Jahvon Quinerly didn’t have a grandiose explanation or a funny back story to describe this particular shot.

“That’s my spot right there,” he eventually settled on because the image Sunday seemed so strikingly similar to the one he created in Tulsa three days earlier.

For the second time in as many games, Quinerly hit a 3-pointer from almost the exact same spot on the left wing in the closing seconds to ensure the Memphis basketball team again escape an upset.

Memphis 62, SMU 59.

But there were two other numbers he referenced in an answer about the shot.

Memphis 49, SMU 39.

That’s where the Tigers and SMU were positioned, respectively, in the NET rankings heading into Sunday’s wild come-from-behind affair at FedExForum. Even though Memphis is in the top 15 of the national polls in January for the first time in 15 years. Even though Memphis has more Quad 1 and 2 wins than any team in the country not named Purdue. Even though Memphis had two losses to SMU’s four before this weekend.

“After playing the schedule and winning the games that they’ve won,“ ESPN commentator Jon Crispin said of Memphis during the television broadcast, “it doesn’t make any sense.”

It still doesn’t. After the Tigers' win, they moved up to No. 48 in the NET rankings. SMU fell to No. 43.

So here’s a suggestion: Stop looking at the NET rankings and just enjoy the ride.

The NCAA Tournament is ultimately what gives college basketball its national relevance. The whole season is framed around Selection Sunday, the journey to reach March Madness, and the quest to advance to the Final Four. That’s certainly the case in Memphis, and perhaps more so than in quite some time now that Penny Hardaway is six years into the job without a trip to the Sweet 16.

But the thirst for setting up that drama, for crafting the résumé-driven narratives that make bubble teams and bracketology part of our everyday discourse, can also be an unfortunate distraction when a program like Memphis is putting together this kind of campaign.

It can distract you from the joy these Tigers have already brought back to FedExForum, and the joy they still might have left in them. Call it the Lunardi-zation of college basketball, in honor of ESPN’s ever-present bracketologist, Joe Lunardi.

A decade ago, he would become part of the mainstream dialogue a few weeks out from Selection Sunday. Now, he’s giving up-to-the-minute glimpses into his projected brackets almost any night there’s a significant number of games on the schedule. We know, for instance, that heading into the SMU game, he had Memphis as his highest-rated No. 4 seed.

So yes, within that context, the past four games have been distressingly close — particularly because they came right on the heels of Memphis pulling off back-to-back-to-back wins over ranked teams. This weekend, just about every team the Tigers have played so far lost, and the social media panic was too predictable when SMU jumped out to a 15-point lead before halftime.

But here’s some perspective: Ever since Memphis needed a Vanderbilt miss at the buzzer to win on Dec. 23 — the first of these perilous outcomes — 14 teams ranked in the AP poll have lost games. While so many are figuring out ways to lose, the Tigers are figuring out how to win. Don’t lose sight of that.

“We know we have to do better,” Hardaway said, “but we’re winning while we get better, which to me is a good sign.”

Here's a prediction: So long as Memphis doesn't lose more than a few games along the way in conference play, the NET rankings will be an afterthought a couple of months from now.

There’s a misperception about them anyway. Created in 2018 by the NCAA to replace the much-maligned Ratings Percentage Index, the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) is actually one of four formula-based metrics that show up on team sheets for the NCAA Tournament selection committee. Memphis, for instance, ranks No. 8 in both the KPI and ESPN's strength of record, two results-driven rankings that committee members also see.

UPDATE: Memphis basketball's Caleb Mills out for season with left knee injury; will have surgery

The NET, meanwhile, doesn’t necessarily dictate seeding. Last season, Tennessee was a No. 4 seed despite being No. 4 in the NET. Indiana was a No. 4 seed despite being No. 30 in the NET. Memphis had a NET ranking of 23 heading into Selection Sunday. Theoretically, the Tigers could have been a top-six seed. Instead, they got a No. 8 seed and faced No. 9 Florida Atlantic, which had an even better NET ranking (13).

The margin for error at Memphis is always small. It’s smaller in this version of the American Athletic Conference.

So here's to the shot(s) from Quinerly's spot, because in January, those moments ought to get more attention than the spot Memphis occupies in a ranking that doesn't even make sense.

You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on X: @mgiannotto

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball fans should forget NET rankings and enjoy the ride