The season's first set of NET rankings – the NCAA's evaluation tool and primary sorting system for college basketball teams, now in its second season of use after replacing the RPI in 2018-19 – was released Monday.
Xavier (9-2) debuted at No. 71 nationally, and locally, the Musketeers are followed by Cincinnati (6-4) at No. 110 and Northern Kentucky (6-3) at No. 118.
The logic behind the NET rankings is based on quadrant wins.
So, a quad-one win comes when a team beats a NET top-30 opponent at home, a top-50 opponent on a neutral floor, or a top-75 opponent at home.