Houston Cougars Men's Basketball ranked 6th in NET; 12th in AP Poll and 10th in Coaches Poll

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POSTED: February 22, 2021 -- 1:14 p.m. CT

As of the games played through February 21st, the Houston Cougars men's basketball team (18-3 overall, 12-3 in the American Athletic Conference) is ranked 6th 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 17 wins against Division 1 opponents are Quadrant (Quad) 1 wins; 4 wins are Quad 2 wins; 8 wins are Quad 3 wins; and 3 wins are Quad 4 wins.

Houston's 68-63 loss at Wichita State is a Q1 loss. Wichita State's NET ranking is 68 as games through Feb. 21. The Coogs' 65-64 loss at Tulsa is a Quad 2 loss. Tulsa's NET ranking, through February 21, is 114. Houston's 82-73 loss at East Carolina is a Q3 loss. East Carolina's NET ranking, through February 21, is 147.

NET rankings for American Athletic Conference men's basketball teams through games Feb. 21:
• Houston - 6
• SMU - 59
• Memphis - 61
• Wichita State - 68
• UCF - 103
• Tulsa - 114
• Cincinnati - 130
• East Carolina - 147
• South Florida - 150
• Tulane - 156
• Temple - 174

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 down 6 spots from 6th to 12th in Week 14 of the Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll.

The Cougars received 921 points in the Week 13 poll -- a decrease of 249 points -- compared to the 1170 points Houston received in the Week 13 AP poll.

Houston moves down 5 spots from a tie for 5th with Illinois to 10th in the February 22nd USA Today Coaches Poll. The Coogs received 483 points in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll -- a decrease of 117 points -- compared to the 600 points Houston received in the February 15th USA Today Coaches Poll.

Houston's next game is scheduled for Thursday, February 25th, inside the Fertitta Center, versus the WKU (Western Kentucky) Hilltoppers. 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.