There was plenty of celebration after Marquette men’s basketball’s final defensive stand against No. 14 Villanova Saturday afternoon, but prior to the eruption of fans, Marquette had some more good news.
On the same day as Markus Howard’s 38-point performance, the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee said if the season ended Saturday, Marquette would be a No. 3 seed in March Madness.
It is part of a new effort by the selection committee to rank the top 16 teams throughout the second half of the season. It is a similar measure to the College Football Playoff rankings.
The Golden Eagles were the No. 12 overall seed and placed into the East region.
The committee uses several variables, including breaking down team’s wins and losses into quadrants. All of the information is in Marquette’s team sheet, which the NCAA updates routinely.
After several years of using the Rating Percentage Index, NCAA made the switch to its own system called NET, or NCAA Evaluation Tool, where Marquette is ranked No. 21.
Each non-exhibition game that Marquette has played this season is considered to be under Quadrant One, Two, Three or Four. The best teams are in Quadrant One, and the worst teams are in Quadrant Four.
A Quadrant One opponent when Marquette is at home is any team ranked 1-30 by the NET, on a neutral site against a team ranked 1-50 or on the road against a team ranked 1-75.
This criteria continues to lessen its standards with Quadrants Two, Three and Four. The closer a team is to Quadrant Four, the worse they are.
In short, Marquette wants as many Quadrant One victories as possible to have the best postseason resume while avoiding any Quadrant Four losses. The quadrant can fluctuate as opponents move in the rankings.
Marquette is 7-3 so far this season against Quadrant One opponents. The best win based on NET rankings was the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who is ranked No. 12.
All of Marquette’s losses are in Quadrant One except for the team’s Feb. 5 loss vs. St. John’s, which fell into Quadrant Two.
The Golden Eagles are undefeated in Quadrant Three and Quadrant Four. The only Quadrant Three or Quadrant Four game remaining is Marquette’s March 9 game against Georgetown.
The other six games are in either of the top two quadrants. The three remaining opportunities for a win in Quadrant One are on the road against Villanova, Seton Hall and Providence.
