I hustled this time and got it done. It's here. Update (6PM): NIT teams now added.

What is it? There's overboard, there's way overboard, and then there's the way I approach NCAA brackets, which is to create an entire team scouting tool with vast amounts of information at the push of a button. And team-matching colors too.

I've adapted this from the spreadsheet I use for basketball previews, since I've found the best way to understand how teams will match up is to know who's on the court, how they play, and what to watch out for.

The new feature this year is you can type shortcuts in the yellow box to bring up teams instead of having to spell them exactly right. "PU" brings up Purdue, "Zona" gets you Arizona, "UH" brings up Houston, etc. You can also search by Region and Seed; "East 1" brings up UConn and so forth. Also you can bring up teams by their scores against Michigan football in 2023, and other easter eggs. There's a tutorial, but it's pretty intuitive.

What about for people who don't have excel?

The Excel version is the only one with all the features. There's a much dumbed down Google Sheets version, and I've kept the Text Only version going as well. Each of those links lets you download your own copy.

Most of the data are from Kenpom and Torvik, with the injuries from a combination of lists, my favorite being covers.com, but they miss injuries to lower seeds and recent things. Kenpom is good at highlighting a player who missed a game. Distance factor was calculated by putting the schools' addresses into Google Maps Formulas by Digital Inspiration. The shot charts are data from Hoop-Math. The last piece then is playing around a ton on Synergy to understand what kinds of shots and plays each player makes. Knowing how much their shots are contested is a big deal, especially because teams lie with assists.

How are those lines calculated?

Kenpom, Torvik, and Ed Feng's The Power Rank all produce metrics that are some form of "How many points will they score/be scored upon by an average team?". I average those out, adjust them for the opponent's tempo, and spit them back out in points terms.

What other sites do you recommend?

The list from 2022 is still good, except I no longer have access to Hoop-Lens, since Jay Cipoletti doesn't respond to any new subscribers. If you have an account you'd be willing to share that would be most helpful.

Who are you taking?

I haven't made my bracket yet. But we can discuss in the comments.