Quad 1 wins: Your team needs them to move up

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Quad 1 wins?  What does that have to do with ranking team?  Everything!  The new NET ranking system is used to order teams.  Then results against those teams are placed into four quads. Quad 1 is where you want your favorite team to gain victories.  The teams that have quad 1 wins move up and those that don’t move down.  Early in the season teams with two or more such wins will be in good shape.  Teams with 1 or 0 quad 1 wins will be lower on the seed list.

Here are three teams that moved up the last two weeks based on the quality of wins in quad 1.

Tennessee-  Their win over Gonzaga was huge.  It was their 2nd quad 1 win but also the type of quality win that will matter a lot in March.  They are currently our top #2 seed and can easily be considered for a #1 seed.

Indiana-  A road win at Penn St is a quad 1 win and also the win at home vs Louisville.  The Hoosier faithful will root for these teams to stay ranked close to where they are currently in order to keep these wins quad 1.  Indiana also has two quad 2 wins as well.  This was good enough to move them up to the 4 seed line.

Marquette-  A home win vs Wisconsin is a big win.  Marquette now has two quad 1 wins and has moved up to the 5 seed line.  

Teams that have moved down the last two weeks include:

Kentucky-  The loss to Seton Hall was not good but what hurts the Wildcats is 0 quad 1 wins and a weak non conference schedule to date.  Yes they lost to Duke, but they need to win some big game which they do have on the schedule.  Kentucky is currently a 9 seed.

Maryland-  Despite being ranked last week by the AP, the Terrapins simply have not beaten anyone of value to date.  They have zero quad 1 & 2 wins on the season.  This is not a recipe to make the bracket.  Maryland is currently in our first four out.

Kansas St-  Currently ranked in the AP at #25, but not in our bracket.  They also have zero quad 1 & 2 wins.  They have to find some value games and win them to move up.  Kansas St is currently in our first 4 out.

With just a few weeks left until conference play begins, teams need to win the key non-conference games remaining on their schedule to build the resume.  If not then solid conference play will be needed to make the big dance.  IT is very early to talk about teams making or being left out, however, the foundation of a resume in near completion.  Some teams are in better shape than others.  Any question please tweet us @delphibrackets.  Enjoy the games over the holiday season, they matter.