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 5–4; 6 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 2–0; 1 game left): Home 31–75, neutral 51–100, road 76–135
Quadrant 3 (UNC is 7–0; 1 game left): Home 76–160, neutral 101–200, road 135–240
Quadrant 4 (UNC is 5–0; 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: 24
High NET: 13 (2 days)
Low NET: 30 (4 days)
Average opponent NET: 122
Average NET win: 141
Average NET loss: 44
NET strength of schedule: 50
KenPom: 27
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI): 32
Bart Torvick T-Rank: 27
UNC quad schedule breakdown
(Through Sunday games)
| Date | Opponent | NET ranking | Current quad designation | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N3 | Central Arkansas | 179 | 4 | Win |
| N7 | Kansas | 13 | 1 | Win |
| N11 | Radford | 244 | 4 | Win |
| N14 | N.C. Central | 339 | 4 | Win |
| N18 | Navy | 159 | 4 | Win |
| N25 | (N) St. Bonaventure | 141 | 3 | Win |
| N27 | (N) Michigan State | 12 | 1 | Loss |
| D2 | At Kentucky | 28 | 1 | Win |
| D7 | Georgetown | 94 | 3 | Win |
| D13 | USC Upstate | 281 | 4 | Win |
| D16 | ETSU | 116 | 3 | Win |
| D20 | (N) Ohio State | 40 | 1 | Win |
| D22 | East Carolina | 279 | 4 | Win |
| D30 | Florida State | 95 | 3 | Win |
| J3 | At SMU | 34 | 1 | Loss |
| J10 | Wake Forest | 67 | 2 | Win |
| J14 | At Stanford | 70 | 1 | Loss |
| J17 | At California | 60 | 1 | Loss |
| J21 | Notre Dame | 89 | 3 | Win |
| J24 | At Virginia | 16 | 1 | Win |
| J31 | At Georgia Tech | 151 | 3 | Win |
| F2 | Syracuse | 68 | 2 | Win |
| F7 | Duke | 3 | 1 | Win |
| F10 | At Miami | 37 | 1 | |
| F14 | Pittsburgh | 122 | 3 | |
| F17 | At N.C. State | 27 | 1 | |
| F21 | At Syracuse | 68 | 1 | |
| F23 | Louisville | 17 | 1 | |
| F28 | Virginia Tech | 55 | 2 | |
| M3 | Clemson | 30 | 1 | |
| M7 | At Duke | 3 | 1 |
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 10–1 | 21–2 | 3 |
| No. 20 Clemson | 10–1 | 20–4 | 30 |
| No. 15 Virginia | 9–2 | 20–3 | 16 |
| N.C. State | 9–2 | 18–6 | 27 |
| No. 11 North Carolina | 7–3 | 19–4 | 24 |
| Miami | 7–3 | 18–5 | 37 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 7–4 | 17–6 | 17 |
| SMU | 5–5 | 16–7 | 34 |
| California | 5–6 | 17–7 | 60 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–6 | 16–8 | 55 |
| Florida State | 4–6 | 11–12 | 95 |
| Stanford | 4–7 | 15–9 | 70 |
| Syracuse | 4–7 | 13–11 | 68 |
| Wake Forest | 2–8 | 11–12 | 67 |
| Boston College | 2–8 | 9–14 | 148 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–9 | 11–13 | 151 |
| Notre Dame | 2–9 | 11–13 | 89 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–9 | 9–15 | 122 |
* — Through Sunday games
Saturday’s results
N.C. State 82, Virginia Tech 71
No. 15 Virginia 72, Syracuse 59
No. 24 Louisville 88, Wake Forest 80
Miami 74, Boston College 68
SMU 86, Pittsburgh 67
Florida State 82, Notre Dame 79
No. 11 North Carolina 71, No. 4 Duke 68
No. 20 Clemson 77, California 55
Stanford 95, Georgia Tech 72
Monday’s game
N.C. State at No. 24 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday’s games
No. 11 North Carolina at Miami, 7 p.m., ESPN
No. 15 Virginia at Florida State, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Notre Dame at SMU, 7 p.m., ACC Network
No. 4 Duke at Pittsburgh, 9 p.m., ESPN
Wednesday’s games
Virginia Tech at No. 20 Clemson, ACC Network
California at Syracuse, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Wake Forest at Georgia Tech, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at Boston College, 9 p.m., ESPNU
Saturday, Feb. 14, games
No. 20 Clemson at No. 4 Duke, noon, ESPN
Georgia Tech at Notre Dame, noon, The CW
California at Boston College, noon, ACC Network
Pittsburgh at No. 11 North Carolina, 2 p.m., ESPN
Florida State at Virginia Tech, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at Syracuse, 2 p.m., The CW
No. 24 Louisville vs. Baylor in Fort Worth, Texas, 4 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2
Stanford at Wake Forest, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Miami at N.C. State, 4 p.m., ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU
No. 15 Virginia vs. Ohio State in Nashville, 8 p.m., Fox
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 22 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. 9 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. 10 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. 15 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | W, 71–68 | vs. No. 4 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 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. 24 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 20 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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