WVU Takes Massive Leap in NCAA's NET Rankings After Beating UAB

It wasn't easy, it wasn't pretty but the Mountaineers got the job done on Saturday night by defeating the UAB Blazers 65-59.

Leading scorer Taz Sherman was essentially shut out in the first half with just four points but finished the night with 17. The unsung hero of the game was starting point guard Kedrian Johnson. Johnson played tremendous on the ball defense all night long on Jordan Walker and also hit several clutch free throws down the stretch. Coming into the game, Johnson had only shot 46% from the charity stripe on the season but when they needed him most, he came through.

“Kedrian has been in the gym," head coach Bob Huggins said in his postgame radio interview. "There’s a direct correlation of who is in the gym and who’s not in the gym.”

Saturday's win for West Virginia qualified as a Quad 2 win. What exactly is a Quad 2 win and what is the importance of Quad 1 and 2 wins? Well, it's what the NCAA Tournament selection committee uses to determine seeding for the tournament field. The quads are categorized by where a team ranks in the RPI.

A Quad 1 win is a home win vs RPI teams ranked 1-30, neutral 1-50, and away 1-75.

A Quad 2 win is a home win vs RPI teams ranked 31-75, neutral 51-100, and away 76-135.

A Quad 3 win is a home win vs RPI teams ranked 76-160, neutral 101-200, and away 135-240.

A Quad 4 win is a home win vs RPI teams ranked 161-353, neutral 201-353, and away 241-353.

Following the win over UAB, West Virginia jumped from 58 to 39 in the NET Rankings. This essentially means they went from a team that would be considered barely in the tournament field to being in the range of a No. 10 seed.

The Mountaineers will be back inside the WVU Coliseum on Wednesday as they play host to the Youngstown State at 6 p.m. EST.

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