Indiana Basketball Well-Respected in Initial NET Rankings

Yet even despite not having crossed paths with a top-25 team thus far, and even without a chance to truly prove itself – which tends to be heavily rewarded by this ranking system – Indiana still debuted at No. 11 in the first NET Rankings of the year. 

A tool that has massive sway come March, the NET Rankings are one of the key factors that affect the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s thought process. 

The system breaks each game down into a quadrant. There are four total quadrants, with a “Quad One” game being the highest level contest. A home game against a top-30 opponent, a neutral outing vs. a top-50 team, and a road game facing a top-75 club are all categorized as a Quad One game. 

Simply playing in Quad One games, whether the final result is a win or loss, tends to benefit teams – and even without having played one yet, Indiana is ranked No. 11. In fact, among teams that haven’t played a Quad One game, the Hoosiers are the highest-ranked squad in the nation. 

As for Quad Two games (Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, and Away 76-135), Indiana is 1-0, with the lone victory coming over Kansas State – which sits at No. 55 in the NET. The Hoosiers also have a Quad Three win, which came against Marquette in Chicago back in early November. 

After tipping off Big Ten play at Minnesota on Wednesday, Indiana will have its first Quad One test of the season in a huge Saturday matchup vs. Louisville, which currently sits at No. 9 in the NET Rankings. 

Either way, through one month of the season, Indiana could simply not be in a better spot. Well-respected by all of the key metrics, the Hoosiers now must capitalize on their upcoming opportunities, before entering an always-grueling Big Ten slate – which, fortunately, is also chock-full of resume-strengthening opportunities.