Arizona State basketball takes big drop in updated NCAA NET Rankings
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A promising start to the 2024-25 college basketball season has quickly turned into a sense of desperation for the Arizona State men's basketball team.
After Tuesday's 95-89 home loss to UCF, the Sun Devils are 1-4 in the Big 12 and staring at a daunting three-game stretch that includes road games at Cincinnati and West Virginia and a home game vs. Iowa State.
Suddenly, a 1-7 Big 12 record is a real possibility.
"I feel like a dam that has holes in it," Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said after the loss to UCF. "One day, the offense isn't showing up for a period in the game. In this case, we couldn't stop them from scoring."
Arizona State Plummets In NET Rankings
The Sun Devils biggest issue against UCF was their inability to stop guard Keyshawn Hall, who finished with 40 points on 13-of-18 shooting. UCF shot 50.8% from the field and 46.2% from the 3-point line.
It all added up to a disheartening loss that might have ended Arizona State's NCAA tournament hopes. At 10-6, and losers of four of their last five games, the Sun Devils are currently way outside of the March Madness bubble — and it will be difficult to get back in.
The latest NCAA NET Rankings have Arizona State at No. 60, behind teams like North Texas (No. 55), UC San Diego (No. 54) and UC Irvine (No. 43).
While fans still look at the AP and Coaches polls, they have no bearing on the NCAA tournament selection process. The selection committee uses the NCAA NET Rankings as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for the tournament. In order to be in contention for an at-large bid, ASU needs to be ranked in the top 30 of the NET — at a minimum.
Big 12 Quad 1 Opportunities
The advantage of playing in the Big 12 is that Arizona State will have multiple opportunities to play its way into the tournament. The selection committee values Quad 1 victories, which are home wins against a top 30 team in the NET, or road wins against a top 50 team in the NET.
With nine Big 12 teams in the top 50 of the NET, the Sun Devils will have at least nine Quad 1 opportunities over the next six weeks. They currently have one Quad 1 victory, a 68-64 neutral-site win over No. 32 Saint Mary's.
The highest-ranked Big 12 team in the NET is Houston at No. 3. Saturday's opponent, Cincinnati, is currently ranked No. 41.
More Arizona State & Big 12 Analysis
-66e6aeb5014b4c4eeac84ca997f034c9.jpg "Ben Sherman")
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his 27-year journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. A basketball junkie, March Madness is his favorite time of the year.
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