MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 03: Torin Dorn #2 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack celebrates with teammates after a basket against the Miami Hurricanes during the second half at Watsco Center on January 3, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

North Carolina State should be very grateful that the NCAA decided to adopt a new metric this season as its primary tool for gauging the strength of teams.

That switch has significantly boosted the Wolfpack’s chances of snagging one of the NCAA tournament’s final at-large bids on Selection Sunday.

NC State enters Wednesday at No. 31 in the new NET rankings, a figure that’s in line with how other formulas like the KenPom (No. 33) and Sagarin Ratings (No. 25) assess the Wolfpack and suggests they’re NCAA tournament-caliber. By contrast, the less sophisticated RPI has NC State at 92nd, more than 10 spots worse than any team to make the NCAA tournament during the metric’s 38-year lifespan.

A solid NET ranking doesn’t guarantee NC State a bid this season, nor would a weak RPI have disqualified the Wolfpack in years past. Nonetheless, the NCAA’s chosen metric is a noteworthy data point for members of the selection committee as they attempt to evaluate the worthiness of teams and sort quality wins and bad losses.

The massive gap between where NC State stands in the NET and RPI can be explained by the differences between the formulas of the two metrics.

Three-quarters of a team’s RPI score was determined by its strength of schedule, which made who you play often more important than whether you won or lost. The RPI also didn’t take into account margin of victory or defeat, meaning that a one-point win over a quality opponent is weighted exactly the same as a 30-point win over a quality opponent.

The NCAA has not released the exact formula for the NET rankings, but the key difference is that it’s not as crude and outdated. It factors in margin of victory, though with a cap of 10 points to prevent the rankings from encouraging teams to needlessly run up the score.

The latter system clearly favors an NC State team that feasted against dreadful non-league competition in November and December. Eight of the Wolfpack’s 13 non-league wins were blowouts against opponents ranked 275th or below in the NET rankings.

Whereas playing that caliber of competition weighs down NC State’s RPI, the Wolfpack’s margin of victory actually boosts their NET ranking. That’s one reason NC State is still in reasonably good shape to make the NCAA tournament despite a woeful 2-8 record against Quadrant 1 competition.

Of course, NC State isn’t the only team whose NCAA tournament candidacy or seeding will be impacted by the use of a new metric. Below is a list of teams who have gained or lost as a result of the switch.

NET GAINS: TEAMS WHO HAVE BENEFITED FROM THE NCAA’S NEW METRIC

NC State (20-9) (NET: 31) (RPI: 92)

Comment: Could the selection committee punish NC State for its 352nd-ranked non-league schedule if the Wolfpack remain on the bubble?

Liberty (26-6) (NET: 62) (RPI: 98)

Comment: An at-large bid is a major long shot, but Liberty could snag a No. 13 seed if it wins the A-Sun tournament. The Flames own a win at UCLA.

Florida (17-12) (NET: 35) (RPI: 67)

Comment: The Gators close the regular season with Kentucky and LSU. One win might be enough to seal a bid.

Indiana (15-14) (NET: 55) (RPI: 83)

Comment: Five wins against NET Top 25 opponents and no bad losses, but the Hoosiers need to stack some more wins to have a prayer.

Lipscomb (24-6) (NET: 46) (RPI: 72)

Comment: With a win over TCU and a narrow loss at Louisville, Lipscomb has Cinderella potential if it makes the NCAA tournament.

Clemson (17-12) (NET: 40) (RPI: 63)

Comment: Here’s how bad the bubble is: Clemson is 1-10 in Quadrant 1 games, and it still has hope of an at-large bid.

Virginia Tech (22-7) (NET: 12) (RPI: 25)

Comment: A top-four seed is slipping away from Virginia Tech after squandering an opportunity Tuesday at Florida State

Wofford (26-4) (NET: 14) (RPI: 27)

Comment: They haven’t lost to a team outside the NET top 50 all season. This is an NCAA tournament team no matter what happens in the Southern Conference tournament.

NET LOSSES: TEAMS WHO HAVE BEEN HURT BY THE NCAA’S NEW METRIC

Kansas (22-8) (RPI: 1) (NET: 16)

Comment: Proof that the much-maligned RPI needed to go: Kansas, eight-loss, third-place-in-the-Big-12 Kansas, is still No. 1

Arizona State (20-9) (RPI: 40) (NET: 68)

Comment: If the Pac-12 sends anyone besides Washington to the NCAA tournament, it’s probably Arizona State, which beat a healthy Kansas, Mississippi State and Utah State in non-league play.

Story continues