#5QuestionFriday: NET, fabric softener, and more

There are few things that hold greater value in the American workplace than the three day weekend. Or - if you’re smart like me and took a PTO day on Friday - you’re already enjoying the luxury of a four day weekend. It’s chess, not checkers folks.

Anyways, the offseason is damn near over. That is extremely good news.

Since it’s been awhile, let’s answer some questions from our loyal followers.

I use detergent that apparently has fabric softener in it. I don’t know how it works. I’m a simpleton that is easily persuaded by buzz words and intriguing labels. I buy beer and wine based on the design of the can or bottle. I am a marketer’s dream.

But a separate fabric softener? Count me out. The only additional substances I add to my laundry are those scented bead things. They’re probably a scam too. Whatever. It’s laundry.

In short, no. If you’ll remember back to last season, it was publicized that the NCAA was working with advanced statisticians such as Ken Pomeroy to develop a metric to replace the RPI. A replacement for the RPI has been long overdue, and it’s unlikely that the new scheduling format of a few conferences was the main catalyst for the change.

I had to Google who this was, so uh, probably not! But let’s take this opportunity to name some possible preseason Wooden Award candidates: Mike Daum, Jon Elmore, Caleb Martin, maybe someone like Kellan Grady.

It’ll end up going to some guy from Duke because awards are dumb.

It’s so hard to predict how the NET is going to affect mid-major schools for two reasons:

1. The NCAA will not make the formula public information, as it is proprietary. We will only get the output of the data. It’s hard to make any assumptions without knowing the weights of each input.
2. There will not be any historical data that shows what the field would have looked like had the NET been used in prior years.

It’s all kind of a guessing game at this point. It should in theory help schools that perform well in the scoring margin and efficiency metrics, but it’s going to take a few years before any real assertions can be made about whether it hurts or helps mid-majors.

For your William & Mary question, the answer is yes. Marshall and Old Dominion are both capable of winning those games. That Marshall game should be extremely fun and feature a lot of points.

Always a fun what if!

If you’ll recall, BYU lost in overtime the 2011 Sweet 16 to 2 seed Florida. Jimmer was the only Cougar in double figures with 32. Davies was a double digit scorer throughout the year, and his scoring presence inside would have been helpful down the stretch. In that Sweet 16 game, Florida big man Alex Tyus had 19 points and 17 boards. Florida would go on to lose to Butler by just three in the following round.

So yeah, if Brandon Davies didn’t get suspended, BYU probably has a pretty good shot at the Final Four.