NC State claimed its first “quad one” victory in the 68-61 road win over Virginia Wednesday.
It wasn’t the Wolfpack’s first quality win of the season, but it’s the only victory that would be considered top tier in the eyes of the NCAA selection committee if the season was to end today.
The NCAA designates each game a team plays into four quadrants based on its NET rankings, which is a sorting method designed for the committee to help determine the strength of various teams’ records in order to grant at-large bids to the Big Dance to the most-deserving teams.
“Quad one” games are considered the highest quality. Q1 wins can tremendously boost a team’s tournament resume, while Q1 losses don’t necessarily penalize a team hoping to make the Big Dance. “Quad four” games are considered the lowest quality. Q4 wins don’t do anything for a resume, but Q4 losses can really hurt a team’s chances to make the tournament.
At the time, the Pack’s 74-73 road win over Pittsburgh last Wednesday was considered Q1 because the Panthers were ranked inside the top 75 of the NET, which is the minimum criteria for a road game to be considered Q1. Pitt, however, has since fallen to No. 89 in the NET, which turned what was once a Q1 win for the Wolfpack into a Q2.
That is the problem NC State is currently facing with its slim hopes of making the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid. All the Wolfpack can do now is win games, but its ACC colleagues aren’t exactly helping the cause.
The Pack’s three best wins to date are road contests over Virginia and Pittsburgh as well as the home victory it claimed against North Carolina in December. Unless something drastic changes between now and Selection Sunday, only Wednesday’s road win over the Cavaliers will be considered Q1.
The home win over the Tar Heels could have become one, but UNC recently alienated its chances of cracking the top 30 in the NET after a home loss to Marquette Wednesday. Marquette moved up to No. 86 in the NET after its win in the Smith Center, but that still makes UNC’s non-conference loss to the Golden Eagles a Q3 defeat.
