Pitt Falls in NET Rankings Despite Win

The Pitt Panthers fell in the NET Rankings after their latest win.

Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Jaff Capel III watches during the first half of the NCAA men's basketball game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena in Columbus on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers got back on track with a win on the road vs. Virginia Tech in their ACC opener, but still dropped in the NET Rankings.

Pitt originally dropped to No. 17, but moved up one spot to No. 16 following the conclusion of the games on Dec. 8.

Sophomore guard Jaland Lowe led the Panthers in this victory with 19 points. He scored 15 points in the second half, shooting 6-for-6 from the foul line and making four steals in the period, spurring a comeback.

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+

They began at No. 5 in the initial rankings on Dec. 2, but a blowout, 90-57 road loss to Mississippi State (No. 14) on Dec. 4 dropped them to No. 12.

This win vs. Virginia Tech (No. 211) is a Quad 3 road win, as their ACC foe has had a difficult start to the season,

Pitt is 1-2 against Quad 1 teams, which also includes a 81-75 loss to Wisconsin (No. 36) on Nov. 24 at the Greenbrier Tip-Off Championship at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, Va., the 91-88 overtime road win vs. Ohio State (No. 19) on Nov. 29 and the loss to Mississippi State.

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. 56) at the Greenbrier Tip-Off on Nov. 22, 74-63, are Quad 2 after starting out as Quad 1.

They also have two three Quad 3 wins along with Virginia Tech, including the 96-56 win vs.Radford (No. 110) in the season opener on Nov. 4, an 83-68 victory over Murray State (No. 115) on Nov. 8, both at home.

Pitt has two Quad 4 wins at home, 83-64 over Gardner-Webb (No. 187) on Nov. 11 and 93-48 against VMI (No. 315) 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 rank third in the ACC, behind Duke at No. 4 and Clemson at No. 11.

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 returns home to face Eastern Kentucky (No. 148) on Dec. 11 at 7:00 p.m., a Quad 3 matchup.

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