Kentucky in the Top 25 of the NET Rankings entering SEC play

At the midpoint of the 2021-22 college basketball season, Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament resume is starting to take shape. The Cats’ NET Ranking improved from No. 30 to No. 23 after the win over Western Kentucky. With SEC play starting tomorrow, Quad 1 is packed with opportunities; however, we’ve got a few more cupcakes to consume before getting to the meat of the schedule.

Before we tackle Kentucky’s team sheet, here’s the NET Top 25 through December 27:

1. Baylor
2. Arizona
3. LSU
4. Houston
5. Gonzaga
6. Purdue
7. Kansas
8. Tennessee
9. Duke
10. Auburn
11. Michigan State
12. Villanova
13. Southern Cal
14. Illinois
15. Loyola Chicago
16. UConn
17. Iowa State
18. Ohio State
19. Xavier
20. Texas
21. UCLA
22. Texas Tech
23. Kentucky
24. Alabama
25. Seton Hall

NET changes for the 2021-22 season

This is the fourth season the NCAA has used the NET Rankings as its primary metric to evaluate the strength of teams’ wins and losses. This year, the formula has been tweaked. From now on, the NET will only use two components, adjusted net efficiency rating and Team Value Index (TVI), which is a result-based feature that rewards teams for beating quality opponents, particularly away from home. Win percentage, adjusted win percentage, and scoring margin are no longer used in the NET rankings.

Kentucky’s Team Sheet

Kentucky is 9-2 this season, with the losses falling in Quad 1 (No. 9 Duke) and Quad 2 (No. 109 Notre Dame). We’re all sick of the Fighting Irish, but the better they do, the less awful that loss in South Bend looks. Keeping it out of Quad 3 is good for the Cats, so root for Notre Dame to stay ranked above No. 135.

Kentucky’s lone Quad 1 win this season is against North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic. Currently, the Tar Heels are No. 46 in the rankings. If they fall below No. 50, that win will move to Quad 2 since it took place at a neutral site. Even so, Kentucky has ten Quad 1 opportunities ahead thanks to a loaded SEC slate.

This week, the Cats have two Quad 4 games: vs. Missouri (No. 235) on Wednesday and High Point (No. 285) on Friday. The Tigers and the Panthers are the worst teams left on the schedule in the eyes of the NET. Let’s enjoy the cupcakes while we can.

Quad 1: 1-1

Home: 1-30, Neutral: 1-50, Away: 1-75

NET Rank	Date	Opponent	In Conference?	Result
3	01/04/2022	@ LSU	Y
3	02/23/2022	LSU	Y
7	01/29/2022	@ Kansas
8	02/15/2022	@ Tennessee	Y
8	01/15/2022	Tennessee	Y
9	11/09/2021	Duke (@ New York, NY)		L 71-79
10	01/22/2022	@ Auburn	Y
18	12/18/2021	Ohio St. (@ Las Vegas, NV)		Canceled
24	02/05/2022	@ Alabama	Y
24	02/19/2022	Alabama	Y
46	12/18/2021	North Carolina (@ Las Vegas, NV)		W 98-69
53	03/05/2022	@ Florida	Y
66	01/19/2022	@ Texas A&M	Y

Quad 2: 0-1

Home: 31-75, Neutral: 51-100, Away: 76-135

NET Rank	Date	Opponent	In Conference?	Result
41	01/25/2022	Mississippi St.	Y
53	02/12/2022	Florida	Y
84	01/11/2022	@ Vanderbilt	Y
90	02/26/2022	@ Arkansas	Y
105	02/08/2022	@ South Carolina	Y
109	12/11/2021	@ Notre Dame		L 62-66

Quad 3: 2-0

Home: 76-160, Neutral: 101-200, Away: 136-240

NET Rank	Date	Opponent	In Conference?	Result
84	02/02/2022	Vanderbilt	Y
87	11/19/2021	Ohio		W 77-59
88	12/22/2021	Louisville		Ppd
131	03/01/2022	Ole Miss	Y
136	12/22/2021	Western Ky.		W 95-60

Quad 4: 6-0

Home: 161-357, Neutral: 201-357, Away: 241-357

NET Rank	Date	Opponent	In Conference?	Result
208	01/08/2022	Georgia	Y
235	12/29/2021	Missouri	Y
238	12/07/2021	Southern U.		W 76-64
285	12/31/2021	High Point
300	11/22/2021	Albany (NY)		W 86-61
303	11/26/2021	North Florida		W 86-52
314	11/16/2021	Mount St. Mary’s		W 80-55
325	11/12/2021	Robert Morris		W 100-60
342	11/29/2021	Central Michigan		W 85-57