A quarter-century and counting for The RPI Report in

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1 The RPI Report th Our 25 Season! rpiratings.com rpiratings.com rpiratings.com rpiratings.com rpiratings.com December 7, 2015 Vol. 25, No. 1 A quarter-century and counting for The RPI Report in th This issue of The RPI Report marks the first issue of our 25 season! Our first issue of The RPI Report debuted on January 6, 1992, and many things related to college basketball then were much different than they are now. That season may seem light-years ago for many, but the old adage the more things change, the more they stay the same is still appropriate in some ways. The NCAA tournament is still the king of college hoops, probably more so now thanback then, even with competition from all kinds of electronic and social media that are so prevalent in today s society. It is hard to believe that CBN has been in business for nearly one-third of the time that the NCAA tournament has been played since that first 8-team tournament was won by Oregon in Looking back at the season, Duke won its second national championship (compared to 5 today), Kentucky had 5 titles (compared to 8 today), Connecticut had 0 (compared to 4 today), and North Carolina had 2 championship trophies (compared to 5 today). Back then virtually no fans had heard of the RPI, and it is a mainstay of the college basketball conversation today. There were 298 official Division I schools that could compete for the national championship, compared to 346 today. The average number of points scored per team in 1992 was ppg, compared to in Some of the similarities are that there were 64 teams in the NCAA tournament in 1992 compared to 68 today, which is not a huge change. Some 30 conferences were automatic qualifiers to the NCAA tournament then, compared with 32 today, and there were a total of 96 teams in post-season play in 1992 compared to 164 in 2016, including the new Vegas 16 tournament which will debut in March. At long last, this is one of the quietest years in terms of schools changing conferences in recent memory. Only two schools out of 351 that count in the RPI found new conference homes. Northern Kentucky moved from the Atlantic Sun to the Horizon League, which is back to its old 10-member mark. NJIT joined the Atlantic Sun, keeping its number at 8 members. NJIT was the lone independent school last season, but that does not necessarily mean there will never be another independent. Schools have been forced out of conferences in the past, and they usually end up as independents for a few seasons before finding a new conference home. No schools are new to the RPI this season, but one school, Summit League member Omaha, is now officially a Division I member and is eligible to participate in the NCAA tournament. Five RPI-counting schools are still in the reclassifying phase and are not yet eligible for the NCAA tournament: Northern Kentucky (eligible in ), and Abilene Christian, Grand Canyon, Incarnate Word, and UMass Lowell, which are all eligible in Four Schools are ineligible for the NCAA tournament due to APR sanctions this season and another due to NCAA rules violations. Those ineligible due to APR scores are Alcorn State, Florida A&M, Stetson, and Central Arkansas. SMU is banned from the 2016 postseason and is on probation for three years due to rules violations. So, there are 351 teams in the RPI this season, the same as last season. There are 346 official teams in Division I basketball, leaving 341 that can play in the NCAA tournament due to the 5 ineligible teams. That number is subject to change pending appeals and any other situation that may arise. Be sure to take a few minutes and look at our updated men s home court records list at rpiratings.com/homecourtrec.php. This list contains a wealth of information and can be a help in setting up future non-conference opponents. We are always on the lookout for updated home court information. If you spot any additions, corrections, or discrepancies, let us know and we will make any verified changes. Don t forget to order the CBN M en s Post-Season Wrap-up bound volume for the season (we have only a few copies left), and for the current 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! They are especially valuable in researching data related to non-conference scheduling. 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 the importance of non-conference scheduling. CBN has given presentations to 13 different conferences, and several of those multiple times. 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 or 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 from date listed 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 Conf - Conference abbreviation for listed team 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 2015 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 6, 2015 << 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 Conf Rk W-L W-L W-L SStr-Rk RPI -Rk W-L W-L W-L 12 St Avg Avg Marg W-L North Carolina ACC W Xavier BEST W Valparaiso HOR W Villanova BEST W Davidson STHN L Texas Tech B W Iowa St B W Florida SEC W Michigan St B W Dayton A W Purdue B W Duke ACC W Providence BEST W Louisville AMER W SMU AMER W UALR SBLT W Colorado P W Geo. Washington A W UNC Wilmington CAA W St. Mary's WCC W Utah P W South Carolina SEC W Oregon P L Texas B W Monmouth MAAC W Kentucky SEC L Oregon St P W Kansas St B W Vanderbilt SEC L Pittsburgh ACC W New Mexico MTW L Texas-Arlington SBLT W Hofstra CAA W UNLV MTW W Texas A&M-CC SLC W Miami-FL ACC W Richmond A W Butler BEST W Incarnate Word SLC L Northwestern B W Oral Roberts SLC W Seton Hall BEST W Iona MAAC W Evansville MVC W Arizona St P W Southern Cal P W Chattanooga STHN L Gonzaga WCC L Notre Dame ACC W Iowa B W UCLA P W Stanford P W Michigan B W Air Force MTW W Syracuse ACC L Murray St OVC L Texas A&M SEC L Tulsa CUSA L Alabama SEC W West Virginia B W Virginia ACC W Oklahoma B W Wake Forest ACC W San Diego St MTW L Maryland ACC W Louisiana Tech CUSA W Kansas B W Indiana B W Georgia Tech ACC W Hawaii BWST W Saint Joseph's A W Detroit HOR W Baylor B W Belmont OVC L Wisconsin B W New Jersey Tech ASUN W Florida St ACC W Cincinnati AMER 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 Conf Rk W-L W-L W-L SStr-Rk RPI -Rk W-L W-L W-L 12 St Avg Avg Marg W-L William & Mary CAA L Washington P W Temple AMER L Long Beach St BWST L Arizona P W Utah St MTW W South Dakota SUM W Connecticut AMER W Eastern Michigan MAC L East Tenn. St ASUN L Col. Charleston CAA W IPFW SUM L Mercer ASUN W Southern Ill MVC W Georgia SEC L Northern Iowa MVC L UC Santa Barbara BWST L Middle Tennessee CUSA W UTEP CUSA L Kent St MAC W St. Bonaventure A W Western Illinois SUM L Missouri SEC W Stony Brook AMEA W Toledo MAC W Houston AMER W Colorado St MTW L South Dakota St SUM L Albany AMEA W Sam Houston St SLC L Cal Poly BWST W VCU A L UC Irvine BWST L Minnesota B L Creighton BEST L Nevada MTW L UL Monroe SBLT W Yale IVY W North Florida ASUN L Southern U SWAC W Massachusetts A L Loyola Marymount WCC W Weber St BSKY L California P W Western Kentucky SBLT L Boston U PAT L Army PAT W Duquesne A L UMKC WAC L Fresno St MTW L Eastern Kentucky OVC W Georgetown BEST W Mississippi SEC W Auburn SEC W Sacramento St BSKY L Buffalo MAC L Alabama St SWAC L Northeastern CAA L Boise St MTW W Northern Ill MAC L Wichita St MVC W UC Davis BWST L Coastal Carolina BSTH W CS Fullerton BWST L Vermont AMEA L UMass Lowell AMEA W Navy PAT W North Dakota St SUM L Ball St MAC W Penn St B W Fla. Gulf Coast ASUN W Samford STHN L Tennessee SEC L N.C. State ACC W Memphis AMER W Marquette BEST W Milwaukee HOR W Fordham A W St. John's BEST W UAB CUSA W

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 Conf Rk W-L W-L W-L SStr-Rk RPI -Rk W-L W-L W-L 12 St Avg Avg Marg W-L Grand Canyon WAC L Missouri St MVC W Loyola Chicago MVC W BYU WCC W UAPB SWAC L High Point BSTH W Akron MAC W Pepperdine WCC W Illinois B W Rhode Island A L Cornell IVY W Green Bay HOR L Elon STHN W Ohio MAC L Alabama A&M SWAC L Austin Peay OVC W S.C. State MEAC W Fairfield MAAC W Oakland HOR W Winthrop BSTH W Morgan St MEAC L New Mexico St WAC L New Orleans SLC L Georgia St SBLT W Tennessee Tech OVC W New Hampshire AMEA L Siena MAAC L Western Carolina STHN L Nebraska B W Mississippi St SEC W Bowling Green MAC W Hampton MEAC W Jackson St SWAC L Gardner-Webb BSTH L Virginia Tech ACC W James Madison CAA W Wagner NEC W Wofford STHN L Nicholls St SLC L Stephen F. Austin SLC W Idaho WAC L Indiana St MVC L Old Dominion CUSA W George Mason A W Charlotte CUSA L Wyoming MTW L Florida Atlantic CUSA L Arkansas SEC L Princeton IVY L DePaul BEST W Radford BSTH L Tulane CUSA L East Carolina CUSA W Oklahoma St B L Morehead St OVC L Omaha SUM W St. Francis NY NEC L Illinois St MVC L UNC Asheville BSTH W Clemson ACC W UL Lafayette SBLT L Central Arkansas SLC L North Dakota BSKY W CS Bakersfield WAC W South Florida AMER L Texas St SBLT L Fair. Dickinson NEC L Tennessee St OVC W LSU SEC W Cleveland St HOR L Saint Louis A L TCU B W Howard MEAC L Columbia IVY W Furman STHN W Long Island NEC W Rutgers AMER L Lipscomb ASUN L Towson CAA W Colgate PAT 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 Conf Rk W-L W-L W-L SStr-Rk RPI -Rk W-L W-L W-L 12 St Avg Avg Marg W-L The Citadel STHN L Drake MVC L Ohio St B W Canisius MAAC L Miami-OH MAC L Montana St BSKY L Western Michigan MAC L Portland WCC L Binghamton AMEA L N.C. A&T MEAC W Stetson ASUN L Hartford AMEA L Dartmouth IVY W Savannah St MEAC L UCF AMER W Grambling St SWAC L CS Northridge BWST L Rice CUSA L American PAT L Brown IVY W Northwestern St SLC L Bucknell PAT L SE Missouri OVC L Delaware CAA L San Diego WCC W Eastern Wash BSKY W Portland St BSKY L Maine AMEA L South Alabama SBLT L Southern Utah BSKY W Wright St HOR L Montana BSKY W Lafayette PAT L Prairie View SWAC L Kennesaw St ASUN L Norfolk St MEAC W IUPUI SUM W Santa Clara WCC W Northern Ky HOR L Eastern Illinois OVC W Youngstown St HOR L Mount St. Mary's NEC W Coppin St MEAC L Bradley MVC L Marist MAAC W Charleston So BSTH W Denver SUM L UC Riverside BWST L St. Francis PA NEC L Harvard IVY L North Texas CUSA L Lehigh PAT L Texas Southern SWAC L Pacific WCC L Georgia Southern STHN L Idaho St BSKY L SIU-Edwardsville OVC L Niagara MAAC L Drexel CAA W Sacred Heart NEC L Pennsylvania IVY L Manhattan MAAC L Bethune-Cookman MEAC L Florida Int'l CUSA L Washington St P W N.C. Central MEAC W Quinnipiac MAAC W Troy SBLT L Arkansas St SBLT L Southern Miss CUSA W St. Peter's MAAC W San Jose St MTW L Holy Cross PAT L Campbell BSTH W Tennessee-Martin OVC L Loyola Maryland PAT L VMI BSTH L La Salle A L Marshall CUSA L Southeastern La SLC L