NCAAB live standings and team rankings

NCAA basketball Division I teams are ranked by their win-loss record in the standings of their respective conference during an NCAA season. These standings are easy to read, once you understand what the symbols and numbers mean.

College basketball standings are useful because they provide a lot of information at a glance, namely how a team has performed during the course of a season. They also highlight specific metrics, such as their results against other teams in their conference or at home or on the road. The following categories are typically included in NCAAB standings:

• W: The number of matches a team has won.

• L: The number of matches a team has lost.

• PCT: A team's win percentage.

• GB: The number of games fewer the team have won to the conference leader.

• CONF: A team’s record against the other teams in their conference.

• HOME: A team’s record in their matches at their home arena.

• AWAY: A team’s record in matches on the road.

• STRK: The current number of consecutive wins or losses a team has. For instance, W4 means that a team has won its last four games, while L5 means that a team has lost its last five games.

The NCAA approved the present three-division system of Division I, Division II, and Division III in 1973. Larger colleges compete in Division I, while smaller schools compete in Divisions II and III.

Division I and Division II institutions are permitted under NCAA rules to grant scholarships to players in exchange for participation in a sport. Athletic scholarships are not available at Division III schools.

In men's basketball, there are 358 schools that are full Division I members. These are split into 32 conferences of 10 to 15 teams each based on their location. The six major conferences among the 32 are the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, and SEC.

The 32 teams that win their conference in the NCAA basketball regular season are rewarded with an automatic spot in that year’s March Madness tournament. Teams that do not win their conference can still qualify, if they are one of the 36 ‘at-large’ teams chosen by the NCAA selection committee.

The new NCAA committee ranks college basketball teams based on two metrics: opponent strength and geography over all games played. Any given efficiency number (net points per 100 possessions) against a stronger opponent ranks higher than the same efficiency against a weaker opponent. At the same time, a specific efficiency on the road ranks higher than an efficiency at home.

The strength of a team’s schedule is determined by grading each game on how difficult it would be for an NCAAB tournament-caliber team to win. The strength of the opponents and the location of each game are taken into account when assigning a difficulty score to each game.

Outside of the league itself, many publications and websites also publish power rankings for college basketball teams, which ranks them according to their recent form. This can give you quick insight into which teams are performing well and who may be in contention to win their conference.