Where Utah ranks in notable college basketball metrics heading into West Virginia matchup

Looking at where the Runnin' Utes fall in the computer rankings after sustaining their seventh straight loss

Utah Runnin' Utes guard Obomate Abbey (21) grabs a rebound as he collides with forward Kendyl Sanders (13) during the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the first at Fifth Third Arena. | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

It's hard not to turn on a college basketball game in February and avoid talk of the NCAA Tournament.

Bracketologists and pundits who cover the sport's postseason receive more and more screen time as Selection Sunday draws closer, and with just over a month until the bracket for this season's tournament is revealed, bubble talk and résumé analysis have started to dominate pregame and halftime shows across all the major networks.

Anyone who has followed Utah over the course of the 2025-26 campaign probably understands that Alex Jensen and company aren't in a position to earn an at-large bid in a few weeks. The Runnin' Utes (9-16, 1-11 Big 12) are last in the Big 12 conference standings following their seventh straight loss — a 69-65 setback to Cincinnati on Sunday.

As such, Utah isn't featured on any bracketology sites or in the top 25 of the Associated Press poll. However, there are other websites and computer rankings that do take the time to organize and calculate how the Runnin' Utes have fared in Jensen's first season at the helm.

Let's take a look at where Utah stands nationally on KenPom.com, EvanMiya.com and the NET ahead of its matchup against West Virginia on Wednesday (6:30 p.m. MT, Fox Sports 1).

KenPom: No. 120

With six regular season games left, Utah is on pace to finish with its worst KenPom ranking in over a decade.

As of Monday, Utah checks in as the No. 120-ranked team in the country on KenPom.com, a reputable college basketball analytics website that stores data dating back to the 1996-97 campaign. Only one other Utah team in the databases history finished a season with a worse ranking — the 2011-12 Runnin' Utes, who went 6-25 overall, including 3-15 in Pac-12 play, and checked in at No. 302 nationally in KenPom.

This year's Utah team hasn't struggled as mightily as Larry Krystowiak's first-year squad did during the program's transition from the Mountain West. Jensen's group is among the top 100 in 3-point shooting (35.3%) and plays at a much faster pace than the 2011-12 group, which ended that season No. 322 in the country in adjusted tempo (the 2025-26 team ranks No. 192).

Where Utah Ranks in Notable KenPom Metrics

• No. 92 in adjusted offensive efficiency (114.0)
• No. 196 adjusted defensive efficiency (109.8)
• No. 146 in effective field goal percentage (52.1%)
• No. 343 in defensive turnover rate (13.9%)
• No. 252 in free throw attempt rate (32.7%)

EvanMiya: No. 122

Like KenPom, EvanMiya.com orders teams based on how each one would fare on a neutral court against one another. And like its profile on KenPom, Utah is among the bottom in the Big 12 in several advanced metrics and ratings.

The Runnin' Utes rank No. 122 nationally on EvanMiya with the No. 102-ranked offense and No. 179-ranked defense. They're the only Big 12 team with a negative defensive rating (-0.5) and a roster that ranks outside the top 100 nationally in talent (No. 102).

In addition to team rankings, EvanMiya rates players on how impactful they are on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor using a variety of statistics, including some commonly found in box score columns. These formulas create what's known as the bayesian performance rating.

Keanu Dawes checks in with the highest bayesian performance rating on Utah's roster, as the junior forward boasts a 4.91 score (0 is average). For context, Dawes ranks No. 36 in the Big 12 in that category. Iowa State's Joshua Jefferson leads the league at 10.18.

NET Rankings: No. 128

Unlike the websites previously discussed, the NCAA Evaluation Tool — better known as the NET — ranks teams according to their body of work, rather than predict which ones would perform best on a neutral court. It does this by breaking down games into four different quadrants, with Quad 1 being the highest-quality contest a team can play.

• Quad 1: Home games vs. teams ranked No. 1-30; neutral vs. No. 1-50; away vs. No. 1-75
• Quad 2: Home against Nos. 31-75, neutral against Nos. 51-100, away against Nos. 76-135
• Quad 3: Home against Nos. 76-160, neutral against Nos. 101-200, away against Nos. 135-240
• Quad 4: Home against Nos. 161-353, neutral against Nos. 201-353, away against Nos. 241-353

A quick glance at Utah's résumé would indicate the Runnin' Utes aren't in position to earn an at-large bid into this year's dance. Utah has yet to win a Quad 1 game and is a combined 9-6 in the other three quadrants.

Utah's NET Résumé

• Quad 1: 0-10
• Quad 2: 2-5
• Quad 3: 2-0
• Quad 4: 5-1
• Road: 0-8
• Neutral: 1-2

The Runnin' Utes round out the regular season with four Quad 1 games and a pair of Quad 2 contests at home. If Utah doesn't take advantage of some of the opportunities it has in front of it to bolster its standing, the Runnin' Utes could drop below the program's worst-ever finish in the NET (No. 133 in 2021-22) by season's end.