DATA VISUAL: Scoring the 2022 Division I Men’s NCAA Championships Psych Sheet

2022 MEN’S NCAA SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, March 23 – Saturday, March 26, 2022
• McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia
• Official Psych Sheets
• Live Results

The 2022 Division 1 Men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship is just around the corner. The team score battle is going to be razor thin, so let’s take a closer look. 

Note: the psych sheet does not account for diving points

By just looking at the overall projected final score, it looks like another Texas versus Cal showdown, but after taking a closer look at the numbers, Cal won’t take the lead until the 400 freestyle relay, the last event of the meet. 

At the 2022 Pac-12 Championships, Cal came from behind to win the meet. The Golden Bears are projected to take another phoenix approach to this meet and slowly climb the team rankings before soaring to the top. Based on the psych sheet, Cal is seeded to be in 11th place at the end of day one, 5th place at the end of day two, 4th place at the end of day three, and then racing to 1st during the last session on day four. 

Per the psych sheet, Cal’s margin of victory is only 7.5 points over Texas. If the Longhorns are swimming lights-out, there could be too much of a gap for the Golden Bears to close in the 400 freestyle relay. Texas also usually saves its best performance for the NCAA Championships, which wouldn’t be reflected on the psych sheet. 

Cal winning this meet hinges on the team’s ability to execute in the 200 backstroke during the final session of the meet. If the Golden Bears can lock in multiple A-finalists, that might be enough momentum to bring a first place trophy back to Berkeley. 

Texas and Florida are projected to trade 1st and 2nd place multiple times throughout the first two days of the meet. Arizona State is seeded to get this meet started off with a bang, similar to the Sun Devils’ impressive performance at the beginning of the Pac-12 Championships, before falling off the top toward the end of the competition. Arizona State is projected to be in first place at the 200 freestyle on day three, but the team is projected to be in 4th at the end of the meet. NC State is projected to be in 5th by just 2.5 points.

Projected Psych Sheet Final Team Scores:

1. California, 358.5
2. Texas, 351
3. Florida, 310.5
4. Arizona State, 277
5. NC State, 274.5
6. Stanford, 239
7. Indiana, 226
8. Louisville, 199
9. Ohio State, 190
10. Virginia Tech, 185.5
11. Georgia, 173
12. Virginia, 109
13. Michigan, 92
14. Tennessee, 89.5 
15. Alabama, 82
16. Louisiana State, 52
17. Arizona, 41
18. Minnesota, 40
19. Wisconsin, 39
20. Harvard, 25
21. Florida State, 24
22. Penn, 22
23. Southern California, 21
24. Auburn/Missouri/Kentucky, 20
25. Northwestern, 16.5
26. Georgia Tech, 14
27. Air Force/Princeton, 11
28. Texas A&M, 9
29. Pittsburgh, 6
30. Penn State, 5
31. Purdue, 4
32. Notre Dame/Southern Methodist, 3
33. University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, 2

Cumulative Team Scoring

Team Scoring by Event