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Gators at No. 5 in NCAA NET rankings

On3 imageby:Keith Niebuhr•01/13/25•

On3Keith

Florida-Gators-Todd-Golden
Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden talks to his assistants during the second half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena. Florida won 71-63. (Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images)

The Florida Gators basketball team continues to stand high in the NET rankings, the NCAA’s primary sorting tool for evaluating teams. Following a week in which coach Todd Golden’s squad posted wins over previously unbeaten and then-No. 1 (AP) Tennessee (73-43) at home and Arkansas (71-63) on the road, Florida is at No. 5 in the NET.

Here’s a further breakdown of the Gators, who are 15-1.

-2-1 road games
-5-0 neutral site
-Quad 1 games: 4-1
-Quad 2 games: 2-0
-Quad 3 games: 4-0
-Quad 4 games: 5-0

In the NET, Auburn (15-1) is No. 1, followed in order by Duke (14-2), Houston (12-3) and Tennessee (15-1). The NET Rankings, per NCAA.com, “includes more components than just winning percentage. It takes into account game results, strength of schedule, game location, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses.”

From a 2019 NCAA.com story, “The goal of the NET was to produce a true ranking/sorting system for the selection committee for Selection Sunday. And while the NET is being released throughout the regular season … Valuing when a game is played is an individual choice of each member of the selection committee. But where the game was played and who it was against is used in determining the NET ranking, regardless of the time of the season.”

The bottom line: The NET rankings are important when “establishing a team’s resume” come tournament time.

The Florida Gators’ most recent wins were significant

Here’s how “Quad” games are determined:

  • Quadrant 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75
  • Quadrant 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135
  • Quadrant 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240
  • Quadrant 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353

Using this metric, Arkansas, currently No. 49 in the NET, counts as a Quad-1 win for the Gators.

“Just so proud of our guys and our staff, man,” Golden said after that victory Saturday. “To win a game like this after a huge emotional win on Tuesday night, you know, this had kind of let-down game written all over it. I thought we were a little fatigued, both mentally and physically, coming into this game and we didn’t get off to a great start. We didn’t have great energy early on, but our guys showed why we have the potential of a special season. Because we gritted it out, we got tough after going down 11-2. Obviously outscored them by 17 points the rest of the game. And I thought everybody, all eight guys that played, really stepped up. I was really proud of Sam Alexis. I thought he gave us huge minutes today.”

The Gators, who are 2-1 in the SEC, play host to Missouri (13-3, 2-1) on Tuesday night at 9.

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