Dive into the NET

Good morning! Ready for a monster night of college hoops?

First, let’s get into what mattered on Monday.

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1. Key takeaways from initial NET rankings

Did you spend all day Monday examining the NCAA’s initial release of its NET rankings? No? That’s why we’re here.

There’s a long table version of the NET here, which is fine if you’re just into perusing. But if you really want to dive in, try this link. It’s sortable by team, includes more data points and lets you sort. That’s what I’ve used for a screengrab of the Top 30 teams below.

Some notes on the Top 50:

• Michigan’s No. 1, which is a reflection of its strength of schedule and its performance. Three Quad 1 wins already? Yeesh.

• Vanderbilt’s No. 4. It’s been crushing teams, which includes a couple 300+ KenPom programs, but also three in the top 60.

• It’s one of five SEC teams in the Top 30, which includes 7-0 LSU. The Tigers (19) have yet to play a Q1 or Q2 opponent.

• Non-power conference standouts? Gonzaga (5), Utah State (22), Yale (25), Tulsa (27), Saint Mary’s (29), Santa Clara (32), Belmont (35), UC San Diego (41), Akron (42), George Mason (43), McNeese (44), George Washington (47) and Saint Louis (49).

• The lowest-ranked teams by power conference: Miss State (173), Utah (175), DePaul (183), Maryland (200) and Georgia Tech (201).

• Yes, Butler (21) is ranked ahead of St. John’s (23). Seton Hall (50) is the only other Big East team in the Top 50.

• The Big Ten and SEC have the most in the Top 50 (9), followed by the ACC (8) and Big 12 (7). The SEC has the highest average NET ranking (54.19), followed by the Big 12 (60.19).

• There are eight Atlantic 10 teams in the Top 100 — more than the Big East, and only behind the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC.

We’ll see a lot of movement over the next five weeks. Also, it’s worth remembering that the NET is a sorting tool and does not equate to an NCAA Tournament seed. Here’s an explainer for how THAT works.

2. K-State suffers home stunner + more results

The combo of PJ Haggerty’s scoring struggles and a soft interior defense spelled trouble for Kansas State on Monday.

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