The Oregon Ducks are on a tear this season. With two top-25 wins and incredible performances in close games, head coach Dana Altman is aligning Rubik's Cubes, as Oregon fans love to say.
Over the weekend, the Ducks earned gritty wins over Big Ten opponents Ohio State and Penn State. Oregon improved to 15-2 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play. However, the most notable takeaway from their wins over the weekend is that the Ducks are now tied for the most Quad 1 wins in the country (7) alongside the No. 1 Auburn Tigers.
Oregon is now tied with Auburn with 7 Quadrant 1 wins
— James Crepea (@JamesCrepea) January 12, 2025
What is a Quad 1 win in college basketball?
All of collegiate basketball is broken up into four quadrants (Quad 1, Quad, 2, Quad 3, and Quad 4) with the most importance being placed on Quads 1 and 2. The selection committee uses these quadrants to determine and justify their seedings at the end-of-season tournament, March Madness.
Quad 1 wins are home games versus teams RPI (rating percentage index) ranked No. 1-30, neutral games versus No. 1-50, and away games versus No. 1–75. For example, a home win against a top-30 team would count as a Quad 1 win while an away game versus a top-75 team would also count as a Quad 1 victory.
A Quad 2 win is one at home versus the RPI No. 31–75, neutral versus No. 51–100, and away victories versus RPI No. 76–135.
What do the 7 Quad 1 wins mean for Oregon?
While nothing is guaranteed at this point in the season, no team has ever missed the March Madness tournament when it has at least seven Quad 1 wins on its resume.
This doesn't mean that Oregon can lose the remainder of its regular season games and go winless in the Big Ten conference tournament but it does bode well for Altman's squad to make yet another appearance in the NCAA Tournament at the end of the season.
The Ducks are currently on a three-game winning streak with conference victories over the Maryland Terrapins, Ohio State Buckeyes, and Penn State Nittany Lions. Oregon will continue Big Ten play, at home, against the No. 17 Purdue Boilermakers on Jan. 18 at noon PT.