Joby’s Nitty Gritty Rankings Explained
The JNG reached new heights in 2025 with the 2nd highest posted score (5th overall) on bracketmatrix and the highest 2 year average of ALL bracketologists. YES! No other submission to bracketmatrix has a better combined score over the last two years than the JNG! The JNG also kept its ongoing streak as the top computer based metric to 6 straight years and 8 of the last 9.
Out of the 11 computer based metrics submitted to bracketmatrix.com; the JNG comes out on top. The JNG also was 5th overall (only 2 points behind the winner) out of ALL 249 bracket projections posted across the web, once again beating out all household names such as Lunardi and Jerry Palm.
SUMMARY: Joby’s Nitty Gritty (JNG) rankings were created as an attempt to quantify the characteristics the selection committee has stated and shown to be important as key factors in their analysis. He actually draws from what is known as the “Nitty Gritty Sheet” that the NCAA Selection Committee uses in taking the inputs for the statistics that make up these ratings. This is why it is known as his Nitty Gritty Ratings.
We first show a formal seed list gathered from the ratings and submitted to the bracketmatrix.com. The benefit of being a math based seed list is that it can be easily updated daily after results come in from the night before so have fun following along.
After that list are the ratings for all 365 teams. Once the season begins, if one wants to eyeball the at-large field, look around the 40th-55th spot. The gap there allows one to see who is in and who is out and the teams on the cusp of making it into the field. Similarly the NIT and the newly created CBC tournament field break can be seen between 90th and 110th. In addition, you may see some daily dramatic jumps and drops around the NIT/CBC cut line even if a team does not play due to specific requirements and traits taken that subtly change a team’s merits but have a dramatic effect on their profile.
JNG Seed List March 15, 2026
| SEED | TEAM | Conference |
| 1 | Duke | ACC |
| 1 | Michigan | BIG |
| 1 | Arizona | BXII |
| 1 | Florida | SEC |
| 2 | Houston | BXII |
| 2 | Iowa State | BXII |
| 2 | Connecticut | BE |
| 2 | Michigan State | BIG |
| 3 | Illinois | BIG |
| 3 | Gonzaga | WCC |
| 3 | Purdue | BIG |
| 3 | Nebraska | BIG |
| 4 | Virginia | ACC |
| 4 | Kansas | BXII |
| 4 | Alabama | SEC |
| 4 | Vanderbilt | SEC |
| 5 | Texas Tech | BXII |
| 5 | Arkansas | SEC |
| 5 | St. John’s | BE |
| 5 | North Carolina | ACC |
| 6 | Tennessee | SEC |
| 6 | Wisconsin | BIG |
| 6 | Louisville | ACC |
| 6 | BYU | BXII |
| 7 | Miami | ACC |
| 7 | Kentucky | SEC |
| 7 | Clemson | ACC |
| 7 | UCLA | BIG |
| 8 | TCU | BXII |
| 8 | St. Mary’s | WCC |
| 8 | Georgia | SEC |
| 8 | Villanova | BE |
| 9 | Ohio State | BIG |
| 9 | Utah State | MWC |
| 9 | Central Florida | BXII |
| 9 | North Carolina State | ACC |
| 10 | Texas A&M | SEC |
| 10 | Iowa | BIG |
| 10 | Missouri | SEC |
| 10 | Saint Louis | A10 |
| 11 | Santa Clara | WCC |
| 11 | Texas | SEC |
| 11 | SMU | ACC |
| 11 | Miami-Ohio | MAC |
| 11 | VCU | A10 |
| 11 | South Florida | AAC |
| 12 | McNeese | SLC |
| 12 | Akron | MAC |
| 12 | High Point | BSo |
| 12 | Northern Iowa | MVC |
| 13 | Hofstra | CAA |
| 13 | Hawaii | BW |
| 13 | Cal Baptist | WAC |
| 13 | Troy | SunB |
| 14 | North Dakota State | SUM |
| 14 | Wright State | HZN |
| 14 | Kennesaw State | CUSA |
| 14 | Penn | IVY |
| 15 | Tennessee State | OVC |
| 15 | Idaho | BSKY |
| 15 | Furman | SoCON |
| 15 | Siena | MAAC |
| 16 | Queens | ASUN |
| 16 | Long Island | NEC |
| 16 | UMBC | AmE |
| 16 | Howard | MEAC |
| 16 | Lehigh | PAT |
| 16 | Prairie View | SWAC |
JNG Ratings – last updated Saturday March 15 at 12:50am
| RANK | Final Rating | Conf | |
| 1 | Duke | 13.445785 | ACC |
| 2 | Michigan | 13.265894 | BIG |
| 3 | Arizona | 13.034657 | BXII |
| 4 | Florida | 10.459499 | SEC |
| 5 | Houston | 9.805318 | BXII |
| 6 | Iowa State | 9.532765 | BXII |
| 7 | Connecticut | 9.525427 | BE |
| 8 | Michigan State | 8.973138 | BIG |
| 9 | Illinois | 8.848092 | BIG |
| 10 | Gonzaga | 8.480706 | WCC |
| 11 | Purdue | 8.457610 | BIG |
| 12 | Nebraska | 8.429027 | BIG |
| 13 | Virginia | 8.422151 | ACC |
| 14 | Kansas | 8.371262 | BXII |
| 15 | Alabama | 7.948851 | SEC |
| 16 | Vanderbilt | 7.668805 | SEC |
| 17 | Texas Tech | 7.516180 | BXII |
| 18 | Arkansas | 7.233748 | SEC |
| 19 | St. John’s | 7.106933 | BE |
| 20 | North Carolina | 6.702524 | ACC |
| 21 | Tennessee | 6.541359 | SEC |
| 22 | Wisconsin | 6.434765 | BIG |
| 23 | Louisville | 6.316780 | ACC |
| 24 | BYU | 6.243008 | BXII |
| 25 | Miami | 5.897440 | ACC |
| 26 | Kentucky | 5.806868 | SEC |
| 27 | Clemson | 5.610311 | ACC |
| 28 | UCLA | 5.327689 | BIG |
| 29 | TCU | 5.299447 | BXII |
| 30 | St. Mary’s | 5.272405 | WCC |
| 31 | Georgia | 5.197432 | SEC |
| 32 | Villanova | 5.035029 | BE |
| 33 | Ohio State | 5.016475 | BIG |
| 34 | Utah State | 4.883667 | MWC |
| 35 | UCF | 4.577593 | BXII |
| 36 | North Carolina State | 4.488500 | ACC |
| 37 | Texas A&M | 4.462852 | SEC |
| 38 | Iowa | 4.386021 | BIG |
| 39 | Missouri | 4.097065 | SEC |
| 40 | Saint Louis | 3.998556 | A10 |
| 41 | Santa Clara | 3.950045 | WCC |
| 42 | Texas | 3.608182 | SEC |
| 43 | SMU | 3.573723 | ACC |
| 44 | Miami-Ohio | 3.544888 | MAC |
| 45 | VCU | 3.501898 | A10 |
| 46 | South Florida | 3.045403 | AAC |
| 47 | Oklahoma | 2.915459 | SEC |
| 48 | Cincinnati | 2.845322 | BXII |
| 49 | San Diego State | 2.833105 | MWC |
| 50 | New Mexico | 2.820170 | MWC |
| 51 | Florida State | 2.729394 | ACC |
| 52 | Indiana | 2.560719 | BIG |
| 53 | Virginia Tech | 2.546457 | ACC |
| 54 | Oklahoma State | 2.540215 | BXII |
| 55 | Stanford | 2.484927 | ACC |
| 56 | Seton Hall | 2.459686 | BE |
| 57 | Auburn | 2.388604 | SEC |
| 58 | West Virginia | 2.379409 | BXII |
| 59 | California | 2.202282 | ACC |
| 60 | Boise State | 2.196802 | MWC |
| 61 | Nevada | 2.155977 | MWC |
| 62 | Dayton | 2.135086 | A10 |
| 63 | Grand Canyon | 2.065640 | MWC |
| 64 | Arizona State | 1.912669 | BXII |
| 65 | Colorado State | 1.820268 | MWC |
| 66 | USC | 1.812967 | BIG |
| 67 | McNeese | 1.809377 | SLC |
| 68 | Akron | 1.548548 | MAC |
| 69 | Wake Forest | 1.360545 | ACC |
| 70 | Baylor | 1.334102 | BXII |
| 71 | Yale | 1.325429 | IVY |
| 72 | Colorado | 1.216017 | BXII |
| 73 | Wichita State | 1.186700 | AAC |
| 74 | High Point | 1.119491 | BSo |
| 75 | Belmont | 1.090195 | MVC |
| 76 | Tulsa | 1.062371 | AAC |
| 77 | George Mason | 1.039682 | A10 |
| 78 | Utah Valley | 0.630671 | WAC |
| 79 | Northern Iowa | 0.552237 | MVC |
| 80 | St. Joseph’s | 0.546913 | A10 |
| 81 | Stephen F. Austin | 0.376495 | SLC |
| 82 | Liberty | 0.373639 | CUSA |
| 83 | Washington | 0.350528 | BIG |
| 84 | Butler | 0.224810 | BE |
| 85 | UNC-Wilmington | 0.119044 | CAA |
| 86 | UNLV | 0.098605 | MWC |
| 87 | Creighton | 0.078635 | BE |
| 88 | Ole Miss | 0.052363 | SEC |
| 89 | Hofstra | 0.044670 | CAA |
| 90 | Minnesota | 0.034563 | BIG |
| 91 | George Washington | 0.026190 | A10 |
| 92 | California Baptist | 0.014404 | WAC |
| 93 | UAB | -0.033988 | AAC |
| 94 | Wyoming | -0.075749 | MWC |
| 95 | Northwestern | -0.112892 | BIG |
| 96 | Syracuse | -0.117807 | ACC |
| 97 | Georgetown | -0.136841 | BE |
| 98 | Davidson | -0.194891 | A10 |
| 99 | Murray State | -0.214825 | MVC |
| 100 | Hawai’i | -0.220269 | BW |
| 101 | UC-Irvine | -0.242609 | BW |
| 102 | Troy | -0.263933 | SunB |
| 103 | North Dakota State | -0.271458 | SUM |
| 104 | Kent State | -0.309883 | MAC |
| 105 | Illinois State | -0.314162 | MVC |
| 106 | LSU | -0.353285 | SEC |
| 107 | Navy | -0.406471 | PAT |
| 108 | DePaul | -0.462723 | BE |
| 109 | Sam Houston State | -0.489632 | CUSA |
| 110 | Notre Dame | -0.546983 | ACC |
| 111 | Providence | -0.550989 | BE |
| 112 | Mississippi State | -0.551938 | SEC |
| 113 | Winthrop | -0.562070 | BSo |
| 114 | Bradley | -0.619168 | MVC |
| 115 | St. Thomas | -0.652582 | SUM |
| 116 | Kansas State | -0.679826 | BXII |
| 117 | Seattle | -0.705357 | WCC |
| 118 | Xavier | -0.735450 | BE |
| 119 | Marquette | -0.812856 | BE |
| 120 | Duquesne | -0.868132 | A10 |
| 121 | Wright State | -0.874451 | HZN |
| 122 | Pacific | -0.883319 | WCC |
| 123 | North Texas | -0.890971 | AAC |
| 124 | Pittsburgh | -0.905826 | ACC |
| 125 | Austin Peay | -0.919589 | ASUN |
| 126 | Illinois-Chicago | -0.969928 | MVC |
| 127 | College of Charleston | -0.993408 | CAA |
| 128 | Toledo | -0.999869 | MAC |
| 129 | UC-San Diego | -1.049406 | BW |
| 130 | William & Mary | -1.053713 | CAA |
| 131 | Kennesaw State | -1.072805 | CUSA |
| 132 | Central Arkansas | -1.079811 | ASUN |
| 133 | Tennessee State | -1.081774 | OVC |
| 134 | Portland State | -1.123146 | BSKY |
| 135 | Idaho | -1.134123 | BSKY |
| 136 | South Carolina | -1.148176 | SEC |
| 137 | Oregon | -1.152846 | BIG |
| 138 | East Tennessee State | -1.165581 | SoCON |
| 139 | Merrimack | -1.177779 | MAAC |
| 140 | Texas-Rio Grande Valley | -1.203908 | SLC |
| 141 | Pennsylvania | -1.220398 | IVY |
| 142 | Maryland | -1.264523 | BIG |
| 143 | Florida Atlantic | -1.267911 | AAC |
| 144 | Arkansas State | -1.287334 | SunB |
| 145 | Robert Morris | -1.289991 | HZN |
| 146 | Furman | -1.297965 | SoCON |
| 147 | Siena | -1.314024 | MAAC |
| 148 | Louisiana Tech | -1.323209 | CUSA |
| 149 | Queens | -1.338224 | ASUN |
| 150 | Long Island | -1.348706 | NEC |
| 151 | San Francisco | -1.356199 | WCC |
| 152 | UMBC | -1.363231 | AmE |
| 153 | Northern Colorado | -1.367901 | BSKY |
| 154 | Utah Tech | -1.411009 | WAC |
| 155 | Valparaiso | -1.417909 | MVC |
| 156 | Cal State-Northridge | -1.450539 | BW |
| 157 | Texas-Arlington | -1.488614 | WAC |
| 158 | Rhode Island | -1.490677 | A10 |
| 159 | Howard | -1.497296 | MEAC |
| 160 | Harvard | -1.503714 | IVY |
| 161 | Montana State | -1.505388 | BSKY |
| 162 | Utah | -1.548262 | BXII |
| 163 | Towson | -1.572920 | CAA |
| 164 | Western Kentucky | -1.608080 | CUSA |
| 165 | Cornell | -1.693069 | IVY |
| 166 | Lipscomb | -1.707017 | ASUN |
| 167 | Marshall | -1.720744 | SunB |
| 168 | Tennessee-Martin | -1.748661 | OVC |
| 169 | UC-Davis | -1.748911 | BW |
| 170 | Rutgers | -1.792283 | BIG |
| 171 | Cal State-Fullerton | -1.817149 | BW |
| 172 | South Alabama | -1.836842 | SunB |
| 173 | Massachusetts | -1.852220 | MAC |
| 174 | Texas A&M-CC | -1.853734 | SLC |
| 175 | Penn State | -1.887612 | BIG |
| 176 | UC-Santa Barbara | -1.923522 | BW |
| 177 | Columbia | -1.941964 | IVY |
| 178 | Quinnipiac | -1.949265 | MAAC |
| 179 | Bowling Green | -1.974407 | MAC |
| 180 | Southern Illinois | -1.975271 | MVC |
| 181 | Monmouth | -1.980018 | CAA |
| 182 | Middle Tennessee | -1.983805 | CUSA |
| 183 | Mercer | -1.999013 | SoCON |
| 184 | Northern Kentucky | -2.003623 | HZN |
| 185 | Southeast Missouri State | -2.031591 | OVC |
| 186 | Oregon State | -2.091150 | WCC |
| 187 | St. Bonaventure | -2.115529 | A10 |
| 188 | Appalachian State | -2.143428 | SunB |
| 189 | Tulane | -2.145619 | AAC |
| 190 | Morehead State | -2.169583 | OVC |
| 191 | Vermont | -2.224981 | AmE |
| 192 | St. Peter’s | -2.239032 | MAAC |
| 193 | Marist | -2.252895 | MAAC |
| 194 | Samford | -2.286794 | SoCON |
| 195 | Fordham | -2.290328 | A10 |
| 196 | Coastal Carolina | -2.338809 | SunB |
| 197 | Wofford | -2.342145 | SoCON |
| 198 | Green Bay | -2.381346 | HZN |
| 199 | Montana | -2.392294 | BSKY |
| 200 | Temple | -2.410563 | AAC |
| 201 | Georgia Tech | -2.416097 | ACC |
| 202 | James Madison | -2.434487 | SunB |
| 203 | Bethune-Cookman | -2.451231 | SWAC |
| 204 | Fairfield | -2.485020 | MAAC |
| 205 | Southern Miss | -2.496040 | SunB |
| 206 | Colgate | -2.505700 | PAT |
| 207 | Georgia Southern | -2.612975 | SunB |
| 208 | Buffalo | -2.645073 | MAC |
| 209 | Detroit Mercy | -2.655883 | HZN |
| 210 | Portland | -2.676370 | WCC |
| 211 | Iona | -2.677395 | MAAC |
| 212 | Texas State | -2.677554 | SunB |
| 213 | Oakland | -2.679616 | HZN |
| 214 | Charlotte | -2.694399 | AAC |
| 215 | Fort Wayne | -2.715686 | HZN |
| 216 | Memphis | -2.737229 | AAC |
| 217 | New Mexico State | -2.789893 | CUSA |
| 218 | Stony Brook | -2.905215 | CAA |
| 219 | SIU Edwardsville | -2.915483 | OVC |
| 220 | Fresno State | -2.918393 | MWC |
| 221 | New Orleans | -2.919020 | SLC |
| 222 | Lindenwood | -2.963375 | OVC |
| 223 | Central Connecticut | -2.982354 | NEC |
| 224 | Boston College | -3.115248 | ACC |
| 225 | Washington State | -3.212996 | WCC |
| 226 | Lehigh | -3.242701 | PAT |
| 227 | Weber State | -3.270916 | BSKY |
| 228 | Drexel | -3.308331 | CAA |
| 229 | Campbell | -3.326938 | CAA |
| 230 | Alabama A&M | -3.332231 | SWAC |
| 231 | Richmond | -3.340392 | A10 |
| 232 | North Dakota | -3.355397 | SUM |
| 233 | Loyola Marymount | -3.415293 | WCC |
| 234 | Radford | -3.565883 | BSo |
| 235 | Western Carolina | -3.645119 | SoCON |
| 236 | Florida International | -3.681752 | CUSA |
| 237 | American | -3.710996 | PAT |
| 238 | Southern | -3.730130 | SWAC |
| 239 | Ohio | -3.738902 | MAC |
| 240 | Missouri State | -3.769079 | CUSA |
| 241 | Denver | -3.819149 | SUM |
| 242 | UNC-Asheville | -3.917942 | BSo |
| 243 | Eastern Washington | -3.954942 | BSKY |
| 244 | South Dakota | -3.957771 | SUM |
| 245 | Drake | -3.983281 | MVC |
| 246 | South Dakota State | -4.046593 | SUM |
| 247 | Tarleton | -4.101389 | WAC |
| 248 | Longwood | -4.105108 | BSo |
| 249 | Cal Poly | -4.115651 | BW |
| 250 | Florida A&M | -4.155827 | SWAC |
| 251 | Nicholls State | -4.160740 | SLC |
| 252 | Elon | -4.167160 | CAA |
| 253 | Youngstown State | -4.214391 | HZN |
| 254 | Omaha | -4.222918 | SUM |
| 255 | Abilene Christian | -4.229402 | WAC |
| 256 | Florida Gulf Coast | -4.267565 | ASUN |
| 257 | Rice | -4.295115 | AAC |
| 258 | Boston University | -4.296327 | PAT |
| 259 | Mercyhurst | -4.311643 | NEC |
| 260 | Eastern Michigan | -4.366902 | MAC |
| 261 | Jacksonville State | -4.369639 | CUSA |
| 262 | Presbyterian | -4.389652 | BSo |
| 263 | San Jose State | -4.389861 | MWC |
| 264 | Charleston Southern | -4.445667 | BSo |
| 265 | Idaho State | -4.499544 | BSKY |
| 266 | San Diego | -4.508311 | WCC |
| 267 | Mount St. Mary’s | -4.518756 | MAAC |
| 268 | West Georgia | -4.551168 | ASUN |
| 269 | Lamar | -4.617531 | SLC |
| 270 | Prairie View | -4.622681 | SWAC |
| 271 | Dartmouth | -4.629158 | IVY |
| 272 | NJIT | -4.636174 | AmE |
| 273 | Indiana State | -4.636284 | MVC |
| 274 | Loyola-Chicago | -4.653476 | A10 |
| 275 | Milwaukee | -4.675716 | HZN |
| 276 | East Carolina | -4.685065 | AAC |
| 277 | La Salle | -4.740532 | A10 |
| 278 | Incarnate Word | -4.789848 | SLC |
| 279 | Bellarmine | -4.843066 | ASUN |
| 280 | Arkansas-Pine Bluff | -4.846444 | SWAC |
| 281 | USC-Upstate | -4.858276 | BSo |
| 282 | Old Dominion | -4.893327 | SunB |
| 283 | UNC-Greensboro | -4.901621 | SoCON |
| 284 | Wagner | -4.906206 | NEC |
| 285 | Norfolk State | -4.993059 | MEAC |
| 286 | Hampton | -5.040990 | CAA |
| 287 | Houston Baptist | -5.064918 | SLC |
| 288 | Le Moyne | -5.113653 | NEC |
| 289 | Massachusetts-Lowell | -5.136065 | AmE |
| 290 | Chattanooga | -5.156865 | SoCON |
| 291 | New Haven | -5.173824 | NEC |
| 292 | Sacred Heart | -5.200092 | MAAC |
| 293 | UTEP | -5.211213 | CUSA |
| 294 | East Texas A&M | -5.227614 | SLC |
| 295 | Central Michigan | -5.244340 | MAC |
| 296 | Princeton | -5.253934 | IVY |
| 297 | Jacksonville | -5.254783 | ASUN |
| 298 | Grambling | -5.282284 | SWAC |
| 299 | UC-Riverside | -5.288557 | BW |
| 300 | Morgan State | -5.296013 | MEAC |
| 301 | Tennessee Tech | -5.342281 | OVC |
| 302 | Long Beach State | -5.346938 | BW |
| 303 | Ball State | -5.364748 | MAC |
| 304 | Pepperdine | -5.366441 | WCC |
| 305 | Eastern Illinois | -5.383130 | OVC |
| 306 | Southern Utah | -5.385530 | WAC |
| 307 | Western Michigan | -5.465053 | MAC |
| 308 | Texas Southern | -5.466593 | SWAC |
| 309 | Jackson State | -5.507421 | SWAC |
| 310 | Northwestern State | -5.510061 | SLC |
| 311 | North Carolina A&T | -5.537144 | CAA |
| 312 | Sacramento State | -5.566159 | BSKY |
| 313 | Stetson | -5.571311 | ASUN |
| 314 | Eastern Kentucky | -5.581950 | ASUN |
| 315 | North Carolina Central | -5.627380 | MEAC |
| 316 | Little Rock | -5.651902 | OVC |
| 317 | Louisiana | -5.664239 | SunB |
| 318 | Southeastern Louisiana | -5.703141 | SLC |
| 319 | Evansville | -5.709624 | MVC |
| 320 | Northern Illinois | -5.763253 | MAC |
| 321 | Delaware | -5.766741 | CUSA |
| 322 | Cleveland State | -5.798113 | HZN |
| 323 | Lafayette | -5.845488 | PAT |
| 324 | Brown | -5.869991 | IVY |
| 325 | Northern Arizona | -5.904284 | BSKY |
| 326 | Manhattan | -5.925628 | MAAC |
| 327 | Oral Roberts | -5.943585 | SUM |
| 328 | Alabama State | -5.946704 | SWAC |
| 329 | Loyola | -5.982554 | PAT |
| 330 | Bucknell | -5.988106 | PAT |
| 331 | Stonehill | -5.988613 | NEC |
| 332 | Fairleigh Dickinson | -6.015382 | NEC |
| 333 | Albany | -6.114936 | AmE |
| 334 | Georgia State | -6.136284 | SunB |
| 335 | Holy Cross | -6.166854 | PAT |
| 336 | Army West Point | -6.216530 | PAT |
| 337 | Bakersfield | -6.331896 | BW |
| 338 | Maryland-Eastern Shore | -6.341754 | MEAC |
| 339 | North Alabama | -6.369668 | ASUN |
| 340 | South Carolina State | -6.400095 | MEAC |
| 341 | New Hampshire | -6.409979 | AmE |
| 342 | Citadel | -6.421458 | SoCON |
| 343 | Northeastern | -6.433302 | CAA |
| 344 | Alcorn State | -6.463636 | SWAC |
| 345 | Canisius | -6.489145 | MAAC |
| 346 | North Florida | -6.527233 | ASUN |
| 347 | Chicago State | -6.610524 | NEC |
| 348 | Texas-San Antonio | -6.745382 | AAC |
| 349 | IUPUI | -6.752482 | HZN |
| 350 | Bryant | -6.753166 | AmE |
| 351 | Niagara | -6.820896 | MAAC |
| 352 | Air Force | -6.895399 | MWC |
| 353 | Delaware State | -7.137887 | MEAC |
| 354 | Maine | -7.150364 | CAA |
| 355 | St. Francis (PA) | -7.302857 | NEC |
| 356 | Southern Indiana | -7.357054 | OVC |
| 357 | Coppin State | -7.415335 | MEAC |
| 358 | Binghamton | -7.569676 | AmE |
| 359 | Rider | -7.589782 | MAAC |
| 360 | VMI | -7.665664 | SoCON |
| 361 | Kansas City | -7.760715 | WAC |
| 362 | Louisiana-Monroe | -7.993218 | SunB |
| 363 | Western Illinois | -8.000276 | OVC |
| 364 | Gardner-Webb | -8.419239 | BSo |
| 365 | Mississippi Valley | -8.724738 | SWAC |
JNG CALCULATION METHODOLOGY
The baseline for strength used to be the RPI. The Committee, rightfully or wrongfully, has now switched to the “NET” formula as the primary baseline to determine what a “good win” or a “bad loss” is. To determine this distinction the JNG feeds off a weighted matrix that incorporates the “quadrant” system, influenced by fellow HoopsHD contributor Kyle Lamb, and adopted by the Committee in 2018.
Other factors such as high level wins away from home, wins against “the field,” conference leaders, overall records, out of conference SOS, and “recency bias” are all components that comprise the ratings. The JNG is “advanced” as it recalculates until stabilized. This is a crucial trait as one of the key criteria, “wins against the ‘at large’ field,” is reliant on the rating system repeatedly recalculating upon itself until the exact number that fits an “at large” field that matches up with potential conference champion spots to create a cut line. As mentioned earlier, one can see this critical junction in the ratings listed below with a gap in the list, usually in a spot between 45th and 50th in the ratings. One can use this cut line to easily eyeball a “last 4 in” (above) and “first 4 out” (below) the gap. A similar gap exists on the chart below for the NIT and CBI cutoffs, typically around 85-95 and 105-115 respectively.
HISTORY:
2015: First year of the JNG and showed immediate promise. When nobody thought UCLA should even get close to a bid, the ratings revealed that they actually were in the thick of the discussion (further proof the ratings are meant to mimic the Committee, NOT evaluate merit in a manner that should be adopted).
2016: JNG claims the top spot among ratings. The big surprise by the committee was the inclusion of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane and, once again, the JNG called it.
2017: The JNG was perfect and the #1 most accurate rating with a score that rivaled the top human bracketologists. It got all 68 teams correct and 59 of 68 teams within 4 spots of the official seed list released by the Committee. The biggest surprise was not an inclusion but the seeding of Vanderbilt. Many did not even have the Commodores in the field, but the Committee gave them a 9 seed and 33rd overall mimicking the JNG’s 9 seed and 34th overall.
2018: Second only to the KPI among the published ratings with 66 of 68 teams and 60 teams within 4 spots of the official seed list. The JNG not only had the slumping Sooners in the field but nailed their 10 seed on the nose.
2019: JNG reclaimed its top spot. 66 of 68 and 59 within 4 of the seed list (58 within 3 and 52 within 2!). St. John’s was such a surprise, only 2 ratings had them even in the field. The JNG was one of them. Likewise, Arizona St was only in 6 computer fields, and the JNG was one of them. Temple was only in the field in 9 ratings, and the JNG once again caught the outlier. It gets even better considering that Ohio St was one of the 2 “misses” and barely missed the JNG field to UNC-Greensboro. The Committee said UNC-G was one of the first teams out and nobody else human or computer had UNC-G in or near the field.
2020: Most similar to top bracketologists. As we all know there was no NCAA Tournament in 2020 so there was no absolute measuring stick. As a general guide though, the JNG was compared to the top human baracketologists on bracketmatrix.com (of note, the JNG is one of only a dozen formulas accepted as an entrant on the bracketmatrix.com). The JNG was easily the closest to the mean.
2021: JNG still in the top spot. The JNG tied for the top spot with well-respected stat guru Bart Torvik’s T-Rank. While most bracketologists on the bracketmatrix.com missed the inclusion of Wichita St, the JNG nailed the selection and seed perfectly. The only miss was the JNG’s 2nd team out (Utah St).
2022: JNG makes giant leap in score. Not only did the JNG keep its spot as top of class among computer projections, but it also beat the majority of human bracketologists on bracketmatrix.com commanding an impressive 352 score. It was the only computer in the entire world to have Rutgers in its field. Only 40% of all professional human bracketologists had the Scarlet Knights but the JNG had them in.
2023: JNG on top with highest all time score. The JNG made it 7 out of 8 years as the top computer ratings guessing the Committee. The JNG’s improvement led to a score of 359. While most human bracketologists did a simple swap for Princeton’s upset of Yale in the Ivy, the JNG recognized that the Tigers were actually a 15 seed and the Committee agreed. Compared to other computer programs, the JNG did not punish the ACC at the expense of the MWC, correctly identifying the true traits the Committee sees in a resume, not just efficiency ratings, which can be gamed by preseason scheduling. As a result, the JNG did not miss a single seed out of the ACC and MWC participants.
2024: JNG gets highest overall position in its history. It is now 8 out of 9 years running for top computer metric. The seeding once again came in handy as the JNG was one of the only brackets to count UAB’s conference strength in their favor to get a 12. It also correctly did not overstate Sunday results and kept Auburn a 4 and Illinois a 3 despite nice conference tournament wins. This year the JNG surpassed the bracketologists from the ESPN, CBS, the Athletic, FOX, Sports Illustrated, SB Nation, the Sporting News, and USA Today.
2025: JNG highest spot ever! SIXTH in bracketmatrix. The JNG is now in rarified air with its highest score of 374 and ranking, climbing up the charts to a 6th place finish and only a mere 2 points off the top spot of all 250 recognized bracketologists. It was one of only 50 to have North Carolina in the field and also smartly did not put weight on the Big Ten Tournament results correctly placing Purdue as a 4 seed and Michigan as a 5.
We will try to update the ratings daily in the morning during the season so you can see the ebb and flow of where teams land.