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College basketball rankings: Houston is No. 1 ahead of BYU, Arizona in first NET ranking of season – CBS Sports
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The 2023-24 season debut of the NCAA’s NET rankings — a tool used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee to evaluate a team’s résumé — was released Monday with Houston once again starting the season at the top. The Cougars ranked No. 1 in the NET’s debut last season and will start this season as the top-rated team despite their No. 3 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll.
The newest No. 1 team in both the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll, Arizona, is ranked No. 3 in the initial NET rankings. The Wildcats are building one of the more impressive résumés in the country with wins over Duke and Michigan State and have nonconference games on the horizon against Alabama, FAU and Purdue.
There are certainly some surprises in the NET rankings because it takes into account more than just results. Strength of schedule, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency and the quality of those wins and losses are taken into account, according to the NCAA.
Some of the biggest surprises at the top of the NET rankings is BYU checking in at No. 2 and mid-majors Colorado State at No. 7 and Princeton at No. 8 being ranked inside the top 10. Kansas, who started the season as the No. 1 team in both the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll, is ranked No. 16 behind Big 12 members Houston, BYU, Baylor, Iowa State and Cincinnati.
The NET rankings don’t account for brand recognition or general consensus, hence why a historic blue blood such as Louisville is ranked No. 279. The Cardinals debuted at No. 361 out of 363 Division I teams last season and despite moving up more than 82 spots, are still ranked as the lowest team from a major conference in the country.
The NET rankings are also used to determine the value of wins or losses by putting each result in one of four quadrants. Here is how the NCAA breaks down the quadrants.
Here are the top 25 teams in the NET rankings and the full rankings can be found here.
1. Houston
2. BYU
3. Arizona
4. Creighton
5. Purdue
6. Baylor
7. Colorado State
8. Princeton
9. UConn
10. Marquette
11. FAU
12. Alabama
13. Iowa State
14. Cincinnati
15. Texas A&M
16. Kansas
17. Tennessee
18. Clemson
19. Oklahoma State
20. Ohio State
21. Nevada
22. Indiana State
23. Illinois
24. San Diego State
25. Iowa
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