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Key metrics that could help determine what happens on Selection Sunday

Memphis should keep doing Memphis things to keep its gold star for its strength of schedule and Quad 1 and 2 record. Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

With every men's college basketball conference in the country shifting into league play, we've reached a bit of a dividing line in terms of team résumé-building. It's also fun to put a marker down on a few key metrics, if only as a comparison to what really matters 10 or so weeks from now.

A year ago, Rutgers was our one miss on Selection Sunday. The Scarlet Knights had a solid season, posting a combined 10-10 record in Quads 1 and 2, and winning what many thought was an elimination game over Michigan in their Big Ten tournament opener.

At the end of the day, though, the NCAA selection committee apparently could not get past the Knights' nonconference schedule ranking (314th) and the fact that seven of their 19 wins came against Quad 4 competition. Agree or disagree, the committee has been remarkably consistent over the years in separating the final at-large candidates by drilling down on this point.

So, let's take a look at the teams with something to work on -- or something to be proud of that could help their chances come March 17.

Don't say we didn't warn you

Let's start with this season's Rutgers squad. The following schools appear to have "missed the memo," as the Scarlet Knights did in 2022-23. All are potential bubble teams come Selection Sunday. Nonconference strength of schedule is noted in parentheses:

Rutgers, by the way, checks in at No. 165 in terms of nonconference schedule. Solid enough, if the Scarlet Knights can overachieve a bit in Big Ten play.

Smartest guys in the room

At the other end of the spectrum are the non-power conference schools looking to maximize their NCAA tournament seeding and selection prospects. So let's give our Bracketology "gold stars" to the following (again, nonconference strength of schedule is noted in parentheses):

Winning the right games

Scheduling, of course, is the "easy" part of the equation. Winning the games that get you into the tournament is where the rubber hits the road. It's still early, of course, but here are the top performers to date in combined Quad 1 and Quad 2 victories (Q1 records in parentheses):

Others with multiple Quad 1 wins:

Wrong side of the menu

Next are the teams that have feasted -- excessively, the committee might say -- at the softer end of the Division I menu. All have loaded up on Quad 4 games with an otherwise losing season to date (non-Q4 records in parentheses):

No place like home

Believe it or not, there are still eight teams that have yet to play a true road game, although most have managed one or more neutral-site contests. Most have also survived this "gauntlet" with their NET rankings still intact:

Road warriors

Finally, props to a few teams that have come up extra big in true road games. Let's remember that, historically, home teams generally win about 70% of the time. Bucking that trend are: