Houston still atop web rankings to start season

Jeff Borzello, ESPN Staff WriterDec 4, 2023, 10:18 AM ET

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• Basketball recruiting expert.
• Joined ESPN in 2014.
• Graduate of University of Delaware.The NCAA’s preliminary web rankings

were released Monday early morning, with the Houston Cougars– who completed the 2022-23 routine season atop the NET rankings– when again blazing a trail at No. 1. Fellow Big 12 member BYU sits at No. 2,

while Arizona, Creighton and Purdue round out the top 5. The leading 10 is not without surprises, as Colorado State and Princeton are Nos. 7 and 8, respectively. The Rams improved to 8-0 over the weekend, a record that consists of a 69-48 win over Creighton and four wins far from home. Princeton is likewise 8-0 with 5 true road wins.Other notable rankings include ruling nationwide champ UConn at No. 9, Kansas at

No. 16, North Carolina at No. 32, Duke at No. 37 and Kentucky at No. 45. In Addition To Colorado State and Princeton, other teams from outside the power conferences ranked in the top 30 consist of Florida Atlantic( No. 11 ), Nevada(No. 21), Indiana State(No. 22), San Diego State (No. 24)and McNeese (No. 30). The Web– NCAA Evaluation Tool– was presented prior to the 2018-19 season, replacing the RPI as the main sorting tool for the NCAA competition selection committee. The formula, which stays a mystery to the general public, was adjusted in 2020, eliminating winning portion, changed winning portion and scoring margin.Team Worth Index(TVI) and changed net effectiveness are the two staying parts in the internet rankings.

TVI is a results-based metric, while adjusted performance is net points per 100 belongings, changed for opponent and location.The web rankings are then used to arrange wins and losses into four quadrants.The web rankings are upgraded daily on the NCAA’s site.