Impressed with ACC hoops? The NCAA NET rankings aren’t.
Six weeks into the college basketball season, the ACC has not impressed the NCAA’s computer ranking.
The ACC only has one team (No. 8 Louisville) in the top 10 and two (No. 13 Duke) in the top 25 of the NCAA’s NET rankings, which were released for the first time this season on Monday.
As N.C. State learned last year, the NCAA uses the NET as its primary comparison tool but does not give the individual ranking much weight. The 2018-19 season was the first the NCAA used the new metric, which replaced the old Rating Percentage Index. The NET includes efficiency factors and a margin of victory component the RPI did not.
At No. 33 on Selection Sunday last season, N.C. State was the highest-rated team left out of the NCAA tournament field.
The Wolfpack (8-2), coming off of a last-second win at UNC-Greensboro on Sunday, is No. 50 in the initial NET ratings. Florida State (No. 27) and Virginia (No. 39) are the only other ACC teams in the top 50.
Last season, the ACC had the No. 1 team, three in the top 10, six in the top 25 and nine in the top 50. Virginia Tech (62), Syracuse (75), Pittsburgh (81), Miami (89) and North Carolina (95) are in the top 100 this week.
The Tar Heels, after Sunday’s loss to Wofford, fell out of the AP top 25 for the first time since 2014.
The NCAA uses the NET to sort teams and games into quadrants. A “Quadrant 1” game is considered the most difficult. The NCAA classifies a Quadrant 1 game as against the top 30 at home, top 50 at a neutral site and top 75 on the road.
N.C. State struggled in “Q1” games last season with an 0-8 record before the ACC tournament.
The Wolfpack gets a chance to pick up a Q1 win on Thursday at Auburn, ranked No. 7 in the NET. N.C. State has two other nonconference home games left this season: vs. Appalachian State (No. 137) and The Citadel (No. 291).
Thursday’s trip to Auburn represents an opportunity to pick up a quality win. N.C. State is 0-1 in Q1 games this season (a neutral-site loss to No. 16 Memphis).
All three games in N.C. State’s current three-game winning streak fall into the Q2 category: home vs. Wisconsin (51), at UNCG (80) and at Wake Forest (103).
One area where N.C. State is already ahead of last season is nonconference strength of schedule. N.C. State went into Selection Sunday ranked last in that category out of 353 teams. Through eight games outside the ACC this season, the Wolfpack ranks No. 154.
Even though NC SoS is part of the NET calculation, the selection committee still uses it as a separate comparison factor. Road games like Sunday’s win at UNCG will help the Wolfpack on that front.
ACC in the NET
8. Louisville (10-1)
13. Duke (9-1)
27. Florida State (8-2)
39. Virginia (8-1)
50. N.C. State (8-2)
62. Virginia Tech (8-3)
75. Syracuse (5-5)
81. Pittsburgh (7-3)
89. Miami (6-3)
95. UNC (6-4)
103. Wake Forest (6-5)
105. Notre Dame (8-3)
128. Georgia Tech (4-4)
139. Clemson (5-5)
143. Boston College (7-5)
This story was originally published December 16, 2019 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Impressed with ACC hoops? The NCAA NET rankings aren’t.."
