For the first time this season, the Arizona State men’s basketball team is below .500. Bobby Hurley’s team has lost five in a row, is in second-to-last place in the Big 12 and has fallen out of the NCAA tournament picture. But the Sun Devils are still in the fight. Despite their 12-13 record, ASU still has an impressive NET ranking — and they still have a clear path to March Madness. Arizona State’s NCAA NET Ranking The Sun Devils are currently ranked No. 65 in the NCAA NET Rankings, which are the only rankings that are worth monitoring. The 12-person NCAA Tournament Selection Committee uses the NET as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for the NCAA tournament. Because the NET takes strength of schedule into account — as well as game results, game location, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses — Arizona State is ranked above teams with much better records. Colorado State is 16-9 overall and 10-4 in the Mountain West, but they’re ranked No. 70 in the NET in part because they have played a much weaker schedule than ASU. They do have a win over a Big 12 team — they beat TCU in overtime in November — but they also lost to Colorado by 17. And the Buffaloes are 1-13 in the Big 12. The Sun Devils have played the ninth-toughest schedule in the nation according to KenPom. Entering Monday, ASU had faced 10 teams in the top 40 in the NET. And they’ll face No. 3 Houston for the first time on Tuesday. No. 4 Florida No. 7 Texas Tech No. 8 Iowa State No. 9 Arizona No. 10 Gonzaga No. 15 Kansas No. 20 Saint Mary’s No. 28 Baylor No. 36 BYU No. 37 New Mexico The Sun Devils only won two of those games, but they were competitive in most of them. And that’s what is driving their NET ranking. If they had won five of those games, they would be in the top 40 and an NCAA tournament team. Fortunately for ASU, they play in the Big 12 and the rest of their schedule is lined with opportunities to get back into the hunt. Starting with Tuesday’s game vs. Houston, the Sun Devils have at least three more Quad 1 opportunities on their schedule. The NCAA defines Quad 1 games as home games against a top 30 team in the NET, or road games against a top 50 team in the NET. If the Sun Devils run the table, they’ll be 18-13 and easily inside the top 40 in the NET — and a top-40 NET ranking typically correlates to a berth in the NCAA tournament. Here’s a look at ASU’s final six games and the NET ranking of each opponent: No. 3 Houston (2/17) No. 73 Kansas State (2/23) No. 36 BYU (2/26) No. 72 Utah (3/1) No. 9 Arizona (3/4) No. 7 Texas Tech (3/8)
For the first time this season, the Arizona State men’s basketball team is below .500.
Bobby Hurley’s team has lost five in a row, is in second-to-last place in the Big 12 and has fallen out of the NCAA tournament picture.
But the Sun Devils are still in the fight. Despite their 12-13 record, ASU still has an impressive NET ranking — and they still have a clear path to March Madness.
Arizona State’s NCAA NET Ranking
The Sun Devils are currently ranked No. 65 in the NCAA NET Rankings, which are the only rankings that are worth monitoring. The 12-person NCAA Tournament Selection Committee uses the NET as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for the NCAA tournament.
Because the NET takes strength of schedule into account — as well as game results, game location, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses — Arizona State is ranked above teams with much better records.
Colorado State is 16-9 overall and 10-4 in the Mountain West, but they’re ranked No. 70 in the NET in part because they have played a much weaker schedule than ASU. They do have a win over a Big 12 team — they beat TCU in overtime in November — but they also lost to Colorado by 17. And the Buffaloes are 1-13 in the Big 12.
The Sun Devils have played the ninth-toughest schedule in the nation according to KenPom. Entering Monday, ASU had faced 10 teams in the top 40 in the NET. And they’ll face No. 3 Houston for the first time on Tuesday.
- No. 4 Florida
- No. 7 Texas Tech
- No. 8 Iowa State
- No. 9 Arizona
- No. 10 Gonzaga
- No. 15 Kansas
- No. 20 Saint Mary’s
- No. 28 Baylor
- No. 36 BYU
- No. 37 New Mexico
The Sun Devils only won two of those games, but they were competitive in most of them. And that’s what is driving their NET ranking. If they had won five of those games, they would be in the top 40 and an NCAA tournament team.
Fortunately for ASU, they play in the Big 12 and the rest of their schedule is lined with opportunities to get back into the hunt. Starting with Tuesday’s game vs. Houston, the Sun Devils have at least three more Quad 1 opportunities on their schedule. The NCAA defines Quad 1 games as home games against a top 30 team in the NET, or road games against a top 50 team in the NET.
If the Sun Devils run the table, they’ll be 18-13 and easily inside the top 40 in the NET — and a top-40 NET ranking typically correlates to a berth in the NCAA tournament.
Here’s a look at ASU’s final six games and the NET ranking of each opponent:
- No. 3 Houston (2/17)
- No. 73 Kansas State (2/23)
- No. 36 BYU (2/26)
- No. 72 Utah (3/1)
- No. 9 Arizona (3/4)
- No. 7 Texas Tech (3/8)
