Kentucky is our lone contender this week, though their SoS is still relatively weak at 75 per kenpom.com.
| Team | Conference | W-L | Off Efficiency | Def Efficiency | RPI |
| Kentucky | SEC | 24-1 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Syracuse is on the outside looking in yet still within striking range, while Baylor’s offense has fallen off the map since our last posting.
Our first look at the contenders this year gives us one team (with a caveat), Kentucky, that meets our criteria with two others on the cusp.
The caveat on Kentucky is because of the relative weakness of the SEC the Wildcats SoS is not where you would want it to be as a championship contender (historically). Kenpom.com has Kentucky’s SoS at 89.
| Team | Conference | W-L | Off Efficiency | Def Efficiency | RPI |
| Kentucky | SEC | 21-1 | 5 | 8 | 5 |
| Baylor | Big 12 | 19-2 | 7 | 30 | 3 |
| Syracuse | Big East | 22-1 | 8 | 10 | 1 |
Meanwhile, Baylor is just outside the top 5 on the offensive end and close to the top 25 on defense. Their SoS is ranked 42nd by Pomeroy, so while they are not technically a contender at this point, they are a contender to become a contender.
Syracuse is also on the outside looking in, because of their 8th ranked offense. However, the Orange meet every other criteria and certainly have the look of a contender.
As of this writing there are 64 teams left in the Big East Invitational. The question is who is going to the Final Four and who will win it all on April 4. The table below will answer some of your questions.
I’ll help you narrow it down and you can figure it out from there. Using our proprietary formula I’ve come up with the following candidates for the Final Four.
Final Four Contenders
| Team | Conference | W-L | Off Efficiency | Def Efficiency | RPI |
| Duke | ACC | 30-4 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Kansas | Big 12 | 32-2 | 4 | 12 | 1 |
| Kentucky | SEC | 25-8 | 7 | 22 | 7 |
| North Carolina | ACC | 26-7 | 37 | 7 | 6 |
| Ohio State | Big 10 | 32-2 | 1 | 10 | 2 |
| San Diego State | Mountain West | 32-2 | 24 | 4 | 3 |
West Virginia and Kansas State are borderline Final Four candidates, and Purdue has dismissed a player after these numbers were finalized. Can you eliminate them from this list? Probably, but we’re all about formulas here so they are included.
So, I’ve eliminated 51 teams off the top, leaving us 13 potential Final Four teams. That’s great and all, but who actually has a chance to actually win the championship? We adjust our formula a tad and put more emphasis on offensive efficiency.
| Team | Conference | W-L | Off Efficiency | Def Efficiency | RPI |
| Duke | ACC | 30-4 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Kansas | Big 12 | 32-2 | 4 | 12 | 1 |
| Ohio State | Big 10 | 32-2 | 1 | 10 | 2 |
Where is Pitt? Right on the cusp, but again, we’re all about formulas and this one leaves Pitt just shy of the OE for a national champion. That’s not to say Pitt couldn’t move up with a good first weekend, but as of this writing they aren’t quite there.
So we’ve narrowed it to 3 teams (with Pitt having a chance to be included next week). Mark it down. A #1 seed will win this year’s tournament.
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