By R.L. Bynum
Racking up Quad 1 victories is the sure path to a high NCAA tournament seed, and No. 8 North Carolina’s victory over Pittsburgh continued pushing the Tar Heels in that direction.
The 70–57 win at Pittsburgh on Tuesday night was UNC’s third Quad 1 victory, shooting the Tar Heels (10–3, 2–0 ACC) up seven spots to a season-high 13th in the men’s basketball NET rankings, then went up to 12 on Wednesday. Only No. 3 Houston (No. 1 in the NET), No. 1 Purdue (3) and No. 10 Arizona (4) have more Quad 1 wins, with four each.
No. 16 Clemson (NET ranking of 16), No. 7 Marquette (10), No. 2 Kansas (11), No. 21 Wisconsin (19), Texas A&M (25), Dayton (23) and Villanova (30) are the only other teams with at least three Quad 1 victories.
The Panthers fell eight NET ranking spots to 49 with the loss, then to 52 on Wednesday but it’s comfortably a Quad 1 win since they easily top the needed 75 threshold.
The NCAA tournament committee uses the NET rankings as one of its metrics to determine who makes the field and how to seed teams. NET rankings will fluctuate throughout the season, and the only quad designation that matters is where your opponents stand on Selection Sunday, not where they ranked when the game was played.
NCAA quadrant system
Quadrant 1 (UNC is 4–4; 5 games left): Home games against teams with a NET ranking of 30 or better, neutral-site games against teams ranked 50 or better, and road games against teams ranked 75 or better
Quadrant 2 (UNC is 1–0; 3 games left): Home 31–75, neutral 51–100, road 76–135
Quadrant 3 (UNC is 6–0; 2 games left): Home 76–160, neutral 101–200, road 135–240
Quadrant 4 (UNC is 6–0; no games left): Home 161 or lower, neutral 201 or lower, road 241 or lower
At 25 in the NET six days ago, Carolina should project to be a high No. 4 seed at this point, with the chance to rise to a No. 3 projection with another Quad 1 road victory Saturday against Clemson, potentially higher if the Tar Heels can couple that with a Quad 1 victory at N.C. State (71 in the NET) on Jan. 10.
UNC is one of five teams — along with Arizona, Marquette, Wisconsin and Texas A&M — that have played an NCAA-high six Quad 1 games, and the Tar Heels would have several more on the schedule barring a big shakeup.
Under the current NET rankings, Carolina has five more Quad 1 games left on the schedule after the games at Clemson and N.C. State: Feb. 6 in Chapel Hill against Clemson, two against Duke (Feb. 3 in Chapel Hill and March 9 in Durham), the Feb. 10 game at Miami and the Feb. 24 game at Virginia.
Wake Forest’s recent surge, with eight consecutive wins, including victories Saturday at home over Virginia Tech (86–63) and Tuesday at Boston College (83–78), have vaulted the Demon Deacons to 55 in the NET. That has flipped UNC’s Jan. 22 home game against Wake Forest from a Quad 3 to a Quad 2 game.
After Radford’s 85–71 home loss Wednesday to High Point, it fell 13 spots to 170, moving that from a Quad 3 win to a Quad 4 win.
UNC’s NCAA résumé
(Via bracketologists.com)
NET ranking: 23
High NET: 13 (2 days)
Low NET: 30 (4 days)
Average opponent NET: 124
Average NET win: 145
Average NET loss: 42
NET strength of schedule: 65
KenPom: 29
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI): 32
Bart Torvick T-Rank: 30
UNC quad schedule breakdown
(Through Saturday games)
| Date | Opponent | NET ranking | Current quad designation | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N3 | Central Arkansas | 204 | 4 | Win |
| N7 | Kansas | 15 | 1 | Win |
| N11 | Radford | 262 | 4 | Win |
| N14 | N.C. Central | 342 | 4 | Win |
| N18 | Navy | 179 | 4 | Win |
| N25 | (N) St. Bonaventure | 158 | 3 | Win |
| N27 | (N) Michigan State | 10 | 1 | Loss |
| D2 | At Kentucky | 29 | 1 | Win |
| D7 | Georgetown | 112 | 3 | Win |
| D13 | USC Upstate | 292 | 4 | Win |
| D16 | ETSU | 123 | 3 | Win |
| D20 | (N) Ohio State | 36 | 1 | Win |
| D22 | East Carolina | 287 | 4 | Win |
| D30 | Florida State | 113 | 3 | Win |
| J3 | At SMU | 33 | 1 | Loss |
| J10 | Wake Forest | 66 | 2 | Win |
| J14 | At Stanford | 72 | 1 | Loss |
| J17 | At California | 54 | 1 | Loss |
| J21 | Notre Dame | 83 | 3 | Win |
| J24 | At Virginia | 14 | 1 | Win |
| J31 | At Georgia Tech | 145 | 3 | Win |
| F2 | Syracuse | 79 | 3 | |
| F7 | Duke | 3 | 1 | |
| F10 | At Miami | 37 | 1 | |
| F14 | Pittsburgh | 126 | 3 | |
| F17 | At N.C. State | 27 | 1 | |
| F21 | At Syracuse | 79 | 2 | |
| F23 | Louisville | 17 | 1 | |
| F28 | Virginia Tech | 51 | 2 | |
| M3 | Clemson | 31 | 1 | |
| M7 | At Duke | 3 | 1 |
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 9–0 | 20–1 | 2 |
| No. 22 Clemson | 8–1 | 18–4 | 29 |
| No. 17 Virginia | 7–2 | 18–3 | 16 |
| N.C. State | 7–2 | 16–6 | 27 |
| Miami | 6–3 | 17–5 | 36 |
| No. 16 North Carolina | 5–3 | 17–4 | 26 |
| No. 20 Louisville | 5–4 | 15–6 | 19 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–5 | 16–7 | 54 |
| SMU | 4–4 | 15–6 | 31 |
| California | 4–5 | 16–6 | 56 |
| Syracuse | 4–5 | 13–9 | 80 |
| Stanford | 3–6 | 14–8 | 77 |
| Florida State | 3–6 | 10–12 | 107 |
| Boston College | 2–6 | 9–12 | 157 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–7 | 11–11 | 140 |
| Notre Dame | 2–7 | 11–11 | 82 |
| Wake Forest | 2–7 | 11–11 | 6 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–7 | 9–13 | 118 |
* — Through Friday games
Saturday’s games
No. 16 North Carolina 91, Georgia Tech 75
No. 4 Duke 72, Virginia Tech 58
N.C. State 96, Wake Forest 78
No. 22 Clemson 63, Pittsburgh 52
No. 17 Virginia 73, Boston College 66
No. 23 Louisville 88, SMU 74
California 86, Miami 81
Florida State 88, Stanford 80
Syracuse 86, Notre Dame 72
Monday’s game
Syracuse at No. 16 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday’s games
Boston College at No. 4 Duke, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Pittsburgh at No. 17 Virginia, 9 p.m., ACC Network
N.C. State at SMU, 9 p.m, ESPN2
Wednesday’s games
Notre Dame at No. 20 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Georgia Tech at California, 8 p.m., ACC Network
No. 22 Clemson at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday’s games
Syracuse at No. 17 Virginia, noon
No. 20 Louisville at Wake Forest, noon, ACC Network
Virginia Tech at N.C. State, 1:30, The CW
Miami at Boston College, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at Pittsburgh, 3:45, The CW
Florida State at Notre Dame, 4 p.m., ACC Network
No. 4 Duke at No. 16 North Carolina, 6:30, ESPN
No. 22 Clemson at California, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Georgia Tech at Stanford, 8 p.m., ESPNU
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 13 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 14 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 7 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 17 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 20 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 22 Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
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