The Washington Huskies still have a lot of room to grow in their first season under Danny Sprinkle, but despite some struggles, they’ve gotten off to a solid start.
Coming off a win over Santa Clara to secure the Acrisure Invitational, the NCAA released its initial net rankings, which are a crucial determining factor in which teams ultimately punch their tickets to March Madness, the Huskies found themselves at No. 116 out of 364 Division I teams.
That’s mainly due to their strength of schedule, as all five qualifying wins have come against teams that rank in Quads 3 and 4. The Huskies also squandered their only opportunity for a Quad 1 victory, losing 63-53 at Nevada, which would have greatly increased their standing in the eyes of the NCAA.
But how do the quads work? Here’s how they’re defined by the NCAA:
- 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
The Wolfpack rank No. 32 in the initial rankings, while Washington’s best win came against the Santa Clara Broncos, who are sitting at No. 124. As the Huskies prepare for the start of Big Ten play, Sprinkle’s team will have plenty of opportunities to improve its standing.
14 Big Ten teams are sitting above the Huskies, including their next opponents, the UCLA Bruins, who sit at No. 16, placing them fourth in the conference.