: 12-4 (75%)
- 4th on the list of the 50 Greatest NBA Draft Prospects per Team: .45 (five total)
- 4th place average net ranking: 77.6 (64.7 last year)
- Third place average net standings excluding the bottom two teams: 51 (44.6 last year)
4. SEC
With six first-year coaches patrolling the sidelines, it’s been a transitional season for the SEC, and that has shown the league’s average net standings are down nearly 10 points from the 2021-22 season. Complicating matters, Auburn and Kentucky fell behind after both secured a #2 spot in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Both returned to Big Dance, but never made it past the first round. Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee have all made it to the Sweet 16, but none have made it to the Elite Eight. Missouri State and Mississippi State quietly helped the SEC salvage what was a mediocre season. The Tigers reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament under first year head coach Dennis Gates while the Bulldogs finished strongly to reach fourth under first year head coach Chris Gans. Were it not for the impressive work of these two newcomers to the conference, the overall work from the SEC would have been substandard.
By the numbers
- T-2 in NCAA Tournament bidding percentage: 8 out of 14 (57.1%)
- Fourth Place in NCAA Tournament Record: 9-8 (52.9%)
- T-2 in the Top 50 NBA Draft Per Team: .57 (eight total)
- 3rd place average net ranking: 74.6 (64.1 last year)
- Fourth place in the average net standings excluding the bottom two teams: 54.3 (43.7 last year)
5.ACC
Miami’s reaching the Final Four doesn’t change the fact that the ACC is still broken, just as Duke and North Carolina’s 2022 Final Four arrival didn’t erase the league’s regular season excesses. In fact, the average ACC grid ranking fell by a large margin in the 2022-23 season. With strong brands like Syracuse, Notre Dame, Florida State, Louisville, and North Carolina all struggling, it’s no wonder the ACC is in tough shape.
By the numbers
- T-5 in NCAA Tournament bidding percentage: 5 of 15 (33.3%)
- Second Place in NCAA Tournament Record: 7-5 (58.3%)
- Fifth in the Top 50 NBA draft prospects per team: .40 (six total)
- Sixth in average net ranking: 108.1 (85.1 last year)
- Sixth in the average net standings excluding the bottom two teams: 83.7 (71.3 last year)
6. PAC 12
The Pac-12 mid-tier improved during the 2022-23 season as six of the league’s 12 teams reached either the NIT or the NCAA Tournament. But with Washington, Oregon State and Cal all outside the net’s top 100 and Cal all the way up at #315, overall metrics for the league have dwindled. UCLA and Arizona have stood above the competition all seasons. Arizona screamed hard into the top four to keep this from being another year with three bids for the Pac-12.
By the numbers
- T-5 in NCAA Tournament bidding percentage: 4 out of 12 (33.3%)
- Sixth place in NCAA Tournament log: 3-4 (42.3%)
- Sixth in the Top 50 NBA Draft Prospects per Team: .33 (four total)
- 5th in average net worth ranking: 97.5 (93.0 last year)
- Fifth in the average NET ranking excluding the bottom two teams: 63 (71.1 last year)