The Pac-12 men’s basketball season is underway and the initial NET rankings have been released, raising some concerns about the power ratings of the conference. The NET rankings are a new metric created by the NCAA to measure the strength of teams in Division I basketball. The NET rankings are based on game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, and net offensive and defensive efficiency.
The initial NET rankings have the Pac-12 ranked 11th among all conferences, which is a significant drop from last season when the conference was ranked 5th. This has raised some concerns about the power ratings of the Pac-12 teams. The conference has traditionally been one of the strongest in college basketball, with many teams making deep runs in the NCAA tournament.
The drop in rankings is due to a number of factors, including the lack of top-tier teams in the conference this season. While there are some strong teams in the Pac-12, such as Oregon and Arizona, there are also some weaker teams that are dragging down the overall rankings. Additionally, the conference has not had a team reach the Final Four since 2008, which is a major factor in the lower rankings.
The Pac-12 has also been hurt by its lack of non-conference scheduling. The conference has traditionally been one of the weakest in terms of playing non-conference opponents. This has resulted in weaker strength of schedule ratings for Pac-12 teams, which has further dragged down their NET rankings.
The Pac-12 will need to improve its non-conference scheduling if it wants to improve its NET rankings. Additionally, the conference will need to have more top-tier teams emerge this season if it wants to move up in the rankings. Until then, the initial NET rankings have raised some concerns about the power ratings of the Pac-12 teams.
