As the 2024 calendar comes to a close, Florida basketball improved to No. 4 on the NCAA NET rankings on Dec. 21, marking a new high point for the program under Todd Golden.
The Gators opened the month at No. 6 and bounced around the top 10 in recent weeks, dipping as low as No. 8 and now reaching a top-four placement. A pair of Quadrant 1 victories has bolstered the Gators’ résumé and improved UF’s wins above bubble record (further broken down in last week’s update).
Most recently, the Gators won by 50-plus points against a North Florida team on the Q3/Q4 border of the NET
Despite the recent rise, Florida remains the third-highest-rated team in the SEC. Auburn and Tennesse continue are the consensus top programs in the nation, ranking Nos. 1 and 2 in the AP Poll, Coaches Poll and NET.
It’s important to remember that while they are called “rankings” the NET is an evaluation tool at heart — that’s what the E and T stand for. It’s not a hard list and is more of a sorting tool for the selection committee come bracket time.
“The 2024-25 men’s basketball season marks the seventh season of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, which replaced the RPI prior to the 2018-19 season as the primary sorting tool for evaluating teams,” according to the NCAA.
The rankings rely on a quadrant system (below), where Quadrant 1 (Q1) wins and Q3/Q4 losses matter the most.
Breaking down Florida’s wins by Quadrant
Before going into Florida’s resume, it’s important to understand how the quadrants are divided. Where a game is played has as much to do with the quadrant as the quality of the opponent. As the rankings change, so do the quality of the wins.
For example, Florida’s win at Florida State was a Q1 win at the time but as since been downgraded to a Q2 victory based on the criteria below.
- 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
Florida’s two Q1 victories are against No. 50 Arizona State and No. 34 North Carolina, both of which came at a neutral site. The win over the Sun Devils is in danger of dropping to a Q2 classification should ASU fall one spot in the NET. (Florida vs. Q1: 2-0)
The Gators won its lone Q2 matchup against Florida State (No. 82) on the road, and a strong performance against the ACC from the Seminoles could bump that back into the Q1 range. (Florida vs. Q2: 1-0)
A trio of Q3 wins against Virginia (No. 102), Wake Forest (No. 105) and Wichita State (No. 107) all have the potential to improve to Q2 matchups. Virginia is the only home victory on that list, making the two neutral sites more likely candidates for the upgrade. (Florida vs. Q3: 3-0)
Six of Florida’s 12 wins have come against Q4 opponents, five at home — Florida A&M (No. 321), Grambling (No. 317), Jacksonville (No. 180), North Florida (No. 170) and Southern Illinois (No. 219) — and one against South Florida (No. 213) in Jacksonville.
Wins over the JU Dolphins and UNF Ospreys are within sniffing distance of reclassification, but Q3 wins aren’t lauded much by the committe. The South Florida matchup is also a candidate, being a neutral-site game. (Florida vs. Q4: 6-0)
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