BYU climbs to No. 3 in latest strength of schedule rankings

BYU received a big bump in a NCAA Tournament selection committee criteria category entering the postseason.

The Cougars jumped five spots to No. 3 in the new strength of schedule rankings that the NCAA released earlier this week.

BYU’s climb in the strength of schedule comes after beating Pepperdine on Thursday and suffering a three-game loss to UCLA on Saturday in its regular season finale.

Despite the loss, the Cougars surpassed the Bruins by two spots in the strength of schedule. BYU also has the second best strength of schedule ranking among teams under NCAA Tournament consideration, according to the latest Off the Block bracketology.

Strength of schedule is one of the criteria categories the selection committee uses to determine the NCAA Tournament field. Strength of schedule, winning percentage and opponent strength of schedule also are components for the mathematical formula used to determines a team’s RPI ranking.

The strength of schedule rankings will continue to be updated throughout the postseason until Selection Sunday on April 22.

Strength of schedule rankings

1. USC
2. UC Irvine
3. BYU
4. UC Santa Barbara
5. UCLA
6. CSUN
7. Lewis
8. Concordia-Irvine
9. Quincy
10. Stanford
11. Pepperdine
12. George Mason
13. Loyola
14. UC San Diego
15. Hawai’i
16. McKendree
17. Penn State
18. Long Beach State
19. Ohio State
20. Grand Canyon
21. NJIT
22. St. Francis
23. Ball State
24. Lindenwood
25. Barton
26. Fort Wayne
27. Princeton
28. Mount Olive
29. Harvard
30. Lees-McRae
31. King
32. North Greenville
33. Limestone
34. Emmanuel
35. Sacred Heart
36. Charleston
37. Erskine
38. Lincoln Memorial
39. Alderson Broaddus
40. Belmont Abbey
41. Queens
42. Coker

Opponent strength of schedule rankings

1. Pepperdine
2. Stanford
3. BYU
4. UC Irvine
5. Hawai’i
6. Long Beach State
7. USC
8. Concordia-Irvine
9. UC Santa Barbara
10. UCLA
11. CSUN
12. UC San Diego
13. Grand Canyon
14. Loyola
15. Lewis
16. Ohio State
17. Ball State
18. Fort Wayne
19. McKendree
20. Quincy
21. Princeton
22. Lindenwood
23. George Mason
24. Penn State
25. St. Francis
26. Harvard
27. NJIT
28. Sacred Heart
29. Charleston
30. King
31. Barton
32. Mount Olive
33. Lincoln Memorial
34. Limestone
35. Lees-McRae
36. North Greenville
37. Erskine
38. Emmanuel
39. Belmont Abbey
40. Queens
41. Alderson Broaddus
42. Coker

Photo courtesy of BYU athletics and Jaren Wilkey