NCAA ruling gives Memphis basketball additional Quad 1 win

Memphis basketball now has six Quad 1 wins this season.

The Tigers’ Nov. 21 victory over San Francisco at the Chase Center, home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, originally counted as a neutral-site contest. But a recent NCAA ruling flipped it to a true home game for USF.

“After receiving additional information regarding the Memphis-San Francisco game played Nov. 21, it was determined that the contest would be redesignated as a home game for San Francisco instead of a neutral-site game for NET purposes,” the NCAA said in a statement sent to Bluff City Media.

This changes Memphis’ win from Quad 2 to Quad 1, since San Francisco ranks No. 62 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET). NCAA rules state that a team must beat a top-50 NET opponent to earn a Quad 1 win on a neutral court, but just needs a top-75 NET win for it to count as Quad 1 on the road.

The Tigers’ matchup with the Dons was the first game of a doubleheader, as the USF women’s team took on Boise State later that night. The NCAA primarily based its new ruling off the event’s ticket distribution. NCAA rules state that if a school “controls the tickets or includes the game in its season ticket package,” it counts as a home game for said school.

“Of note, the men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader was included in USF season ticket packages,” the NCAA’s statement reads.

Memphis athletic director Ed Scott briefly commented on the ruling Thursday.

“Thanks to our administrative team for working through this with the NCAA,” he said on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

Memphis—No. 22 in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25—now ties with Michigan for the 12th-most Quad 1 wins in the country. The Tigers also improve to 9-2 in true road games this season.

Memphis still owns 10 combined wins in Quads 1 and 2, and moved up to No. 48 in the NET on Thursday. Its Quad 3 loss count dropped to two in the process, since Wichita State jumped to No. 133 in the rankings.

Penny Hardaway’s club (21-5, 11-2 AAC) hosts Florida Atlantic on Sunday (1 p.m., ESPN2).