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For the second year in a row, the Ohio State Buckeyes men’s basketball team has claimed the top spot in the NCAA’s initial release of their NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings. Despite the fact that the Buckeyes dropped a demoralizing 84-71 decision on the road at Minnesota on Sunday night, on the strength of going 2-1 against Quad 1 teams (Teams 1-30 at home, teams 1-50 on neutral sites, and teams 1-75 away).
The NET rankings replaced the use of RPI in the NCAA selection committee’s proceedings last season. The other Big Ten teams in the NET Top 25 currently are No. 11 Maryland, No. 18 Penn State, and No. 21 Michigan. Minnesota — who beat the Buckeyes on Sunday — are currently 48th. Despite the loss, Ken Pomeroy’s metrics still have the Buckeyes as the top team in the country as well, so this year’s inclusion of the Buckeyes at No. 1 is not as out of left field as it was in 2018.
View the full NCAA DI NET rankings HERE.
NCAA NET Top 25 | Dec. 16
| Rank | School | Conference | Record | Road | Neutral | Home | Non Div I |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | School | Conference | Record | Road | Neutral | Home | Non Div I |
| 1 | Ohio St. | Big Ten | 9-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 8-0 | 0-0 |
| 2 | Kansas | Big 12 | 9-1 | 0-0 | 3-1 | 6-0 | 1-0 |
| 3 | San Diego St. | Mountain West | 10-0 | 3-0 | 2-0 | 5-0 | 0-0 |
| 4 | Butler | Big East | 10-1 | 1-1 | 2-0 | 7-0 | 0-0 |
| 5 | Baylor | Big 12 | 8-1 | 1-0 | 2-1 | 5-0 | 0-0 |
| 6 | Gonzaga | WCC | 11-1 | 3-0 | 2-1 | 6-0 | 0-0 |
| 7 | Auburn | SEC | 9-0 | 1-0 | 4-0 | 4-0 | 0-0 |
| 8 | Louisville | ACC | 10-1 | 1-0 | 1-1 | 8-0 | 0-0 |
| 9 | Stanford | Pac-12 | 9-1 | 1-0 | 1-1 | 7-0 | 0-0 |
| 10 | Dayton | Atlantic 10 | 8-1 | 0-0 | 3-1 | 5-0 | 0-0 |
| 11 | Maryland | Big Ten | 10-1 | 0-1 | 3-0 | 7-0 | 0-0 |
| 12 | West Virginia | Big 12 | 9-1 | 1-1 | 2-0 | 6-0 | 0-0 |
| 13 | Duke | ACC | 9-1 | 2-0 | 3-0 | 4-1 | 0-0 |
| 14 | Wichita St. | AAC | 9-1 | 1-0 | 1-1 | 7-0 | 0-0 |
| 15 | Arizona | Pac-12 | 10-2 | 0-1 | 3-0 | 7-1 | 0-0 |
| 16 | Memphis | AAC | 9-1 | 2-0 | 1-1 | 6-0 | 0-0 |
| 17 | Oregon | Pac-12 | 8-2 | 1-0 | 2-2 | 5-0 | 0-0 |
| 18 | Penn St. | Big Ten | 9-2 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 7-0 | 0-0 |
| 19 | Liberty | ASUN | 12-0 | 2-0 | 4-0 | 6-0 | 0-0 |
| 20 | Duquesne | Atlantic 10 | 9-0 | 0-0 | 4-0 | 5-0 | 0-0 |
| 21 | Michigan | Big Ten | 8-3 | 0-2 | 3-0 | 5-1 | 0-0 |
| 22 | Richmond | Atlantic 10 | 9-1 | 1-0 | 1-1 | 7-0 | 0-0 |
| 23 | Arkansas | SEC | 9-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 8-0 | 0-0 |
| 24 | Villanova | Big East | 8-2 | 1-1 | 3-1 | 4-0 | 0-0 |
| 25 | Tennessee | SEC | 7-2 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 5-1 | 0-0 |
Let’s hope that the season ends up being a little better than it was when the Buckeyes opened the NET rankings at No. 1 last year.
The Buckeyes will be back on the court on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. ET against Southeast Missouri State. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.