Despite losing its first game of the season two days earlier, Arkansas debuted in the top 25 of the NET rankings Monday morning.

The Razorbacks checked in at No. 24 in the NCAA’s initial rankings for 2020-21, which were delayed because of the late start to the season in response to the coronavirus pandemic. It will now be updated daily through the end of the regular season.

As a reminder, the NET is a tool used by the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball selection committee. It replaced the old RPI metric in the 2018-19 season, so this is the NET’s third year of existence.

Arkansas is one of five SEC teams inside the top 25. That group is led by Tennessee at No. 3 - behind only No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 Baylor - and also features Missouri at No. 10. Florida (No. 22) and LSU (No. 23) are ahead of the Razorbacks, as well.

The only other team in the conference inside the top 50, though, is Alabama at No. 36. The most surprising ranking is likely Kentucky - thanks to a six-game losing streak that has it sitting at 2-6 - debuting at No. 144, which is ahead of only Vanderbilt.

In addition to generating a raw ranking, the NET also splits each team’s games into four “quadrants” based on the opponent’s NET ranking and the location of the game:

~Quadrant 1: Home vs. 1-30, Neutral vs. 1-50, Away vs. 1-75

~Quadrant 2: Home vs. 31-75, Neutral vs. 51-100, Away vs. 76-135

~Quadrant 3: Home vs. 76-160, Neutral vs. 101-200, Away vs. 136-240

~Quadrant 4: Home vs. 161-plus, Neutral vs. 201-plus, Away vs. 241-plus

Using that breakdown, Arkansas has played just one Quadrant 1 game, losing to NET No. 10 Missouri on Saturday. It has a pair of victories in Quadrant 2 (vs. No. 73 Abilene Christian, at No. 76 Auburn) and Quadrant 3 (vs. No. 121 Oral Roberts, vs. No. 122 North Texas), but the other five are comfortably in Quadrant 4.

The Razorbacks’ matchup with Oklahoma State in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Jan. 30 would currently be a Quadrant 1 opportunity, as the Cowboys are No. 35 in the NET and the game will be played in Stillwater, Okla.

3. Tennessee

10. Missouri

22. Florida

23. LSU

24. Arkansas

36. Alabama

62. Ole Miss

76. Auburn

86. Georgia

97. Texas A&M

103. South Carolina

113. Mississippi State

144. Kentucky

177. Vanderbilt

35. Oklahoma State (haven’t played yet)

73. Abilene Christian

121. Oral Roberts

122. North Texas

223. Central Arkansas

228. UT-Arlington

242. Lipscomb

303. Southern

340. Mississippi Valley State (out of 340 teams)