11-05-2018, 06:31 PM
OA--
I took a quick glance at the Big Ten and SEC OOC schedules. Not a lot of meat there - definitely no wins by ANYONE in the Big 10 over top 5 or 8 teams (one against West Virginia was probably the best). Which naturally leads to no one in the top 25 of the RPI.
With the SEC, it's different. Their normal standard-bearer Florida collapsed, South Carolina is not what it was last year, and Vanderbilt and Tennessee won the regular season, but both faltered in the tourney. Vandy played Florida State and lost. Tennessee best OOC result probably a 1-1 tie v. Wake Forest. #3 Arkansas beat Baylor 3-2, which with TAMU's 4-0 anomaly against Santa Clara are probably the conference's best OOC wins. But looking at the schedule, it really feels like the SEC does have a permanent RPI gaming consultant on call -- lots of games by all the teams against local smaller conference foes that do well in their own conferences, and 1 or 2 games at most OOC against other top schools. And almost none of them (or at least no wins) against TOP top flight competition - no UNCs, no Dukes, no UCLAs, no Stanfords, no USCs (which beat both FSU and Florida on the road). The Santa Clara game in College Station was probably the best win of the year.
VG
I took a quick glance at the Big Ten and SEC OOC schedules. Not a lot of meat there - definitely no wins by ANYONE in the Big 10 over top 5 or 8 teams (one against West Virginia was probably the best). Which naturally leads to no one in the top 25 of the RPI.
With the SEC, it's different. Their normal standard-bearer Florida collapsed, South Carolina is not what it was last year, and Vanderbilt and Tennessee won the regular season, but both faltered in the tourney. Vandy played Florida State and lost. Tennessee best OOC result probably a 1-1 tie v. Wake Forest. #3 Arkansas beat Baylor 3-2, which with TAMU's 4-0 anomaly against Santa Clara are probably the conference's best OOC wins. But looking at the schedule, it really feels like the SEC does have a permanent RPI gaming consultant on call -- lots of games by all the teams against local smaller conference foes that do well in their own conferences, and 1 or 2 games at most OOC against other top schools. And almost none of them (or at least no wins) against TOP top flight competition - no UNCs, no Dukes, no UCLAs, no Stanfords, no USCs (which beat both FSU and Florida on the road). The Santa Clara game in College Station was probably the best win of the year.
VG