Houston Cougars Men's Basketball ranked 5th in NET; 6th in AP Poll and tied for 5th in Coaches Poll

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UPDATED: February 15, 2021 -- 4:23 p.m. CT

POSTED: February 15, 2021 -- 12:09 p.m. CT

As of the games played through February 14th, the Houston Cougars men's basketball team (17-2 overall, 11-2 in the American Athletic Conference) is ranked 5th in the NCAA's NET Rankings. The NET rankings are updated daily.

NOTE: Houston's 112-46 win over NAIA member Our Lady of the Lake DOES NOT count in the NET calculations. The NET is based on games against Division 1 opponents.

Two of Houston's 16 wins against Division 1 opponents are Quadrant (Quad) 1 wins; 3 wins are Quad 2 wins; 9 wins are Quad 3 wins; and 2 wins are Quad 4 wins.

Houston's 65-64 loss at Tulsa is a Quad 2 loss. Tulsa's NET ranking, through February 14, is 118. Houston's 82-73 loss at East Carolina is a Q3 loss. East Carolina's NET ranking, through February 14, is 148.

NET rankings for American Athletic Conference men's basketball teams through games Feb. 14:
• Houston - 5
• SMU - 56
• Memphis - 62
• Wichita State - 78
• UCF - 117
• Tulsa - 118
• Cincinnati - 119
• East Carolina - 148
• South Florida - 149
• Tulane - 151
• Temple - 157

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 spots from 8th to 6th in Week 13 of the Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll.

The Cougars received 1170 points in the Week 13 poll -- an increase of 110 points -- compared to the 1060 points Houston received in the Week 12 AP poll.

Houston moves up 2 spots from 7th to a tie for 5th with Illinois in the February 15th USA Today Coaches Poll. The Coogs received 600 points in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll -- an increase of 44 points -- compared to the 556 points Houston received in the February 8th USA Today Coaches Poll.

Houston's next game is scheduled for Thursday, February 18th, on the road, against the Wichita State Shockers. Tip time is scheduled for 6 p.m. Central Time. ESPN2 will broadcast the game.

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