Joby’s Nitty Gritty Rankings (JNG)

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 364 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.  Similarly the NIT and the newly created CBC tournament field break can be seen between 100th and 120th. 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.

Latest JNG Seed List March 16, 2025

SEEDTEAMConference
 
1AuburnSEC
1HoustonBXII
1DukeACC
1FloridaSEC
2AlabamaSEC
2Michigan StateBIG
2TennesseeSEC
2St. John’sBE
3Texas A&MSEC
3Texas TechBXII
3KentuckySEC
3Iowa StateBXII
4WisconsinBIG
4PurdueBIG
4ArizonaBXII
4MarylandBIG
5BYUBXII
5ClemsonACC
5OregonBIG
5MichiganBIG
6Ole MissSEC
6IllinoisBIG
6LouisvilleACC
6UCLABIG
7MissouriSEC
7St. Mary’sWCC
7KansasBXII
7MarquetteBE
8MemphisAAC
8GonzagaWCC
8ConnecticutBE
8Mississippi StateSEC
9CreightonBE
9New MexicoMWC
9BaylorBXII
9GeorgiaSEC
10Utah StateMWC
10OklahomaSEC
10ArkansasSEC
10West VirginiaBXII
11VanderbiltSEC
11IndianaBIG
11North CarolinaACC
11San Diego StateMWC
11DrakeMVC
11VCUA10
12UC-San DiegoBW
12Colorado StateMWC
12LibertyCUSA
12McNeeseSLC
13AkronMAC
13YaleIVY
13High PointBSo
13Grand CanyonWAC
14LipscombASUN
14TroySunB
14UNC-WilmingtonCAA
14MontanaBSKY
15Robert MorrisHZN
15OmahaSUM
15WoffordSoCON
15BryantAmE
16Norfolk StateMEAC
16AmericanPAT
16SIU-EdwardsvilleOVC
16Mount St. Mary’sMAAC
16Alabama StateSWAC
16St. Francis (PA)NEC

JNG Ratings last updated Sunday March 16 at 5:50pm

RANKFinal RatingConf+/-Ystdy
1Auburn12.320820SEC1
2Houston10.892362BXII2
3Duke10.299942ACC3
4Florida10.115917SEC4
5Alabama10.095050SEC5
6Michigan State9.705191BIG6
7Tennessee9.658073SEC7
8St. John’s8.355292BE8
9Texas A&M7.905081SEC9
10Texas Tech7.778479BXII10
11Kentucky7.717337SEC11
12Iowa State7.693686BXII12
13Wisconsin7.227290BIG13
14Purdue7.128659BIG14
15Arizona6.882097BXII15
16Maryland6.678854BIG16
17BYU6.646309BXII17
18Clemson6.590003ACC18
19Oregon6.539333BIG19
20Michigan6.219356BIG20
21Ole Miss6.215624SEC21
22Illinois6.109689BIG22
23Louisville5.931105ACC23
24UCLA5.785897BIG24
25Missouri5.656972SEC25
26St. Mary’s5.620428WCC26
27Kansas5.593574BXII27
28Marquette5.192315BE28
29Memphis5.109104AAC29
30Gonzaga4.979579WCC131
31Connecticut4.878874BE-130
32Mississippi State4.521951SEC32
33Creighton4.434943BE33
34New Mexico4.231163MWC34
35Baylor4.033135BXII35
36Georgia3.943476SEC36
37Utah State3.917183MWC37
38Oklahoma3.732318SEC38
39Arkansas3.675357SEC39
40West Virginia3.428187BXII40
41Drake3.238006MVC41
42Vanderbilt3.213614SEC42
43Indiana3.207424BIG43
44North Carolina3.204603ACC44
45San Diego State3.190627MWC45
46Xavier2.972618BE46
47Boise State2.928518MWC47
48VCU2.813678A10149
49UC-San Diego2.803913BW-148
50Texas2.623851SEC50
51Colorado State2.486968MWC51
52Wake Forest2.413612ACC52
53San Francisco2.296779WCC53
54Dayton2.261114A1054
55Ohio State2.247821BIG55
56Villanova2.034567BE56
57Nebraska1.933126BIG57
58Cincinnati1.846909BXII58
59UC-Irvine1.815806BW59
60Santa Clara1.799867WCC60
61Stanford1.671877ACC61
62SMU1.430087ACC62
63Liberty1.326070CUSA164
64McNeese1.314689SLC-163
65George Mason1.314349A1065
66Oregon State1.223889WCC66
67St. Joseph’s1.145335A1067
68Bradley1.122578MVC68
69Iowa1.101772BIG69
70North Texas1.099202AAC70
71UCF1.055724BXII71
72Northwestern0.896520BIG72
73TCU0.878138BXII73
74Pittsburgh0.790404ACC74
75Kansas State0.714969BXII75
76UNLV0.693806MWC76
77Arkansas State0.570086SunB77
78Utah0.458635BXII78
79Akron0.443402MAC79
80Rutgers0.409697BIG80
81Yale0.399648IVY81
82Penn State0.387987BIG82
83St. Bonaventure0.386601A1083
84UC-Riverside0.368223BW84
85USC0.300319BIG85
86Georgetown0.226371BE187
87High Point0.220006BSo188
88Georgia Tech0.156857ACC189
89Grand Canyon0.149767WAC291
90Washington State0.127153WCC90
91Lipscomb0.095948ASUN-586
92Arizona State-0.025802BXII92
93Chattanooga-0.096094SoCON93
94Middle Tennessee-0.101294CUSA94
95Colorado-0.139524BXII95
96Troy-0.143730SunB96
97Saint Louis-0.191318A1097
98Utah Valley-0.207626WAC98
99Northern Colorado-0.306762BSKY99
100Minnesota-0.322675BIG100
101UNC-Wilmington-0.333931CAA101
102Montana-0.349283BSKY102
103Northern Iowa-0.354204MVC103
104Loyola-Chicago-0.357987A10104
105Samford-0.377061SoCON105
106Florida State-0.387578ACC106
107Furman-0.436448SoCON107
108LSU-0.466676SEC108
109Washington-0.479884BIG109
110Cal State-Northridge-0.481201BW110
111Butler-0.521497BE111
112North Alabama-0.526693ASUN112
113St. Thomas-0.540299SUM113
114Oklahoma State-0.581759BXII114
115Robert Morris-0.585064HZN115
116Kent State-0.604844MAC116
117Miami-Ohio-0.612581MAC117
118UAB-0.626993AAC8126
119Nevada-0.662032MWC-1118
120Jacksonville State-0.707045CUSA-1119
121Belmont-0.747980MVC-1120
122Wichita State-0.761561AAC-1121
123Florida Atlantic-0.774237AAC123
124College of Charleston-0.774307CAA-2122
125George Washington-0.816734A10-1124
126South Dakota State-0.821029SUM-1125
127South Alabama-0.843014SunB127
128Towson-0.854067CAA128
129Omaha-0.875140SUM129
130Virginia-0.942617ACC130
131South Carolina-0.954111SEC131
132Wofford-0.977710SoCON132
133Winthrop-1.005355BSo133
134Bryant-1.046339AmE8142
135North Dakota State-1.055469SUM-1134
136Norfolk State-1.055779MEAC3139
137Central Connecticut-1.063472NEC-2135
138Louisiana Tech-1.087912CUSA-2136
139Milwaukee-1.096499HZN-2137
140New Mexico State-1.106171CUSA-2138
141UNC-Greensboro-1.119498SoCON-1140
142Kennesaw State-1.123735CUSA-1141
143Radford-1.130857BSo143
144James Madison-1.141346SunB144
145Illinois-Chicago-1.163032MVC145
146Princeton-1.267340IVY146
147Lamar-1.282212SLC147
148UC-Santa Barbara-1.318295BW148
149Nicholls State-1.355949SLC149
150Loyola Marymount-1.368406WCC150
151UNC-Asheville-1.377078BSo151
152Cleveland State-1.380985HZN152
153Texas A&M-CC-1.426597SLC153
154Jacksonville-1.457226ASUN154
155Cornell-1.482157IVY155
156Illinois State-1.493143MVC156
157Fort Wayne-1.532492HZN157
158Rhode Island-1.565239A10158
159Southern-1.570883SWAC159
160Providence-1.574417BE160
161UTEP-1.594545CUSA161
162Quinnipiac-1.642716MAAC162
163Southeast Missouri State-1.668811OVC163
164Tulane-1.678805AAC164
165Temple-1.681258AAC165
166Marshall-1.706577SunB166
167American-1.711801PAT167
168Western Kentucky-1.722385CUSA168
169East Carolina-1.734050AAC169
170SIU Edwardsville-1.751249OVC170
171Queens-1.762766ASUN171
172Eastern Kentucky-1.789922ASUN172
173Notre Dame-1.824361ACC173
174East Tennessee State-1.826724SoCON174
175Florida Gulf Coast-1.838206ASUN175
176Merrimack-1.848425MAAC176
177DePaul-1.859419BE177
178Youngstown State-1.886073HZN178
179California Baptist-1.903459WAC179
180Vermont-1.933567AmE180
181Toledo-2.022196MAC181
182Appalachian State-2.034624SunB182
183Davidson-2.092563A10183
184South Carolina State-2.093456MEAC184
185Mount St. Mary’s-2.100170MAAC185
186Syracuse-2.117235ACC186
187Maine-2.134795CAA187
188South Dakota-2.159254SUM188
189California-2.232540ACC189
190Longwood-2.277846BSo190
191Portland State-2.287648BSKY191
192Southeastern Louisiana-2.309987SLC192
193Murray State-2.337492MVC193
194Little Rock-2.392663OVC194
195Bucknell-2.422831PAT195
196Marist-2.454392MAAC196
197San Jose State-2.525964MWC197
198Elon-2.684017CAA198
199Virginia Tech-2.743679ACC199
200Alabama State-2.745755SWAC200
201Manhattan-2.778222MAAC201
202Drexel-2.786126CAA202
203North Carolina State-2.796558ACC203
204Bethune-Cookman-2.847558SWAC204
205William & Mary-2.862398CAA205
206Brown-2.876246IVY206
207Seattle-2.923696WAC207
209Northeastern-2.986948CAA209
210Northern Kentucky-3.057135HZN210
211Massachusetts-Lowell-3.087305AmE211
212Duquesne-3.091878A10212
213Cal Poly-3.101761BW213
214Hampton-3.110386CAA214
215Northwestern State-3.114018SLC215
216Texas-Rio Grande Valley-3.131085SLC216
217Northern Arizona-3.191391BSKY217
218Georgia Southern-3.283288SunB218
219Dartmouth-3.289061IVY219
220Oakland-3.313298HZN220
221Ohio-3.328656MAC221
222Idaho State-3.346332BSKY222
223Seton Hall-3.357993BE223
224Texas State-3.367483SunB224
225Wyoming-3.379023MWC225
208Boston College-2.937205ACC208
226Incarnate Word-3.467360SLC226
227Abilene Christian-3.481117WAC227
228La Salle-3.574675A10228
229Sam Houston State-3.583736CUSA229
230Delaware State-3.609525MEAC230
231Hawai’i-3.617384BW231
232Pepperdine-3.697041WCC232
233Jackson State-3.714596SWAC233
234Tennessee State-3.733140OVC234
235Central Michigan-3.733919MAC235
236UC-Davis-3.739455BW236
237Valparaiso-3.760149MVC237
238Southern Illinois-3.778912MVC238
239South Florida-3.802629AAC239
240Long Island-3.868159NEC240
241Indiana State-3.909354MVC241
242Texas-San Antonio-3.929099AAC242
243Albany-3.945208AmE243
244Montana State-4.013022BSKY244
245Army West Point-4.042074PAT245
246North Florida-4.069138ASUN246
247Campbell-4.158529CAA247
248Eastern Michigan-4.219542MAC248
249Iona-4.253431MAAC249
250Massachusetts-4.255502A10250
251Wright State-4.257200HZN251
252Texas Southern-4.277745SWAC252
253Hofstra-4.291049CAA253
254St. Francis (PA)-4.306123NEC254
255Texas-Arlington-4.374901WAC255
256Stephen F. Austin-4.385153WAC256
257Fordham-4.388151A10257
258Georgia State-4.394636SunB258
259Florida A&M-4.438457SWAC259
260Harvard-4.444691IVY260
261Bakersfield-4.468640BW261
262Delaware-4.486718CAA262
263Rice-4.522022AAC263
264Portland-4.570824WCC264
265Austin Peay-4.574191ASUN265
266Boston University-4.574857PAT266
267Tennessee Tech-4.653936OVC267
268Lindenwood-4.679090OVC268
269Columbia-4.681120IVY269
270Idaho-4.693397BSKY270
271Miami-4.700767ACC271
272Presbyterian-4.722311BSo272
273Monmouth-4.768771CAA273
274Colgate-4.768958PAT274
275Evansville-4.771740MVC275
276Kansas City-4.787984WAC276
277Sacred Heart-4.803424MAAC277
278Tulsa-4.890670AAC278
279Morehead State-4.892732OVC279
280VMI-4.912254SoCON280
281Siena-4.926185MAAC281
282Ball State-4.937821MAC282
283Western Michigan-4.952342MAC283
284Old Dominion-4.965942SunB284
285Richmond-4.973286A10285
286Houston Baptist-4.986522SLC286
287Gardner-Webb-5.005101BSo287
288Mercer-5.034290SoCON288
289Stonehill-5.034793NEC289
290Tarleton-5.085430WAC290
291Bowling Green-5.086181MAC291
292Rider-5.108052MAAC292
293North Dakota-5.117413SUM293
294Wagner-5.165783NEC294
295Tennessee-Martin-5.180095OVC295
296Binghamton-5.223415AmE296
297Pacific-5.236466WCC297
298Southern Utah-5.243249WAC298
299North Carolina Central-5.255148MEAC299
300Navy-5.293631PAT300
301Louisiana-5.306881SunB301
302Charlotte-5.311957AAC302
303St. Peter’s-5.370709MAAC303
304Lehigh-5.394146PAT304
305Mercyhurst-5.395789NEC305
306Morgan State-5.396482MEAC306
307Holy Cross-5.405175PAT307
308UMBC-5.414141AmE308
309Pennsylvania-5.426858IVY309
310Fairleigh Dickinson-5.480505NEC310
311Weber State-5.543201BSKY311
312Alcorn State-5.556959SWAC312
313Fresno State-5.560373MWC313
314Lafayette-5.564316PAT314
315Charleston Southern-5.577776BSo315
316Grambling-5.582357SWAC316
317Missouri State-5.602592MVC317
318Eastern Illinois-5.608497OVC318
319Denver-5.677064SUM319
320Howard-5.697879MEAC320
321Eastern Washington-5.727750BSKY321
322Northern Illinois-5.739079MAC322
323Loyola-5.776946PAT323
324Niagara-5.829916MAAC324
325Southern Miss-5.848434SunB325
326Fairfield-5.879004MAAC326
327Florida International-5.996901CUSA327
328IUPUI-6.054783HZN328
329Western Illinois-6.153165OVC329
330Buffalo-6.165872MAC330
331Western Carolina-6.177648SoCON331
332Long Beach State-6.255543BW332
333Central Arkansas-6.263277ASUN333
334Coastal Carolina-6.452083SunB334
335Cal State-Fullerton-6.473562BW335
336San Diego-6.493450WCC336
337Detroit Mercy-6.499603HZN337
338Utah Tech-6.633950WAC338
339Stetson-6.642746ASUN339
340Stony Brook-6.666418CAA340
341Oral Roberts-6.708303SUM341
342Le Moyne-6.723996NEC342
343North Carolina A&T-6.755008CAA343
344Air Force-6.760445MWC344
345Southern Indiana-6.771501OVC345
346New Orleans-6.905308SLC346
347West Georgia-6.986206ASUN347
348USC-Upstate-7.019928BSo348
349East Texas A&M-7.031174SLC349
350New Hampshire-7.069181AmE350
351Coppin State-7.100746MEAC351
352Alabama A&M-7.131328SWAC352
353Sacramento State-7.178867BSKY353
354Louisiana-Monroe-7.194628SunB354
355Arkansas-Pine Bluff-7.267536SWAC355
356Chicago State-7.460676NEC356
357Bellarmine-7.548093ASUN357
358Green Bay-7.619772HZN358
359Maryland-Eastern Shore-7.689012MEAC359
360NJIT-7.744968WAC360
361Canisius-7.874174MAAC361
362Prairie View-7.932096SWAC362
363Mississippi Valley-8.208863SWAC363
364Citadel-8.591702SoCON364

JNG Once Again at the TOP in 2023!

Accuracy of guessing the Committee (among the dozen final published rating systems on the bracketmatrix.com, 59 published on www.Massey.com on March 17, 2023 or used by the section committee itself, i.e. the KPI and RPI)

TOP TEN

1. JNG – 349 – 67 of 68 teams correct, 43 correct seed, 19 within a seed. (missed Virginia)

2.  Bracket Madness – 346– 67 of 68, 42 seeds correct, 19 w/n a seed (missed Virginia)

3. Bart Torvik T-Rank – 344 –66 of 68, 43 seeds correct, 17 w/n a seed (missed Florida Atlantic & Virginia)

4. HaslamMetrics 339 – 66 of 68 teams correct, 41 seed correct, 18 w/n a seed (missed Texas A&M and Virginia)

5. Benz 336 – 67 of 68, 37 seed correct, 24 w/n a seed (missed Virginia)

6. Logan – 334 – 66 of 68, 41 seeds correct, 13 w/n a seed (missed Michigan State & Virginia)

7. Crashing the Dance – 332 – 66 of 68, 38 seeds correct, 20 w/n a seed (missed Michigan State & Virginia)

8. Crotistics – 327 – 66 of 68, 36 seeds correct, 21 w/n a seed (missed Northwestern & Virginia)

9. INCC – 323 – 66 of 68, 34 seeds correct 23 w/n a seed (missed Florida Atlantic & Virginia)

10. Wilson – 313 – 66 of 68, 31 seeds correct, 22 w/n a seed (missed Michigan State & Texas A&M)

Other Ratings of Note (either well-known or bracketmatrix submissions)

12. AMSTS – 306 – 66 of 68, 29 seeds correct, 21 w/n a seed (missed Michigan State & Texas A&M)

13(tie). Brian Wilson – 305 – 65 of 68, 29 seeds correct, 23 w/n a seed (missed TCU, Texas A&M & Virginia)

15. ESPN SOR – 304 – 65 of 68, 31 seeds correct, 16 w/n a seed (missed South Carolina, Washington State, Utah State, Northwestern, Texas A&M & Virginia)

16. Massey – 303 – 64 of 68, 29 seeds correct, 24 w/n a seed (missed South Carolina, Washington State, Utah State, Northwestern, Texas A&M & Virginia)

22(tie). KPI – 297 – 65 of 68, 28 seeds correct, 18 w/n a seed (missed South Carolina, Washington State, Utah State, Northwestern, Texas A&M & Virginia)

25(tie). KenPom – 295 – 62 of 68, 30 seeds correct, 19 w/n a seed (missed South Carolina, Washington State, Utah State, Northwestern, Texas A&M & Virginia)

30. Donchess Inference (DRatings) – 291 – Uses formula as a baseline for human ipicks that calculated 346 on backetmatrix. Strict mathematical formula had 63 of 68, 28 seeds correct 18 w/n 1 seed (missed Utah St, Washington St, Nevada, Boise St, Virginia)

33(tie). NCAA NET – 287 – 63 of 68, 24 seeds correct, 26 w/n a seed (missed Washington State, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Northwestern, & Virginia)

37. PPI – 281 – 66 of 68, 21 seeds correct, 20 w/n a seed (missed Northwestern & Michigan State)

39(tie). Team Rankings – 279 – 65 of 68, 18 seeds correct, 30 w/n a seed (missed Northwestern, Colorado, & Virginia)

46. RTS – 269 – 62 of 68, 24 seeds correct, 11 w/n a seed (missed South Carolina, Washington State, Utah State, Northwestern, Texas A&M & Virginia)

50(tie). BPI – 263 – 61 of 68, 32 seeds correct, 16 w/n a seed (missed Colorado, Boise State, Nevada, Virginia, South Carolina, Colorado State, & Utah State)

54. Real Time RPI  – 257 – 62 of 68, 21 seeds correct, 8 w/n a seed (missed Michigan State, Northwestern, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU & Virginia)

AP Poll Top 25 – 12 teams exact seed, 10 within 1

Coaches Poll Top 25 – 10 teams exact seed, 13 within 1

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.

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.