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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 4th in NET; 5th in AP Poll and 5th in Coaches Poll

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POSTED: February 1, 2021 -- 11:53 a.m. CT

As of the games played through January 31st, the Houston Cougars men's basketball team (15-1 overall, 10-1 in the American Athletic Conference) is ranked 4th in the NCAA's NET Rankings.

Three of Houston's 15 wins are Quadrant (Quad) 1 wins; 3 wins are Quad 2 wins; 6 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 31, is 88.

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 1 spot to 5th in Week 11 of the Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll.

The Cougars received 1348 points in the Week 11 poll -- an increase of 67 points -- compared to the 1281 points Houston received in the Week 10 AP poll.

Houston also moves 1 spot to rank 5th in the February 1st USA Today Coaches Poll. The Coogs received 660 points in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll -- an increase of 25 points -- compared to the 635 points Houston received in the January 25th USA Today Coaches Poll.

Houston's next game is scheduled for Wednesday, February 3rd, on the road, against the East Carolina Pirates. Tip time is scheduled for 5 p.m. Central Time. ESPN+ will stream the game. ESPN+. (Get ESPN+).

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

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