Pitt Drops in NET Rankings Following Loss

After a dismal showing against Mississippi State, the Pitt Panthers face a drop in NET rankings.

Mar 15, 2024; Washington, D.C., USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Jeff Capel yells from the sidelines against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images / Amber Searls-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers suffered one of their biggest losses in recent history and dropped in the NET Rankings as a result.

Pitt lost 90-57 to Mississippi State on the road on Dec. 4 in the ACC/SEC Challenge. The 33-point loss ranks tied for the worst under head coach Jeff Capel, as they lost 91-58 to Wake Forest on Feb. 20.

The Panthers shot just 31.3% from the field, while the Bulldogs made 57.8% of their shots. They also led the Panthers in a number of categories, including rebounds, 49-27, defensive rebounds, 33-13, points off turnovers, 15-4, second chance points, 24-12, bench points, 36-27, and points in the paint, 52-14.

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 defeat for the Panthers dropped them from No. 5 in in the initial rankings on Dec. 2 to No. 12.

This loss for Pitt against Mississippi State is a Quad 1 loss, which should stay that way most of the season.

Pitt is 1-2 against Quad 1 teams, which also includes a 81-75 loss to Wisconsin (No. 29) on Nov. 24 at the Greenbrier Tip-Off Championship at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, Va. and the 91-88 overtime road win vs. Ohio State (No. 20) on Nov. 29.

Two of their wins against rival West Virginia (No. 37) in the Backyard Brawl at home on Nov. 15, 86-62, and against LSU (No. 55) at the Greenbrier Tip-Off on Nov. 22, 74-63, dropped to Quad 2 victories.

They also have two three Quad 3 wins, both at home, including the 96-56 win vs.Radford (No. 108) in the season opener on Nov. 4, an 83-68 victory over Murray State (No. 114) on Nov. 8.

Pitt saw one of their wins drop to Quad 4, their 83-64 home victory over Gardner-Webb on Nov. 11. Their other Quad 4 win, which came against VMI (No. 283) at home, with sophomore guard Jaland Lowe recording a triple-double in the 93-48 victory on Nov. 18.

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.

Panthers head coach Jeff Capel wanted a strong non-conference schedule, with returners in Lowe and senior guard Ish Leggett and he's gotten that this season, which has benefitted them greatly. They still rank second best in the ACC, just below Duke at No. 4.

Pitt missed out on the NCAA Tournament last season, despite finishing fourth in the ACC and making the ACC Tournament Semifinals.

Their NET Ranking, which suffered due to a poor non-conference strength of schedule, plus a bad loss to a terrible Missouri team, led the Selection Committee to keep them out.

Pitt faces Virginia Tech (No. 231) on the road for their ACC opener on Dec. 7, which is a Quad 3 matchup

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