Pitt Drops in NET Rankings Following Duke Loss

The Pitt Panthers dropped in the NET rankings after a blowout loss to Duke.

Jan 7, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Ishmael Leggett (5) attempts to pass as Duke Blue Devils guard Tyrese Proctor (5) defends during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images / Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers suffered a blowout defeat to No. 4 Duke on the road, which dropped them in the recent NET rankings.

The NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) uses a Team Value Index (TVI), that rewards teams for winning tough matches, especially away from home. It also uses an adjusted net efficiency that values facing tougher opponents, getting wins on the road and defeating lower-ranking opponents by large margins.

This replaced the RPI ahead of the 2018-19 season, as the NCAA wanted a way to simplify how they look at teams' performances heading into the NCAA Tournament. The RPI used five-components, compared to the NET's two.

The NET breaks down wins and losses in four quadrants, with the best wins are in Quad 1 and the worst losses are in Quad 4.

Quad 1
Home: 1-30
Netural: 1-50
Away: 1-75

Quad 2
Home: 31-75
Neutral: 51-100
Away: 76-135

Quad 3
Home: 76-160
Neutral: 101-200
Away: 136-240

Quad 4
Home: 161+
Neutral: 201+
Away: 241+

The Panthers dropped five spots from No. 15 to No. 20, after their 76-47 defeat to the Blue Devils, who are No. 2 in the NET Rankings, making it a Quad 1 loss.

This makes it a drop of 10 spots since the start of 2025 from No. 10, falling three spots to No. 13 after their 86-74 win over Cal (No. 120) on New Year's Day and moving down two spots to No. 15 after the 83-68 win over Stanford (No. 86) on Jan. 4, both home Quad 3 wins.

The Panthers are also 1-3 against Quad 1 teams, along with the loss to Duke, as their strong non-conference schedule put them at No. 5, when the initial rankings came out.

Their two losses came vs. then ranked No. 19 Wisconsin (No. 24) in the Greenbrier Tip-Off Championship on Nov. 24, 81-75, and a 90-57 road blowout vs. Mississippi State (No. 12) on Dec. 4 in the ACC/SEC Challenge.

Pitt cameback for their 91-90 overtime road win over Ohio State (No. 30) on Nov. 29, their sole Quad 1 victory.

The blowout win over rival West Virginia (No. 33), 86-62 at home in the Backyard Brawl on Nov. 15, dropped to a Quad 2 win, as WVU lost to Arizona, 75-56 at home, dropping them seven places below the Quad 1 threshold.

Pitt also has one more Quad 2 victory, coming against LSU (No. 68) in the Greenbrier Tip-Off, 74-63 on Nov. 22. They have two other Quad 3 wins as well, vs. Murray State (No. 132) on Nov. 8, 83-68, and on the road vs. Virginia Tech (No. 196) in their ACC opener on Dec. 7, 64-59.

The five other victories they have are against Quad 4 teams. This includes Radford (No. 178) in the season opener on Nov. 4, 96-56, Gardner-Webb (No. 227) on Nov. 11, 83-64, VMI (No. 309) on Nov. 18, 93-48, Eastern Kentucky (No. 211) on Dec. 11, 96-56, and Sam Houston State (No. 173) on Dec. 21, 110-78.

These wins also aren't set for the rest of the season. If a team improves, their NET ranking will do the same and so will the quality of the win/loss. If a team gets worse, then their NET ranking will also get worse and the quality of the win/loss.

A strong non-conference schedule and performance, 9-2, got Pitt high in the NET rankings to start out with.

Pitt still ranks second in the ACC behind Duke and will need to forget this loss quickly and focus on their remaining schedule.

They take on Louisville (No. 40) in their next matchup at home on Jan. 11, a Quad 2 game that is must win for Pitt.

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Panthers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

• Pitt Football Targeting Texas Transfer
• Pitt Football Lands in Top 6 For WPIAL 4-Star
• Pitt Suffers Blowout to No. 4 Duke
• Former Pitt LB Transfers to Virginia Tech
• Pitt Starting G Returns from Injury

Follow Inside the Panthers on Twitter: @InsidePitt