Houston Cougars Men's Basketball ranked 4th in NET; 6th in AP Poll and 6th in USA Today Coaches Poll

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UPDATED: January 25, 2021 -- 12:59 p.m. CT

POSTED: January 25, 2021 -- 11:59 a.m. CT

As of the games played through January 24th, the (13-1) Houston Cougars men's basketball team is ranked 4th in the NCAA's NET Rankings.

Three of Houston's 13 wins are Quadrant (Quad) 1 wins; 3 wins are Quad 2 wins; 4 wins are Quad 3 wins; and 3 wins are Quad 4 wins. Houston's lone loss (65-64 at Tulsa) is now a Quad 2 loss. Tulsa's NET ranking, through January 24, is 83.

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:

• Home: 1 to 30 (Q1a: 1-15, Q1b: 16-30)
• Neutral: 1 to 50 (Q1a: 1-25, Q1b: 26-50)
• Away: 1 to 75 (Q1a: 1-40; Q1b: 41-75)

Quadrant 2 (Q2) rankings:

• Home: 31 to 75 (Q2a: 31-55, Q2b: 56-75)
• Neutral: 51 to 100 (Q2a: 51-75, Q2b: 76-100)
• Away: 76 to 135 (Q2a: 76-100, Q2b: 101-135)

Quadrant 3 (Q3) rankings:

• Home: 76 to 160
• Neutral: 101 to 200
• Away: 136 to 240

Quadrant 4 (Q4) rankings:

• Home: 161+
• Neutral: 201+
• Away: 241+

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 2 places to 6th in Week 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll.

The Cougars received 1281 points -- an increase of 126 points -- compared to the 1155 points Houston received in the Week 9 AP poll.

Houston also moves 2 spots to rank 6th in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll. The Coogs received 635 points in the January 25th USA Today Coaches Poll. The 635 points compares to the 550 points Houston received in the January 18th USA Today Coaches Poll.

Houston's next game is scheduled for Thursday, January 28th, on the road, against the Tulane Green Wave. Tip time is scheduled for 8 p.m. ESPN2 will broadcast the game. Houston defeated Tulane 71-50 on January 9.

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