You can use KenPom, RPI, and any number of other metrics to make your argument, but ultimately it’s the selection committee who sets the table. The NCAA Tournament itself isn’t always the best measure of a team’s success - only one team doesn’t lose, and you don’t want to write off 30+ games of work because your team lost at the buzzer in the first weekend or to another really good team the second - but the bracket becomes the best indicator of where everyone stood before the season turns into win-or-go-home.
The SEC put five teams in the field this year, tied with 2015 and 2011 for the most since Georgia’s tornado tournament run made for six in 2008.