It’s been a stacked start to the season for BYU.
The No. 10-ranked Cougars are 8-1, having faced a number of NCAA Tournament-caliber teams — in a number of prestigious settings — during their nonconference slate to become as battle-tested as possible before Big 12 play tips off Jan. 3.
Last year, BYU finished with eight Quad 1 victories and another six wins in Quad 2 to earn a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Now, if the Big Dance were to begin today, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the Cougars as a No. 2 seed in his latest bracketology update from earlier this week.
If Lunardi’s projection stands, it would be the highest NCAA Tournament seed for BYU in program history, surpassing the No. 3 seed Dave Rose’s team received back in 2011.
The Cougars’ currently favorable seeding would come thanks to the six combined Quad 1 and 2 wins they’ve strung together already through nine games — BYU is 3-1 in Quad 1 opportunities and 3-0 in Quad 2 contests.
The quad system is based on where opponents rank within the NET and whether the matchup took place at home, on the road or in a neutral site. Here’s where each NET ranking falls in determining a Quad 1, 2, 3 or 4 victory.
- Quad 1: home 1-30, neutral 1-50, away 1-75.
- Quad 2: home 31-75, neutral 51-100, away 76-135
- Quad 3: home 76-160, neutral 101-200, away 136-240
- Quad 4: home 161+, neutral 201+, away 241+
All four of BYU’s Quad 1 chances have come in neutral-site games, defeating Villanova, Miami and Clemson while narrowly falling to UConn.
Additionally, the Cougars’ three Quad 2 wins — Wisconsin, Dayton and Cal Baptist — are from neutral sites as well.
BYU has yet to play a Quad 3 matchup, but its Quad 4 wins have come at home against Holy Cross and Delaware, with the Cougars now concluding nonconference play with four consecutive Quad 3/4 opportunities at the Marriott Center.
Teams’ NET rankings will fluctuate throughout the season, meaning the quad wins could shuffle around as well.
However, as things currently stand, BYU has nine remaining Quad 1 matchups in the regular season — beginning with Texas Tech on the road on Jan. 17 — and another six Quad 2 opportunities.
According to KenPom, BYU is projected to finish the regular season at 25-6, winning six of the current Quad 1 wins ahead. Such a résumé would almost definitely merit strong seeding in March.
