Where Texas basketball ranks in NET ratings after wins over Baylor and Oklahoma
How much have back-to-back wins over ranked teams by the Texas men’s basketball team meant when it comes to the computer rankings that determine the bulk of the NCAA Tournament?
Plenty, based on the rapid rise by the Longhorns in the latest NET rankings.
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Entering Saturday’s game at BYU, Texas (14-5, 3-3 Big 12) now ranks No. 44 as one of a dozen Big 12 teams in the top 70. The Longhorns have knocked off Baylor (15th in NET rankings) and Oklahoma (33rd) in their past two games.
The NET ranking is the primary metric used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, which must wade through the 362 Division I college basketball programs when determining the 68-team field in March. The system leans heavily on a quadrant system to determine quality wins and losses, with “Quad 1” wins especially valued.
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A game qualifies as Quad 1 if it’s played at home against a team ranked 1-30 in the NET, 1-50 at a neutral site, or 1-75 on the road. By that metric, Texas has gone 3-2 in five Quad 1 games, which includes a neutral loss to UConn, a neutral win over LSU, a road loss to Marquette, a home win over Baylor and road wins over Cincinnati and Oklahoma.
NET ratings also lean heavily on a team’s strength of schedule, which shouldn’t be an issue in the Big 12. Houston (No. 1 NET ranking), BYU (5), Iowa State (10), Baylor (15), Kansas (16), Oklahoma (33),Texas Tech (34) and Kansas State (69) all remain on Texas’s schedule.
“Any win in this conference is a big win, but it’s onto the next hard challenge,” Texas coach Rodney Terry said after his team’s 75-60 win over Oklahoma on Tuesday. “That’s why we have the best league in the country.”
By the way, the NET rankings aren’t the only metric that likes Texas. DRatings has Texas as a No. 8 seed, The KenPom Ratings list Texas 36th, and ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has moved Texas moved from his next-four-out category to last-four-byes range.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Updating Texas basketball's NET rating after beating Baylor, Oklahoma
