There’s something brewing in Bloomington, and it’s starting to show up in the numbers that matter.
The NCAA just dropped its first NET rankings of the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season, and Indiana fans have reason to sit up and take notice. The Hoosiers come in at No. 11 - their highest NET ranking since December 2022 - and that’s not just a feel-good stat. It’s a sign that head coach Darian DeVries has this program trending in the right direction, and fast.
In the ever-evolving world of NCAA Tournament selection, the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) is the gold standard. It’s the primary metric the Selection Committee leans on to sort through the chaos of at-large bids and seed lines.
And while it’s still early, Indiana’s positioning here is significant. At No. 11, they’re not just knocking on the door of national relevance - they’re already inside the house.
Among Big Ten programs, Indiana ranks fourth in the conference behind a trio of heavyweights: No. 1 Michigan, No.
3 Purdue, and No. 10 Michigan State.
That’s elite company, and it speaks to both the strength of the Big Ten and Indiana’s ability to hang with the best of them.
So what’s driving IU’s early-season climb?
Start with their 23-point win over Marquette - a result that turned heads and moved the NET needle in a big way. According to advanced analytics sites like Bart Torvik and KenPom, Indiana was expected to win that matchup, but not by nearly that margin. Outperforming expectations is exactly the kind of thing the NET rewards, especially when it comes against solid competition.
The NET formula itself leans on two primary components: the Team Value Index (TVI) and adjusted net efficiency. The TVI is all about rewarding teams for beating quality opponents - with extra credit for doing it away from home.
Meanwhile, adjusted efficiency digs into how well a team performs on a per-possession basis, factoring in opponent strength and game location. In short: blowing out a good team on the road is worth a lot more than coasting past a weaker squad at home.
And that brings us to the quadrant system - the framework the NET uses to evaluate wins and losses. It breaks games into four quads based on opponent ranking and location:
- Quad 1: The toughest games - think top-30 opponents at home, top-50 on a neutral court, or top-75 on the road.
- Quad 2: Still strong, but a step down in terms of opponent quality.
- Quad 3 & 4: Lower-tier games, where wins are expected and losses can hurt.
So far, Indiana hasn’t played a Quad 1 opponent, but they’ve taken care of business where they need to. They’re 1-0 in Quad 2, 1-0 in Quad 3, and a perfect 5-0 in Quad 4. That 7-0 overall record is clean, and while the true tests are still ahead, the early returns are promising.
Next up: Big Ten play begins with a trip to Minnesota (currently No. 144 in the NET), followed by a neutral-site showdown against No. 6 Louisville in Indianapolis.
That Louisville game? Circle it.
It’s Indiana’s first real shot at a Quad 1 win - and a chance to show just how real this start is.
The NET will update daily from now through Selection Sunday, and Indiana’s ranking will rise or fall with each result. But right now, the Hoosiers are in a strong position - and if they keep stacking wins and outperforming expectations, they’ll stay in the thick of the conversation all season long.