Virginia Tech Basketball: Hokies NET Ranking Sees Little Change Following Loss to Virginia
Despite getting 23 points from Tobi Lawal yesterday, Virginia Tech was not able to beat Virginia and the Hokies fell to 6-8 in ACC play.
The loss puts the Hokies at 6-8 and in 12th place in the conference, but they still have a chance to get a top-nine seed and earn a first-round bye in the ACC Tournament.
Right now, Georgia Tech occupies the No. 8 spot after back-to-back wins over Cal and Stanford and Florida State is at No. 9 with a 6-8 record. They are one of four teams with a 4-8 record, joining Pitt, Virginia, and the Hokies. Notre Dame is 5-8 and faces Louisville tonight. Will Mike Young's team find a way to get a top-nine seed when all is said and done? They have six games left and one of the harder schedules remaining in the ACC. They face Boston College, Miami, Louisville, Syracuse, North Carolina, and Clemson remaining in conference play.
How did the Hokies loss affect their NET Ranking? It actually did not change it very much. Virginia Tech has dropped from 154 to 156. They are 4-12 vs Quad 1 and 2 teams, 1-1 vs Quad 3 teams and 6-1 vs Quad 4 teams.
For a refresher, here is how the NCAA calculates NET Ranking:
"The 2024-25 men's basketball season marks the seventh season of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, which replaced the RPI prior to the 2018-19 season as the primary sorting tool for evaluating teams. In May 2020, the NCAA announced there will be changes made to the NCAA Evaluation Tool to increase accuracy and simplify it by reducing a five-component metric to just two.
The remaining factors include the Team Value Index (TVI), which is a result-based feature that rewards teams for beating quality opponents, particularly away from home, as well as an adjusted net efficiency rating. The adjusted efficiency is a team’s net efficiency, adjusted for strength of opponent and location (home/away/neutral) across all games played. For example, a given efficiency value (net points per 100 possessions) against stronger opposition rates higher than the same efficiency against lesser opponents and having a certain efficiency on the road rates higher than the same efficiency at home.
Duke defeated Stanford yesterday and remains No. 1, but just by a game. Due to their loss to Clemson, the Blue Devils do not have the timebreaker over the Tigers. Clemson defeated Florida State yesterday to remain in second place. Louisville faces Notre Dame tonight and is currently in third place, while Wake Forest was one of the bigg winners yesterday with their big win over SMU. Duke, Clemson, Louisville, and Wake Forest are the current top four seeds in the ACC.
SMU is still in position to challenge for a top four spot, but the loss yesterday does not help them. North Carolina is currently 6th and coming off a win vs Syracuse, while Stanford is right behind them at 8-7. The Cardinal had a tough week, with losses to Georgia Tech and Duke.
ACC Standings (2/16)
1. Duke (14-1 ACC, 22-3 Overall)
2. Clemson (13-2, 21-5)
3. Louisville (12-2, 19-6)
4. Wake Forest (11-4, 19-7)
5. SMU (10-4, 19-6)
6. North Carolina (8-6, 15-11)
7. Stanford (8-7, 16-10)
8. Georgia Tech (7-8, 13-13)
9. Florida State (6-8, 15-10)
10. Pittsburgh (6-8, 15-10)
11. Virginia (6-8, 13-12)
12. Virginia Tech (6-8, 11-14)
13. Notre Dame (5-8, 11-13)
14. Syracuse (5-10, 11-15)
15. Cal (5-10, 12-14)
16. NC State (3-11, 10-15)
17. Boston College (2-12, 10-15)
18. Miami (2-12, 6-19)
Additional Links:
Virginia Tech Basketball: Instant Takeaways from Virginia Tech's loss to the Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia Tech Women's Basketball: Instant Takeaways from the Hokies loss against UNC
Jackson Caudell has been covering Georgia Tech Athletics For On SI since March 2022 and the Atlanta Hawks for On SI since October 2023. Jackson is also the co-host of the Bleav in Georgia Tech podcast and he loves to bring thoughtful analysis and comprehensive coverage to everything that he does. Find him on X @jacksoncaudell