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by: Kris Gardner, United States Basketball Writers Association member. Credentialed media member since 1997. USBWA approved online journalist. Voter of Katrina McClain, Naismith, USBWA, and Wooden awards.

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Houston Cougars Men's Basketball ranked 6th in NET; 8th in AP Poll and 8th in USA Today Coaches Poll

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POSTED: January 18, 2021 -- 12:48 p.m. CT

As of the games played through January 17th, the (11-1) Houston Cougars men's basketball team is ranked 6th in the NCAA's NET Rankings.

Three of Houston's 11 wins are Quad (Quadrant) 1 wins; 3 wins are Quad 2 wins; 2 wins are Quad 3 wins; and 3 wins are Quad 4 wins. Houston's lone loss (65-64 at Tulsa) is a Quad 1 loss. Tulsa's NET ranking, through January 17, is 68.

The men's basketball committee divides all 350 plus Division 1 men's basketball teams into 4 quadrants: Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4. Each quadrant consists of rankings which also depend on whether the game is at home, on the road, or at a neutral site.

Quadrant 1 (Q1) rankings:

Quadrant 2 (Q2) rankings:

Quadrant 3 (Q3) rankings:

Quadrant 4 (Q4) rankings:

The NET rankings replaced RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) as the NCAA's primary sorting tool for evaluating teams.

The NET is in its third season for men's basketball and was modified in the offseason when it was simplified to a two-component system. The two components are the Team Value Index, which rewards teams for beating quality opponents, especially away from home, and a team's efficiency rating, which is adjusted for the strength of an opponent and the location of a game.

The NET was approved in July 2019 after consultation with the Division I Men's Basketball committee, National Association of Basketball Coaches, top basketball analytics and Google Cloud Professional Services.

The system relies on game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency and qualities of wins and losses.


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Houston moves up 3 places to 8th in Week 9 of the Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll.

The Cougars received 1155 points -- an increase of 162 points -- compared to the 993 points Houston received in the Week 8 AP poll.

Houston also moves 3 spots to rank 8th in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll. The Coogs received 550 points in the January 18th USA Today Coaches Poll. The 550 points compares to the 496 points Houston received in the January 11th USA Today Coaches Poll.

Houston's next game is scheduled for Wednesday, January 20th, at home, against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Tulsa defeated Houston 65-64 on December 29th in Tulsa. Tip time is scheduled for 7 p.m. ESPN+ will stream the game.

CLICK HERE for news and info about the Coogs' men's basketball team.

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