In the 6 seasons at UT under CBP the Vols were in the top 6 in the nation in SOS 5 times. The other year they were 19th. Given CBP's scheduling style and the criteria the NCAA uses when selecting tourney teams there are some simple magic #s to keep in mind when trying to figure if AU will make future NCAA tourneys.

Minimum wins: 18. There have been some 17 win teams make the tourney but that's a rarity

Maximum losses: 13. UT actually made the tourney under Pearl in 2010-2011 with 14 losses and did so somewhat comfortably as a 9 seed. It's not common for 14 loss teams to get in though.

Trying to figure out who are the teams who will make the Tourney can be confusing especially when looking at stuff like bracketology. It's somewhat simpler than that. The NCAA has 3 main criteria they use in selecting teams for the tourney and have had these criteria for years.

1. Who did you play? Teams who play tough competition are rewarded. Every 10 loss or better team in the top 60 in the SOS made the tourney. The big controversy this year was NC State (21-13) making the tourney over the likes of SMU (23-9). NC State was given the nod due to SOS. Their SOS was 33 while SMU's was 114.

2. How did you do on the road and neutral sites? Teams who were near or above .500 made the tourney over similar bubble teams that did not make the tourney. Also teams squarely in the field who did relatively poorly on the road had lower seeds than teams with similar records and SOS.

3. Win. This one is obvious. If you play a tougher schedule you are given a bit more forgiveness for some losses. If you don't shedule quality opponents you had better win all the games you are supposed to.

You may not like the results of the NCAA selection committee but their selections based on the above criteria make sense. Play quality opponents and win on the road or neutral sites since the NCAA tourney is played away from home.