Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell Claims the Big 12 Conference Manipulates NET Ratings
While the Big 12 Conference commands more respect than any other league in the country, Clemson’s head coach wasted no time in criticizing the conference.
Brad Brownell shared his thoughts on members of the Big 12 Conference manipulating the NET to increase efficiency numbers and boost rankings during the season.
Brownell’s claims were based on the idea of multiple teams in the league putting together easy nonconference schedules in an effort to boost efficiency numbers, which is a major contributor to NET rankings.
“A couple of things that folks don’t understand, you can manipulate the NET,” Brownell said in a radio interview. “And there’s a strength of schedule dynamic where the Big 12 has managed it with their scheduling. Their nonconference scheduling, they’re playing 300-level teams and winning by 40 and 50 points to increase their offensive and defensive efficiency numbers, which is a big part of the NET tool. So that’s why you see teams trying to win at the end of games by 30 or 40 points instead of putting in your walk-ons.”
Brownell then mentioned the ACC’s record against the Big 12 in head-to-head matchups, saying, “People forget Virginia Tech beat Iowa State in a nonconference game pretty handedly down in Orlando. Iowa State’s second in the Big 12. Virginia Tech, a good team who beat us, is in the middle of our league. Our league is actually 9-3 nonconference against the Big 12. Those are the head-to-head games.”
“Our league has zero teams in the top 50 of the NET that have a nonconference strength of schedule 250 or higher. The Big 12 has six teams,” Brownell said. “Cincinnati is a great example. They had a bad week last week and lost two games. They’ve been in the field for a while now, and they really haven’t beaten anybody. Their non-conference schedule is awful. TCU, awful. Iowa State, awful. So those guys have figured it out. Our league hasn’t.”
Despite the fact that the Big 12 Conference features a cast of some of the nation’s top teams including nine selections for the NCAA Tournament in the latest bracketology update, Brownell decided that Monday was the perfect time to call out the nation’s best basketball conference.
