NCAA Tournament Selection: Inside the Committee's Process

The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee is providing insights into its process as Selection Sunday approaches. On Saturday, CBS will broadcast the NCAA Tournament Bracket Preview at 12:30 PM ET, revealing the Top 16 seeds as if the tournament were to begin that day.

Mock Selection Exercise Unveils Committee Workings

On Thursday, the NCAA hosted a mock selection event for media members in Indianapolis. This exercise aimed to illustrate the processes the Selection Committee employs to create the tournament bracket.

During the mock selection, participants were tasked with deciding if Miami (Oh) should receive an at-large bid if they lost in the MAC Tournament Title Game; the Redhawks made the cut.

Media members also voted on bubble teams and seeded top teams. A mock bracket was produced, which showed Kentucky as a No. 6 seed playing against Tulsa in Oklahoma City. This mock committee determined the Top 20 teams, with seeds 21-68 being auto-filled by the NCAA.

Kentucky's current standing, according to Bracket Matrix, places them as the final No. 6 seed, indicating ongoing work is needed for the team to secure this position on Selection Sunday.

Key Metric: Wins Above Bubble (WAB)

The Selection Committee utilizes various tools, including a metric introduced last year called "Wins Above Bubble" (WAB).

This tool measures a team's accomplishments against its schedule compared to what an average bubble team would achieve against the same schedule, unaffected by victory margin. NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt highlighted the importance of WAB during the process.

Kentucky ranks No. 26 in WAB with a 3.03 rating.