11-06-2018, 02:41 PM
OA--
Here's one indicator that the SEC knows how to game the RPI: Mississippi State (who finished 2-6-2 in the SEC) - is not only in the NCAA tournament, they are hosting the first round. Their RPI is around #17, which is astonishing. As is the fact that their out of conference RPI is #1.
This is their OOC schedule, which they finished 7-0:
Southern Miss
Stephen F. Austin
Memphis
South Alabama
Central Arkansas
Austin Peay
Louisiana Tech
Not exactly a murderer's row. Of those teams, only Memphis made the NCAA tournament. Only Memphis was in the top 60 of the final RPI. How the hell is that the number 1 non-conference schedule in the country?
Memphis finished 17-3 in the AAC. (They played three teams that made the tourney, and lost two, only beating Ole Miss, whose SEC affiliation makes their quality suspect.)
Southern Miss finished 13-6-1 in CUSA.
Stephen F. Austin finished 7-9-3 in the Southland.
South Alabama 8-9-2 in the Southland.
Central Arkansas finished 16-4-1 in the Southland.
Austin Peay finished 8-8-1 in the Ohio Valley.
Louisiana Tech finished 13-5-3 in CUSA.
So, you schedule good teams in bad conferences, who will have a high winning percentage, if not exactly against strong competition, because the opponent's record is a brobdingnagian part of the RPI calculation. Maybe you'll occasionally get burned by a sleeper, but your RPI will soar.
It also helps when there are a lot of smaller conferences with local schools that play Division I sports, versus the limited pickings out West. The Horizon, the OVC, the MAAC, the Southland, the Big South, the Sun Belt, the Southern, the Summit, the MEAC - there are 34 conferences that support some kind of Div I sports, and of those, only Pac-12, MWC, WCC, and WAC are really "western." And the teams that will finish at the top of those leagues tend to be pretty good at women's soccer - Santa Clara, Pepperdine, BYU. So you can't schedule teams that will finish 17-3, and win a minor conference regular season, with the same confidence that say scheduling a Central Arkansas gives Mississippi State.
Yep, the whole use of the RPI as a measuring stick needs to be revisited, given how easily it can be gamed. The SEC has not only done so for football, but for other sports as well (witness their rankings and seedings vs. their results in the women's volleyball tournament.)
VG
Here's one indicator that the SEC knows how to game the RPI: Mississippi State (who finished 2-6-2 in the SEC) - is not only in the NCAA tournament, they are hosting the first round. Their RPI is around #17, which is astonishing. As is the fact that their out of conference RPI is #1.
This is their OOC schedule, which they finished 7-0:
Southern Miss
Stephen F. Austin
Memphis
South Alabama
Central Arkansas
Austin Peay
Louisiana Tech
Not exactly a murderer's row. Of those teams, only Memphis made the NCAA tournament. Only Memphis was in the top 60 of the final RPI. How the hell is that the number 1 non-conference schedule in the country?
Memphis finished 17-3 in the AAC. (They played three teams that made the tourney, and lost two, only beating Ole Miss, whose SEC affiliation makes their quality suspect.)
Southern Miss finished 13-6-1 in CUSA.
Stephen F. Austin finished 7-9-3 in the Southland.
South Alabama 8-9-2 in the Southland.
Central Arkansas finished 16-4-1 in the Southland.
Austin Peay finished 8-8-1 in the Ohio Valley.
Louisiana Tech finished 13-5-3 in CUSA.
So, you schedule good teams in bad conferences, who will have a high winning percentage, if not exactly against strong competition, because the opponent's record is a brobdingnagian part of the RPI calculation. Maybe you'll occasionally get burned by a sleeper, but your RPI will soar.
It also helps when there are a lot of smaller conferences with local schools that play Division I sports, versus the limited pickings out West. The Horizon, the OVC, the MAAC, the Southland, the Big South, the Sun Belt, the Southern, the Summit, the MEAC - there are 34 conferences that support some kind of Div I sports, and of those, only Pac-12, MWC, WCC, and WAC are really "western." And the teams that will finish at the top of those leagues tend to be pretty good at women's soccer - Santa Clara, Pepperdine, BYU. So you can't schedule teams that will finish 17-3, and win a minor conference regular season, with the same confidence that say scheduling a Central Arkansas gives Mississippi State.
Yep, the whole use of the RPI as a measuring stick needs to be revisited, given how easily it can be gamed. The SEC has not only done so for football, but for other sports as well (witness their rankings and seedings vs. their results in the women's volleyball tournament.)
VG