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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; 9th in AP Poll and 7th in Coaches Poll

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POSTED: March 1, 2021 -- 12:18 p.m. CT

As of the games played through February 28th, the Houston Cougars men's basketball team (20-3 overall, 13-3 in the American Athletic Conference) is ranked 4th 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 19 wins against Division 1 opponents are Quadrant (Quad) 1 wins; 5 wins are Quad 2 wins; 8 wins are Quad 3 wins; and 4 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.

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 spots from 12th to 9th in Week 15 of the Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll.

The Cougars received 1109 points in the Week 15 poll -- an increase of 188 points -- compared to the 921 points Houston received in the Week 14 AP poll.

Houston moves up 3 spots from 10th to 7th in the March 1st Coaches Poll. The Coogs received 556 points in this week's Coaches Poll -- an increase of 73 points -- compared to the 483 points Houston received in the February 22nd Coaches Poll.

Houston's next game is scheduled for Sunday, March 7th, inside the Fertitta Center, versus the Memphis Tigers. Tip time is scheduled for 11 a.m. Central Time. CBS will broadcast the game.

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

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