Beginning in 2018-19, the NCAA Evaluation Tool (N.E.T.) had replaced the RPI as the primary ranking metric used by the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee as part of the selection process. And the Missouri Valley Conference will use N.E.T. ratings as part of its men's basketball tournament seeding tiebreaker for the first time in March 2019.
N.E.T. Explained (PDF)
Tournament Tiebreaker System
Regular-season standings are the determining factor in setting first-round pairings for the State Farm MVC Tournament. All ties will be broken starting at the top of the Conference standings and working down. The tie-breaking system for seeding of the State Farm MVC Tournament, regardless of whether a tie involves two or more teams, will utilize the following factors, in order, until all ties are broken.
Two-way Ties
1. Records in head-to-head competition are compared, with the higher seed going to the team that has won the most games against the other.
2. If head-to-head competition does not break the tie, the deadlock will be broken using the NCAA Evaluation Tool (N.E.T.), as published by the NCAA on the morning after the final regular-season MVC games. The team with the better N.E.T. rating will receive the higher seed.
Multiple Ties
1. If three or more teams are tied, regular-season competition among the tied schools shall be pooled into a “mini round-robin.” Teams shall be ranked according to their position in such a round-robin.
2. If head-to-head competition does not break the tie, the deadlock will be broken using the NCAA Evaluation Tool (N.E.T.), as published by the NCAA on the morning after the final regular-season MVC games. Team will be seeded based on their N.E.T. rating.
From 2016-18, the league utilized the overall adjusted RPI, as published in The RPI Report on the morning after the final regular-season MVC game. From 2011-15, the league utilized non-conference schedule strength as its second step (after head-to-head). From 1993-2010, the MVC utilized a point-system tiebreaker, which awarded point values to home/away victories that were assigned to a team based on its position in the final regular-season standings.