PSU was definitely outlier given Ace Baldwin is still in a gym shooting free throws on fouls called from that game in December. Michigan is still closer to UCLA in "toss-up" as Leach staying in game doesn't guarantee victory, and that Michigan has shown to be nails in 5 points or less decided games, West Virginia also won games after their best player got injured, yet that was cited as a key reason they were lesser prioritized.
Agree that it's unusual for a team to get 14 out of 16 bids - but looking at those 6 sub.500 conference SEC teams (school, seed, conf record, kenpom ranking, net rating):
- Mississippi State (8), 8-10, kp32, +20.10
- Georgia (9), 8-10, kp34, +19.39
- Arkansas (10), 8-10, kp40, +17.71
- Vanderbilt (10), 8-10, kp49, +16.16
- Oklahoma (9), 6-12, kp38, +18.36
- Texas (11), 6-12, kp44, +17.15 - has to play in Dayton v. Xavier.
For perspective:
- Indiana, 10-10, kp48, +16.18
- OSU, 9-11, kp39, +18.29
- Rutgers, 8-12, kp75, +10.74
- Northwestern, 7-13, kp45, +16.42
and then when you compare the cellars of both leagues:
SEC's worst two kenpom teams were:
- South Carolina: 2-16, kp69, +11.48
- LSU: 3-15, kp88, +8.65
B1G's worst two kenpom teams were:
- Minnesota, 7-13, kp90, +8.44
- Washington, 4-16, kp109, +5.03
There's a path to seeing how those six SEC got the nods.