Kentucky now in the Top 15 of the NET Rankings; Updated Team Sheet

Last week, Kentucky jumped into the Top 25 of the NET Rankings following the win over Western Kentucky. A week and two wins later, the Cats are now in the Top 15. Kentucky is No. 15 in the latest NET Rankings, which is fourth-best in the SEC. LSU is tops in the league at No. 5, which makes tomorrow night’s game in Baton Rouge absolutely huge.

Before we examine Kentucky’s team sheet, here are the Top 25 teams in the new NET Rankings.

NET Top 25 – Through January 2

1. Baylor
2. Arizona
3. Houston
4. Gonzaga
5. LSU
6. Auburn
7. Purdue
8. Duke
9. Kansas
10. Tennessee
11. Villanova
12. Texas
13. Michigan State
14. Southern California
15. Kentucky
16. UConn
17. Illinois
18. Loyola Chicago
19. Iowa State
20. Ohio State
21. Alabama
22. Xavier
23. UCLA
24. Colorado State
25. Iowa

NET changes for the 2021-22 season

This is the fourth season the NCAA has used the NET Rankings as its primary metric to evaluate the strength of teams’ wins and losses. This year, the formula has been tweaked. From now on, the NET will only use two components, adjusted net efficiency rating and Team Value Index (TVI), which is a result-based feature that rewards teams for beating quality opponents, particularly away from home. Win percentage, adjusted win percentage, and scoring margin are no longer used in the NET rankings.

Kentucky’s Team Sheet

The Cats are 11-2, with one Quad 1 win (North Carolina) and one Quad 1 loss (Duke). Kentucky’s loss to Notre Dame in South Bend remains in Quad 2, which is very good news. Even better news: thanks to a loaded SEC, the Cats have TEN Quad 1 opportunities ahead.

Kentucky has a chance to get its most impressive win on paper thus far tomorrow night in Baton Rouge. Even though LSU lost at Auburn by 15 points on Dec. 29, the Tigers are No. 5 in the NET, putting Tuesday’s game vs. Kentucky at the top of Quad 1. Saturday’s game vs. Georgia is Kentucky’s last Quad 4 game remaining.

Quad 1: 1-1

Home: 1-30, Neutral: 1-50, Away: 1-75

NET Rank	Date	Opponent	In Conference?	Result
5	01/04/2022	@ LSU	Y
5	02/23/2022	LSU	Y
6	01/22/2022	@ Auburn	Y
8	11/09/2021	Duke (@ New York, NY)		L 71-79
9	01/29/2022	@ Kansas
10	02/15/2022	@ Tennessee	Y
10	01/15/2022	Tennessee	Y
20	12/18/2021	Ohio St. (@ Las Vegas, NV)		Canceled
21	02/05/2022	@ Alabama	Y
21	02/19/2022	Alabama	Y
35	12/18/2021	North Carolina (@ Las Vegas, NV)		W 98-69
44	03/05/2022	@ Florida	Y
63	01/19/2022	@ Texas A&M	Y

Quad 2: 0-1

Home: 31-75, Neutral: 51-100, Away: 76-135

NET Rank	Date	Opponent	In Conference?	Result
37	01/25/2022	Mississippi St.	Y
44	02/12/2022	Florida	Y
73	12/22/2021	Louisville		Postponed
79	01/11/2022	@ Vanderbilt	Y
90	02/26/2022	@ Arkansas	Y
105	02/08/2022	@ South Carolina	Y
107	12/11/2021	@ Notre Dame		L 62-66

Quad 3: 2-0

Home: 76-160, Neutral: 101-200, Away: 136-240

NET Rank	Date	Opponent	In Conference?	Result
79	02/02/2022	Vanderbilt	Y
84	11/19/2021	Ohio		W 77-59
127	12/22/2021	Western Ky.		W 95-60
128	03/01/2022	Ole Miss	Y

Quad 4: 8-0

Home: 161-357, Neutral: 201-357, Away: 241-357

NET Rank	Date	Opponent	In Conference?	Result
234	12/07/2021	Southern U.		W 76-64
242	12/29/2021	Missouri	Y	W 83-56
245	01/08/2022	Georgia	Y
283	12/31/2021	High Point		W 92-48
301	11/22/2021	Albany (NY)		W 86-61
311	11/16/2021	Mount St. Mary’s		W 80-55
315	11/26/2021	North Florida		W 86-52
324	11/12/2021	Robert Morris		W 100-60
330	11/29/2021	Central Mich.		W 85-57