The season debut of the NET rankings -- the NCAA's own evaluation tool used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee to determine a team's resume -- has Gonzaga and Baylor at the top of its rankings in identical fashion as the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll. But some stark differences in the metric already have emerged, starting with Tennessee, which sits at No. 3 in the NET. It's a higher-than-expected ranking that comes two days after it took its first loss on the year.
The AP and Coaches Polls will update later on Monday but neither Tennessee nor Illinois were top five teams in either polling metric as of last week. The Vols were ranked as low as No. 7 in the AP Poll before a 20 point win over No. 12 Missouri and an 8 point loss to unranked Alabama this week. The Illini were ranked as low as No. 16 in the Coaches Poll and won their only game this week, which was a home game against Purdue.
Michigan, Iowa, Houston, Texas and Missouri comprise the five teams that occupy the No. 6-10 spots in the NET.
Teams that have not been ranked in the AP or Coaches Poll but are now in the NET top 25 include Colgate (No. 16), Drake (No. 20) and Syracuse (No. 25). Because the NET is a two-component metric that adjusts for net adjusted efficiency and also has a Team Value Index that ranks based on results and quality of opponent, it opens up the possibility for a more inclusive and holistic picture of the sport.
Here is a look at the top 25. The full rankings can be found here.
- Gonzaga
- Baylor
- Tennessee
- Illinois
- Villanova
- Michigan
- Iowa
- Houston
- Texas
- Missouri
- Wisconsin
- Saint Louis
- Boise State
- Colorado
- Clemson
- Colgate
- Rutgers
- Texas Tech
- Oregon
- Drake
- Arizona
- Florida
- LSU
- Arkansas
- Syracuse
