Bracketology: Texas' current standing in the NET rankings through six games of Big 12 play
The No. 7 Texas Longhorns are one-third of the way through Big 12 play and currently boast a 4-2 conference record, one game behind the trio of Kansas State, Kansas, and Iowa State at the top of the standings.
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Texas is 2-1 in the Moody Center during conference play, equaled by a 2-1 record outside of Austin versus Big 12 opponents.
Twelve more Big 12 games remain, plus a matchup with Rick Barnes’ Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville, Tenn.
Texas is building a strong NCAA Tournament resume according to the NET, with an 11-1 home record and five Quadrant 1 wins.
The NET, or NCAA Evaluation Tool, replaced RPI as the primary method for the NCAA tournament committee to evaluate teams before the 2018-19 season. It divides games into a quadrant system. Quadrant 1 games are against top teams, while Quadrant 4 wins are against cellar-dweller programs.
- Quadrant 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75
- Quadrant 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135
- Quadrant 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240
- Quadrant 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353
More information about the NET can be found here.
Bracketologists have started to make predictions for the field of 68. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had Texas as a No. 3 seed in his most recent update.
BracketMatrix.com, which was last updated on Wednesday, projects the Longhorns to be a No. 2 seed.
Quadrant 1 games
Record: 5-3
Wins: Gonzaga, Creighton, at Oklahoma, at Oklahoma State, TCU
Losses: Kansas St., vs. Illinois, at Iowa State
The TCU game is barely hanging on as a Quadrant 1 contest with the Horned Frogs ranked No. 29. The loss at Iowa State is likely to stay a Quadrant 1 game all season. The same is true for wins over Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Gonzaga. Creighton is currently ranked No. 20 and is tied for third in the Big East with a 5-3 conference record.
Quadrant 2 games
Record: 1-0
Wins: Texas Tech
Losses: N/A
Texas Tech is the lone Quadrant 2 game for the Longhorns. Should the Red Raiders fall any farther from their current No. 74 ranking, this game could turn into a Quadrant 3 game.
Quadrant 3 games
Record: 2-0
Wins: vs. Stanford, Louisiana
Losses: N/A
Louisiana (No. 103) could turn into a Quadrant 2 game with a solid year in the Sun Belt. They are 11-4 overall and 4-2 in conference. Stanford is currently 0-7 in Pac-12 play.
Quadrant 4 games
Record: 7-0
Wins: UTEP, Houston Christian, vs. Northern Arizona, UT-RGV, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Rice, Texas A&M-Commerce
Losses: N/A
The NET cares not for outside distractions like a head coach getting suspended or fired, so avoiding a loss to Rice on the day Chris Beard was placed on unpaid leave will stave off any “bad loss” talk when discussing about the Longhorns through the first half of the season. Rice is currently No. 167 in the rankings, placing the Owls on the precipice of becoming a Quadrant 3 opponent. Similar holds true for UTEP (No. 178).
Going undefeated in Quadrant 4 games is a must. Only one team in the top 25 of NET, Boise State, has a Quadrant 4 loss.
Where the remaining schedule ranks as of January 19
Jan 21 – at West Virginia – No. 24 – Quadrant 1 game
Jan 24 – Oklahoma State – No. 46 – Quadrant 2 game
Jan 28 – at Tennessee – No. 2 – Quadrant 1 game
Jan 30 – Baylor – No. 16 – Quadrant 1 game
Feb 4 – at Kansas State – No. 15 – Quadrant 1 game
Feb 6 – at Kansas – No. 6 – Quadrant 1 game
Feb 11 – West Virginia – No. 24 – Quadrant 1 game
Feb 13 – at Texas Tech – No. 74 – Quadrant 1 game
Feb 18 – Oklahoma – No. 54 – Quadrant 2 game
Feb 21 – Iowa State – No. 9 – Quadrant 1 game
Feb 25 – at Baylor – No. 16 – Quadrant 1 game
Mar 1 – at TCU – No. 29 – Quadrant 1 game
Mar 4 – Kansas – No. 6 – Quadrant 1 game
NET Rankings top 10
- Houston
- Tennessee
- Alabama
- Purdue
- UCLA
- Kansas
- UConn
- St. Mary’s (CA)
- Iowa State
- Gonzaga
Where the Big 12 ranks in KenPom
7. Kansas
11. Texas
12. Iowa State
17. Baylor
23. West Virginia
26. Kansas State
31. TCU
34. Oklahoma State
38. Oklahoma
63. Texas Tech
