The PPI is a mathematically-based college basketball ranking system that was created back in 2002 that has been improved and tweaked in recent years (including a key algorithm switch in the 2024 offseason). The rankings incorporate the PPI rankings of both teams, the location of the game, and the margin of victory. The first rankings will be released after six weeks of Division I games. The PPI projects margin of victory for all ranked teams & games involving teams from the five major conferences and most importantly, projects upsets of ranked teams via the dreaded #ppiupsetalert.  In the 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 years, 40.4%, 50.5%, and 47.5%, respectively, of ranked teams that the PPI put on #ppiupsetalert lost.

In addition, the PPI periodically projects who is in and out of the NCAA Tournament.  In the 2025-26 year, the PPI projected 64 out of a possible 68 teams correctly.  Using the rankings, the PPI creates mock NCAA Tournament brackets so you can see potential matchups of your favorite team based on their current positioning in the rankings.  The true value of the PPI can be found during the NCAA Tournament, as teams like San Diego State and Florida Atlantic in 2022-23 and Loyola (CHI) in 2017-18, as examples, were much more highly rated than traditional RPI measurements.