Neither RPI nor eye test gives a good read on many teams so far

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1 The RPI Report rpiratings.com rpiratings.com rpiratings.com rpiratings.com rpiratings.com December 5, 2011 Vol. 21, No. 1 Neither RPI nor eye test gives a good read on many teams so far st Welcome to this first issue of The RPI Report for the season, which kicks off our 21 year of publication. Collegiate Basketball News (CBN) thanks you for subscribing, or if this is a complimentary issue, we hope that you enjoy it and find the information useful. There will be 14 consecutive weekly issues that follow, along with 2 issues after the completion of the post-season tournaments. Subscribers that have been with us for some time surely have noticed our revamped web site. The color scheme and layout are hopefully easier to navigate, more pleasing to the eye, and a bit less crowded. Also, subscriber access to password-protected pages no longer requires flash, meaning that some smartphones that were not previously able to gain access can now log in without problems. Let us know if you have any suggestions or concerns regarding the new web site or if you have any difficulty logging into the system. Even though we are now a month into the season, neither the RPI, nor watching teams in person, on the tube, or on the flat screen, can give us a feel how good or bad many teams are at this point of the season. Many teams play too many games at home (or on the road) to give a good read as to how they will face adversity. That, of course, will come once conference play is well underway. The beauty of conference games is that the teams all play an equal number of teams at home and on the road. Make sure to heed our annual warning: Do not take the RPI rankings seriously at this time of year. It is normal to be curious about the rankings in late November and early December, but most of the season is still in front of us and there are still a lot of basketball games to be played. The rankings will become increasingly better as time progresses and more games are played. M ost changes in conference membership have focused on next season, but there were also several for this season. Nebraska is playing in the Big Ten after belonging to the Big 12/Big Eight and its forerunners since Colorado, part of the Big 12/Big 8 family since 1948, left for the Pac-12. Utah gives the Pac-12 an even dozen teams when it left the Mountain West after being affiliated with several current MW C schools in both the WAC and old Mountain States conferences since the 1920's. Also departing the Mountain West was BYU, which now plays all sports except football in the West Coast Conference. The Atlantic Sun lost Campbell to the Big South, South Dakota left the Great West for the Summit League, and both North Carolina Central and Savannah State left the Independent ranks for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Boise State left the WAC for the Mountain West, the Ohio Valley added SIU-Edwardsville from the Independents, and Centenary moved to Division III this season and is no longer with the Summit League. Four schools are newly eligible for the NCAA tournament this season. Atlantic Sun members Florida Gulf Coast and USC Upstate and Great West member Houston Baptist are now eligible for the NCAA tournament, although the Great West Conference does not have an automatic tournament bid. New MEAC member North Carolina Central is also NCAA-tournament eligible this season. The list is now down to six schools (Bryant, North Dakota, Presbyterian, South Dakota, Seattle, and SIU-Edwardsville) that snuck into Division I before the moratorium began four years ago. They will all become official Division I members that are eligible for the 2013 NCAA tournament next summer. Nebraska-Omaha is presently reclassifying to Division I and will play in the Summit League next season. CBN is making a major supplement available to Report subscribers this season beginning in mid-january. At that time we will add complete non-conference RPI numerical and conference data, including the won-loss record breakdown of non-conference games only against teams ranked 1-25, 26-50, , etc. Don t forget to order the CBN M en s Post-Season Wrap-up Package for the season (only a few copies remain), and for the upcoming season as well. An order form can be found on our web site at (click on the Subscriber Services link). Our bound volumes contain a complete set of The RPI Report for the season, complete team-by-team game results for the season, analysis of non-conference road games, standings, and much more! Be sure to get your order in for the season now because we print only a limited number of copies. It will be mailed in late April. Call us at (317) if you would like additional information. Keep our CBN On-Site Service presentation in mind for your school or conference to benefit from detailed knowledge of the RPI and non-conference scheduling. Although it focuses on basketball, the principles of the RPI and non-conference scheduling are generally the same from sport to sport, allowing all of your programs in which the RPI is used to benefit. Also, CBN routinely conducts special projects each year for schools and conferences, including data-intensive calculations on tasks such as non-conference scheduling analysis and other related topics. If you would like additional information, please call us at (317) A Collegiate Basketball News publication Serving the college basketball community since 1991

2 KEY TO THE RPI REPORT COLUMNS ALL GAMES RPI INFORMATION RPI Rank - RPI rank as of date listed RPI LW - RPI Rank 1 week ago CH - Change in RPI Rank from 1 week ago NDI W-L - Non-Division I wins and losses Div I W-L - Division I wins and losses W% -Rk - Division I winning percentage and rank FII -Rk - Schedule strength and rank AvRPI ofopp - Average RPI rank of opponents played (another way to measure schedule strength) F3 Rk - Factor III rank, the teams opponents' opponents' D-I winning percentage (the teams opponents schedule strength) RPI - RPI rating which is how the list is sorted numerically Conference Rk - Teams conference rank Conference W-L - Teams conference record RdA - Teams conference road advantage (conference road wins minus conference home losses) NON-CONFERENCE RPI INFORMATION NC W-L - Teams non-conference wins and losses NC Rd W-L - Teams non-conference road wins and losses NonConf Sstr-Rk - Teams non-conference schedule strength and rank NC RPI -Rk - Teams non-conference RPI and rank RECORD VS TEAMS RANKED - Teams won-loss record vs. teams in those RPI ranking categories MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION Home W-L - Teams all games home wins and losses record Road W-L - Teams all games road wins and losses record Ntl W-L - Teams all games neutral wins and losses record Last 12 - Number of wins in last 12 games St - Teams current winning or losing streak SCORING DATA (ALTERNATES EVERY 3 WEEKS) Off Avg - Teams offensive scoring average Def Avg - Teams defensive scoring average Scor Marg - Teams scoring margin OPPONENTS W_L DATA (ALTERNATES EVERY 3 WEEKS) Opponents W-L - Opponents total W s and L s Opponents % - Opponents W-L percentage STREAKS DATA (ALTERNATES EVERY 3 WEEKS) Best NC - Best (Longest) non-conference winning streak Best Con - Best (Longest) conference winning streak Overall Bst - Best (Longest) overall winning streak Overall Wst - Worst (longest) overall losing streak Cur - Current winning or losing streak CLOSE GAMES Close Losses - Number of games a team has lost by 1, 2, and 3 points (1-2-3) OT W-L - Teams record in overtime games KEY TO CHANCES OF BEING AN AT-LARGE NCAA TOURNAMENT SELECTION IN VARIOUS NON-RPI CATEGORIES This list appears in the Report around the first of February. OK denotes the team has, in general, met the standard for the given column, based on past at-large tournament selections. For NDI games, a 69.8% had 0" means that 69.8% of at-large teams played no non-division I games; OK means they played no such games. For D-I wins, 69.4% had more wins means that 69.4% of at-large teams had more wins than the team in question, and so on. The RPI Ranking Bracket column gives the percentage of at-large teams within the ranking bracket that were selected for the tournament. The RPI Report is published weekly in season, 17 issues per year. Copyright 2011 by Collegiate Basketball News Company. All Rights Reserved. Jim Sukup - Publisher and Editor Fall Creek Road, Indianapolis, Indiana Phone/Fax: (317) ; Web: rpi@rpiratings.com. $ per year via internet access. Any reproduction, by photocopy, fax, or other form, in whole or part, is prohibited except by written consent. Unauthorized reproduction and/or distribution will result in immediate cancellation. The Rating Percentage Index has been used since 1981 to help select at-large teams and seed all teams for the men s NCAA basketball tournament. Data herein duplicates the RPI without input from the NCAA. The three RPI components are: Factor I (25 % of the RPI) is the team's weighted Division I (D-I) winning percentage, excluding non-division I opponents. Factor II (50 %) is the team's opponents' D-I winning percentage (schedule strength) excluding games played against the team in question. Factor III (25 %) is the team's opponents' opponents' D-I winning percentage (the teams opponents schedule strength). The weighted RPI formula is based upon the home, neutral, or road location of the game.

3 THE CBN RPI NUMERICAL RANKINGS THROUGH GAMES OF SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2011 << ALL GAMES RPI INFORMATION >> NONCONFERENCE RPI INFORMATION RECORD VS TEAMS RANKED: MISCELLANEOUS INFO SCORING DATA CLOSE GMS RPI RPI NDI DivI SchdStr AvRP F3 Conference NC NCRd NonConf NonConf Top Home Road Ntl L Off Def Scor Losses OT Rank LW Ch Team W-L W-L W % -Rk FII -Rk ofop Rk RPI Rk W-L RdA W-L W-L SStr-Rk RPI -Rk W-L W-L W-L 12 St Avg Avg Marg W-L St. Mary's W Duke L Marquette W Northern Iowa W Syracuse W Louisville W Southern Miss W Kentucky W Alabama L Mississippi W Denver W Seton Hall W Ohio St W Long Beach St L Creighton W Minnesota W TCU W North Carolina L Kansas St W Davidson W Connecticut W Norfolk St W Ohio W UNLV L Stanford W Richmond W Valparaiso W Murray St W Illinois W Vanderbilt L Harvard W Saint Louis W Indiana St L Xavier W Arizona W Florida St L San Diego St W Missouri W Wichita St W Northwestern L Missouri St L Pittsburgh W Baylor W Saint Joseph's L Gonzaga L UCF W Michigan W Iowa St L Colorado St L Kansas W Michigan St W Lamar W Miami-FL W Florida L Iona W Oregon St W Purdue L California L Cleveland St W Wisconsin L Belmont W Indiana W Virginia Tech L Virginia W Dayton L New Mexico St L N.C. St L Va. Commonwealth W Mississippi St W Georgetown W Temple W Maryland W La Salle W Oklahoma W LSU W CS Bakersfield L UC Santa Barbara L South Alabama W

4 << ALL GAMES RPI INFORMATION >> NONCONFERENCE RPI INFORMATION RECORD VS TEAMS RANKED: MISCELLANEOUS INFO SCORING DATA CLOSE GMS RPI RPI NDI DivI SchdStr AvRP F3 Conference NC NCRd NonConf NonConf Top Home Road Ntl L Off Def Scor Losses OT Rank LW Ch Team W-L W-L W % -Rk FII -Rk ofop Rk RPI Rk W-L RdA W-L W-L SStr-Rk RPI -Rk W-L W-L W-L 12 St Avg Avg Marg W-L Portland St W Santa Clara W Oakland W Washington L Col. Charleston W Wake Forest L Fairfield W Oregon L Charleston So W Old Dominion W DePaul L Northeastern L Western Illinois L Penn St L North Dakota St W Georgia L Yale W Weber St W Wagner W Duquesne W Coastal Carolina W St. Bonaventure W Marshall L Drake W Wyoming W Long Island W Campbell W American W New Mexico W UW-Green Bay W Robert Morris W Arkansas L West Virginia L Arkansas St W South Dakota St W Seattle L Akron L Colorado L Villanova W Mercer L Maine W Northern Colo W Portland L Kent St W UNC Asheville W Elon W Central Arkansas W Florida Atlantic L Charlotte W Boise St W UNC Wilmington W Albany W Bucknell L Massachusetts L Coppin St L North Florida W Providence W Geo. Washington L Oklahoma St W James Madison W Oral Roberts W Vermont L San Francisco W Eastern Illinois W Memphis W Ball St W Tulane W BYU W Auburn L Alabama A&M L South Florida L Texas A&M W Stony Brook L Nevada W Cal Poly L Montana L Georgia Tech L Nebraska L Loyola-Maryland W USC Upstate L

5 << ALL GAMES RPI INFORMATION >> NONCONFERENCE RPI INFORMATION RECORD VS TEAMS RANKED: MISCELLANEOUS INFO SCORING DATA CLOSE GMS RPI RPI NDI DivI SchdStr AvRP F3 Conference NC NCRd NonConf NonConf Top Home Road Ntl L Off Def Scor Losses OT Rank LW Ch Team W-L W-L W % -Rk FII -Rk ofop Rk RPI Rk W-L RdA W-L W-L SStr-Rk RPI -Rk W-L W-L W-L 12 St Avg Avg Marg W-L Arizona St W Pennsylvania L Lehigh L UMKC L Fresno St W Manhattan W Texas Tech W Sacred Heart L Niagara L Eastern Wash L Boston U W UW-Milwaukee W Texas-San Ant L Clemson L Houston W Stetson L Wright St W Savannah St L Delaware St W Toledo W East Carolina L Morehead St L SMU W Furman L Columbia W Middle Tennessee W Texas W Central Michigan L Buffalo L Canisius L Pepperdine W Jacksonville L Cincinnati W Southern Cal L McNeese St L Presbyterian W East Tenn. St L Northwestern St L UAB L Washington St W Rice W Butler L N.C. Central W North Texas W Loyola-Chicago L Drexel L Tennessee L S.C. St L Tennessee-Martin L Tulsa L Utah Valley L Bradley L George Mason W Colgate W Miami-OH L Western Carolina W St. John's L Morgan St L SE Missouri St W Youngstown St L Fla. Gulf Coast W Texas St W Texas-Pan Am L Texas A&M-CC L UCLA L Texas Southern L Ark.-Pine Bluff L Western Michigan L Wofford W Loyola Marymount L Rutgers L Iowa W Pacific W N.C. A&T L Mississippi Val L Marist W Delaware W Hofstra L Utah St L Notre Dame L

6 << ALL GAMES RPI INFORMATION >> NONCONFERENCE RPI INFORMATION RECORD VS TEAMS RANKED: MISCELLANEOUS INFO SCORING DATA CLOSE GMS RPI RPI NDI DivI SchdStr AvRP F3 Conference NC NCRd NonConf NonConf Top Home Road Ntl L Off Def Scor Losses OT Rank LW Ch Team W-L W-L W % -Rk FII -Rk ofop Rk RPI Rk W-L RdA W-L W-L SStr-Rk RPI -Rk W-L W-L W-L 12 St Avg Avg Marg W-L VMI L Western Kentucky W Tennessee St L South Carolina W Holy Cross W Eastern Kentucky L Md.-East. Shore L Quinnipiac W Florida Int L Cornell W Eastern Michigan L Alcorn St L Georgia St W Troy W St. Francis NY L CS Fullerton W Jackson St L La.-Lafayette L Southern U L Louisiana Tech W Evansville L San Jose St L Stephen F.Austin L Winthrop L Illinois-Chicago L Illinois St L Princeton W Radford L Cent. Conn. St W Lipscomb W New Jersey Tech L Kennesaw St L Texas-Arlington W Gardner-Webb W Northern Ill L Montana St W Sacramento St L Bowling Green L Lafayette L Boston College L Grambling St L Chicago St L Northern Arizona L Fordham L UC Irvine W Georgia Southern W Southern Ill W Jacksonville St L Idaho W Louisiana-Monroe L Towson L Air Force L Utah L Tennessee Tech L IPFW W Samford L Southern Utah L Hawaii L IUPUI L Rhode Island L Hampton W Brown L Austin Peay L St. Peter's L Alabama St W UALR L San Diego L Houston Baptist L Navy L Nicholls St L Siena L Liberty L High Point L Monmouth L CS Northridge L Rider L Detroit L SIU-Edwardsville L Mount St. Mary's L Fair. Dickinson L