Bracketology: Texas' current standing in the NET rankings through six games of Big 12 play

The No. 7 Texas Longhorns are one-third of the way through Big 12 play and currently boast a 4-2 conference record, one game behind the trio of Kansas State, Kansas, and Iowa State at the top of the standings.

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Texas is 2-1 in the Moody Center during conference play, equaled by a 2-1 record outside of Austin versus Big 12 opponents.

Twelve more Big 12 games remain, plus a matchup with Rick Barnes’ Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville, Tenn.

Texas is building a strong NCAA Tournament resume according to the NET, with an 11-1 home record and five Quadrant 1 wins.

The NET, or NCAA Evaluation Tool, replaced RPI as the primary method for the NCAA tournament committee to evaluate teams before the 2018-19 season. It divides games into a quadrant system. Quadrant 1 games are against top teams, while Quadrant 4 wins are against cellar-dweller programs.

• 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

More information about the NET can be found here.

Bracketologists have started to make predictions for the field of 68. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had Texas as a No. 3 seed in his most recent update.

BracketMatrix.com, which was last updated on Wednesday, projects the Longhorns to be a No. 2 seed.

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Quadrant 1 games

Record: 5-3

Wins: Gonzaga, Creighton, at Oklahoma, at Oklahoma State, TCU

Losses: Kansas St., vs. Illinois, at Iowa State

The TCU game is barely hanging on as a Quadrant 1 contest with the Horned Frogs ranked No. 29. The loss at Iowa State is likely to stay a Quadrant 1 game all season. The same is true for wins over Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Gonzaga. Creighton is currently ranked No. 20 and is tied for third in the Big East with a 5-3 conference record.

Quadrant 2 games

Record: 1-0

Wins: Texas Tech

Losses: N/A

Texas Tech is the lone Quadrant 2 game for the Longhorns. Should the Red Raiders fall any farther from their current No. 74 ranking, this game could turn into a Quadrant 3 game.

Quadrant 3 games

Record: 2-0

Wins: vs. Stanford, Louisiana

Losses: N/A

Louisiana (No. 103) could turn into a Quadrant 2 game with a solid year in the Sun Belt. They are 11-4 overall and 4-2 in conference. Stanford is currently 0-7 in Pac-12 play.

Quadrant 4 games

Record: 7-0

Wins: UTEP, Houston Christian, vs. Northern Arizona, UT-RGV, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Rice, Texas A&M-Commerce

Losses: N/A

The NET cares not for outside distractions like a head coach getting suspended or fired, so avoiding a loss to Rice on the day Chris Beard was placed on unpaid leave will stave off any “bad loss” talk when discussing about the Longhorns through the first half of the season. Rice is currently No. 167 in the rankings, placing the Owls on the precipice of becoming a Quadrant 3 opponent. Similar holds true for UTEP (No. 178).

Going undefeated in Quadrant 4 games is a must. Only one team in the top 25 of NET, Boise State, has a Quadrant 4 loss.

Where the remaining schedule ranks as of January 19

Jan 21 – at West Virginia – No. 24 – Quadrant 1 game

Jan 24 – Oklahoma State – No. 46 – Quadrant 2 game

Jan 28 – at Tennessee – No. 2 – Quadrant 1 game

Jan 30 – Baylor – No. 16 – Quadrant 1 game

Feb 4 – at Kansas State – No. 15 – Quadrant 1 game

Feb 6 – at Kansas – No. 6 – Quadrant 1 game

Feb 11 – West Virginia – No. 24 – Quadrant 1 game

Feb 13 – at Texas Tech – No. 74 – Quadrant 1 game

Feb 18 – Oklahoma – No. 54 – Quadrant 2 game

Feb 21 – Iowa State – No. 9 – Quadrant 1 game

Feb 25 – at Baylor – No. 16 – Quadrant 1 game

Mar 1 – at TCU – No. 29 – Quadrant 1 game

Mar 4 – Kansas – No. 6 – Quadrant 1 game

NET Rankings top 10

1. Houston
2. Tennessee
3. Alabama
4. Purdue
5. UCLA
6. Kansas
7. UConn
8. St. Mary’s (CA)
9. Iowa State
10. Gonzaga

Where the Big 12 ranks in KenPom

7. Kansas
11. Texas
12. Iowa State
17. Baylor
23. West Virginia
26. Kansas State
31. TCU
34. Oklahoma State
38. Oklahoma
63. Texas Tech