A "Quad 1 win" is one of the terms most often mentioned ahead of Selection Sunday. With 68 teams chosen to participate in March Madness, some might be baffled by the words and stats used. So, what is a Quad 1 win?
According to Yahoo! Sports, the quadrant system helps the selection committee pick teams to make the NCAA Tournament. This is based on NET rankings, which has been an evaluation tool used since the 2018-19 season.
What is a Quad 1 win in college basketball?
Throughout a college basketball season, there are four quadrants, out of which Quad 1 wins, matter the most. There are three quality wins that fall on Quad 1: win at home against teams ranked 1-30, win at a neutral venue against teams in the Top 50 and an away win against teams in the Top 75.
Quad 2 includes wins against teams ranked 31-75, neutral site games against opponents ranked 51-100, and road games against opponents ranked 76-135.
Quad 3 consists of home games against opponents ranked 76-160, neutral site games against 101-200, and road games against 135-240 ranked opponents.
While the last quadrant includes home games against opponents worse than 160, neutral site games against opponents worse than rank 200, and road games against teams ranked lower than 240.
Significance of Quad 1 wins in college basketball
While Quad 1 wins are important, Quad 1 losses don't bear much weight. However, Quad 2, 3 and 4 losses mean more for the NET rankings, but the same can't be said for wins on Quad 2, 3 and 4.
Quad 2 wins can be any of the following: a home win against teams ranked from 31st to 75th, neutral wins against the bottom half of the Top 100 and an away win against teams outside of the Top 75 until the 135th ranked team.
Quad 3 and Quad 4 wins have less meaning because they are not against quality teams. However, losing against a team outside of the Top 135 will likely have an effect on how the selection committee perceives a team.
Kansas had the most Quad 1 wins
The defending NCAA champions, the Kansas Jayhawks, had the most Quad 1 wins this season. Playing in a stacked Big 12, they had a record of 17-7 in the quadrant, which easily topped the nation. It's one of the reasons why they were named No. 1 for the West Region.
Texas came in second with a Quad 1 record of 14-8, but were just second to No. 1 seed Houston in the Midwest Region. Alabama is third with a record of 13-5 and was named No. 1 for the South Region as well as the No. 1 overall seed.
Baylor had 11 wins, but was only third in the South behind Houston and Arizona. East Region's No. 1 team Purdue had an overall quadrant record of 10-4.
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