The Ohio State Buckeyes fell from No. 1 to No. 2 in the most recent NET rankings. However, like I said about last week’s rankings, they should still be entirely ignored.
The NCAA makes a big mistake in trying to release these rankings so early. They want fans to know the process and understand what’s going on, but all this does is add frustration and confusion.
The NET rankings are entirely based off the results of games played. The problem is, with a formula meant to rank wins and establish resumes after about 30 games, the numbers after just 12 games are meaningless. They’re volatile and will swing wildly.
For example, right now the NET rankings have Kentucky at No. 74 and North Carolina at No. 89. North Carolina might end up with a relatively low ranking due to struggles without Cole Anthony, but Kentucky is clearly suffering from a small sample size here. And, of course, both those teams played Ohio State.
Those are merely two examples out of dozens of problems with the NET right now. So the rankings might currently have San Diego State ahead of Ohio State. That’s fine. The rankings are meaningless. Ohio State being No. 2 is meaningless–it doesn’t mean that the Buckeyes actually have a worse resume than San Diego State. And, if course, it doesn’t mean that the Buckeyes actually have a better resume than dozens of other teams.
It's not that the NET rankings are bad (they'll be fine by the end of the season), but that this is precisely why better and more established computer rankings start with a preseason component that they slowly phase out through late-January or so.
— Jeff (BPredict) (@BPredict) December 23, 2019