Ole Miss has the highest RPI in the West.

[Hanmudog]

Believe it or not beating them next weekend could be big our RPI. Also we only have one SEC team with an RPI worse than 100 on our schedule (Alabama) so if we can keep it up I think we can get our RPI below the magic 50 number that the committee looks at.

 

[BriantheDawg]

how does a team that's 10-9 overall with no victories over any good teams have the highest RPI in the SECW? That makes not one bit of sense.

 

[RebelBruiser]

how does a team that's 10-9 overall with no victories over any good teams have the highest RPI in the SECW? That makes not one bit of sense.

You've got me. The biggest component in RPI is opponents' winning pct. So maybe our opponents have done really well so far.

Also, we've only played 4 teams outside the Top 200, none outside the Top 250, and we've had 9 games with Top 100 opponents (4 of which are Top 50). Compare that with State's 6 opponents outside the Top 200 and 3 outside the Top 250 and only 6 opponents in the Top 100 (none of which are Top 50), and that's why we are apparently still getting a bump. It won't last long though, because we'll eventually lose enough to counteract any schedule strength we have.

Also, I noticed that on your remaining schedule, you only have three opponents who are in the Top 50 of the RPI. You'll get a boost simply from playing the rest of your SEC schedule, but that's not a whole lot of opportunity to get those signature wins that the committee likes to see.

 

[8dog]

about who you play and where you win/lose. It doesn't care who you beat or lose to.

Beating Duke at home and Farleigh Dickinson at home are the same thing to the RPI.

So simply playing good teams like W. Virginia and Louisville that are in strong conferences helps ole miss a lot.

 

[Hanmudog]

Lets see if I can explain this. We only play one more team with an RPI outside of 100. Many of the schools ahead of us played their higher RPI games in the non-conference. Since we do not exist in a bubble, it is safe to say that some of these other teams competing for NCAA bids will likely be playing teams with worse RPIs than our upcoming opponents and therefore start dropping even if they win. If we continue to win then our RPI will continue to climb. It is rare for a top 50 RPI team to be left out.

 

[BriantheDawg]

It's like wins and losses don't matter one iota. It's all about who you play. You can schedule a bunch of good teams, go 0-8 against those teams, and have a higher rpi than another team that's 8-0 with a little easier of a schedule. And that's one of the criteria used for selecting at-large teams for the Tourney. Record be damned, just play a tough schedule and your chances of getting in are that much better. The formula needs to be adjusted somehow where it takes into account your W/L record. I mean, who cares if you play a few good teams if you don't beat any of them?

 

[RebelBruiser]

It does take into account your W-L record. It's just that your W-L record only counts as 25% of the formula. I agree that there are better formulas out there, but the main problem with it is that, like other computer rankings, it gains its strength as you add data. So, right now, it's still not as good as it will be as an indicator.

If State keeps winning, you'll be able to play your way into a solid RPI because the SEC overall will give you a boost, even in a down year. However, like I mentioned, your main problem will be that your resume won't include many, if any, signature wins. If you're on the bubble, that could hurt you. I've seen times when they mention that they were down to a couple of schools, and they gave the nod to one over another simply because that one school proved they could beat NCAA tourney competition while the other school may have only had one or two wins over quality competition.

So, you'll need to pay close attention to your games with Florida, Tennessee, and UK. Those are your biggest opportunities to get those signature wins. If you go 11-5 or 10-6 without winning any of those games, you may be NIT-bound.

 

[maroonmania]

Its starting to seem like a team's RPI is more determined by the folks that make out their schedule than it is by how that team performs during the year. Also, there needs to be a diminishing "punishment" factor on playing teams at the lower end of the RPI. There is a LOT less difference between playing team 150 vs. playing team 250 than there is playing team 150 vs. playing someone in the Top 50. Georgia was number 221 when we played them Saturday and they have more talent than a large number of teams that fall from 100 to 200.

 

[BriantheDawg]

I can't remember the SEC ever being so down in basketball. We will need to go 12-4 at the minimum and still may need to win 1 game in the SEC Tournament. 12-4 would put us at 22-9 and you're right, there won't be an impressive victories if we do just that. I just don't understand how a team that is barely over .500, with no significant wins at all, has the highest RPI in the SECW. Y'all have played WVU and Louisville and that's really it. You would figure Arkansas, which has beaten the 2 good teams they've played, would be ranked a little higher in the RPI. It just doesn't make sense.</p>

 

[RebelBruiser]

That's simply because schedule strength determines 75% of the RPI. Only 25% is based on how you fare against that schedule. Therefore, to the RPI, it doesn't matter if you lose to a bad team or lose to a really good team. The losses count the same. The only difference is the effect on your schedule strength. If we were 10-9 with our wins over West Virginia and Louisville and losses to Marshall and South Alabama instead, our RPI would be the same.

And that's why the NCAA committee looks at quality wins and bad losses along with the RPI. If they see a team with some 200+ RPI losses, and no Top 50 wins, then they're going to discredit that team even if their RPI is the same as a team with a weaker schedule but no bad losses and a quality win or two.