Where Wisconsin basketball lands in first installation of NCAA NET rankings

Where Wisconsin basketball lands in first installation of NCAA NET rankings

Wisconsin basketball checked in at No. 17 in the first installation of the NCAA men’s basketball NET rankings on Monday.

Unlike ESPN BPI and KenPom, the NET ranking is a list that evaluates a program’s performance primarily based on the strength of its resume.

A significant aspect of the NET rankings is a team’s record in each quadrant. The NET features four quadrants formed based on game location and the opponent’s ranking, per the NCAA.

Here’s how those quadrants shake out:

  • 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

For instance, if the Badgers defeated Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse and the Jayhawks held a 25 NET ranking, UW would receive a Quadrant 1 victory. If Greg Gard’s group dropped a game to Minnesota at the Kohl Center and the Golden Gophers boasted a NET of 80, it would be considered a Quadrant 3 loss.

Through eight games, the Badgers have collected one Quadrant 1 win over Pittsburgh in the Greenbrier Tip-Off and a pair of Quadrant 2 wins over UCF and Arizona.

Only Illinois (No. 10), Ohio State (No. 12), Oregon (No. 15) and UCLA (No. 16) are ranked ahead of Wisconsin in this season’s opening version of the ranking.

Wisconsin is off to an 8-0 start for the first time since 2013-14. Greg Gard’s crew is captained by star wing John Tonje, a former Missouri Tiger playmaker who averages nearly 23 points per appearance off 52.7% from the floor, 42.1% from three-point range and 94.5% from the charity stripe.

UW will be back on the hardwood for its first Big Ten match against the Michigan Wolverines on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at the Kohl Center.