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SMU is currently sitting 19th in the RPI, when we were 14-4 we were a season high 14th in the RPI. Only lost two games in our conference this year and we've fallen in the RPI. The point is, the RPI really respects a tough schedule strength. Therefore, I think SMU needs to approach the following schools, mid-majors in similar positions to ours, about beginning basketball series next season.

Northern Iowa
Wichita St
VCU
Dayton
BYU
Davidson

We can't have enough good non-conference games. We all need each other and this may be the only way to have a chance at a 2/3 seed next year. Thankfully, we have Gonzaga scheduled already for next season, but it isn't enough.

We also have Michigan who will be better. The problem we will have is that very few schools will agree to come to moody.

Scheduling is somewhat in our control but in addition we need the conference to improve

UCONN, Memphis, and Houston will be much better next season.

I understand the point, but keep in mind that we currently have the 15th hardest OOC schedule so while we can make it tougher there is not a ton of room for improvement and of course you risk additional losses which would offset the improved schedule strength. Our OOC schedule was 305th last year for comparison.

If we win out our RPI will be around 10th. That seems pretty good for a team with 5 losses in our conference to me.

RPI is a very strange calculation. You basically get to use for your RPI the RPI of those you played. Thus, we get bonus points for our loss to Arkansas, some points for our loss to Gonzaga, and a few points for our loss and win against Indiana and Michigan. The problem is that the Big Ten is mediocre this year (and Indiana losing to Purdue last night didn't help). Normally, we'd get a huge RPI bump from those two games. The idea is that you beat the bad teams from the power conferences and get their conference's RPI. George Mason played that to perfection a few years ago and made the Tourney because their RPI was so good. Games against BE teams and ACC teams are almost money in the bank in terms of RPI.

RPI means nothing. Perception by and within the selection committee trumps statistics. See last year.

peruna81 wrote:RPI means nothing. Perception by and within the selection committee trumps statistics. See last year.

That is just incorrect. RPI is not the only factor they consider, but they consider it. I am not sure what you mean by see last year. We were 53rd in RPI last year. NC State was 55th so not far away.

peruna81 wrote:RPI means nothing. Perception by and within the selection committee trumps statistics. See last year.

RPI means everything. It is the metric the committee and pundits quoted frequently last year as to why we didn't get in.

MFFL02 wrote:

peruna81 wrote:RPI means nothing. Perception by and within the selection committee trumps statistics. See last year.

RPI means everything. It is the metric the committee and pundits quoted frequently last year as to why we didn't get in.

That is incorrect too. It is important, but it does not mean everything. If it did then we would have been in ahead of NC State last year, and for that matter Minnesota would have been in ahead of us since their RPI was better than ours.

mustangxc wrote:UCONN, Memphis, and Houston will be much better next season.

Temple will still be good, I expect Tulsa to be better, Cincy is still cincy, and you might see a team like UCF get decent because of their young guards and size. The AAC has everything you need to be a really good basketball conference. I think there are enough programs in the conference committed to being good that you could see this be a consitant 4-6 bid league, which would be awesome. All the conference needs is for the ECU, Tulane and USF's to be better than teams like EW, ect so they could but up respectable OOC numbers against bad teams like that and not drag your SOS and RPI so low.

I know this is counter to the thinking here - but if AAC can sustain 4-6 good to great programs and we can schedule a half way decent OOC - why do we want the rest of the conference to be better? That right there is enough for 3 teams for sure and probably 4 in the tourney - so I prefer to only worry about 4 other schools not 8.

As long as SMU sustains a great program that is what we want. We need some patsies to pad some wins, even if they suck - Our RPI will be fine as long as we split with the tougher OOC and split with the tougher in conference. Part of the equation is some padded wins - every conference provides some bottom dwelling wins.

The reason you want your bottom to be better is it helps with a)making sure you get 4-6 bids (which you want so you are still dancing even if you have some struggles and b) it helps you with seeding which you want so you can make runs when dancing.