How to Understand Strength of Schedule for College Basketball Teams

Every year at the end of the college basketball regular season, teams are chosen and qualify for the NCAA basketball tournament. During discussion of which teams are in and which teams are out the words strength of schedule will invariably be used. Strength of schedule measures how good a team's opponents are throughout the season and is increased each time the team's opponent looses. Though, often discussed strength of schedule is rarely explained.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Understand that the strength of schedule is a relative comparison for teams that do not play each other during the regular season. When ranking teams it is important to have a point of comparison and the strength of schedule is often that comparison point.

2. Know that each team at the beginning of the season is ranked according to various factors before they have ever played a game. Those factors include, but are not limited to, team won-loss history, returning starters, and newly signed impact recruits.

3. Comprehend that the strength of schedule is fluid and will change throughout the season. The strength of schedule rating depends on the record of the teams a college basketball team plays and the teams' record against the team that they played. This is in addition to the overall record of the team itself.

4. Realize that the strength of schedule is but one measure used to rate college basketball teams. There are other rating devices such as polls and indexes that rate college basketball teams.

5. Discern that the strength of schedule can be very deceptive. Often a team that plays nothing but average teams has a much better strength of schedule rating than a team that plays a mix of really highly rated teams and teams that are ranked very low. In addition, if a team is very good it is hard for them to play teams that are rated in the middle of the pack.

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