Going 2-0 at home, State avoided the type of RPI hit that we discussed last week. While home wins don’t count as much as road ones…they are all are good. State is in second-place in the ACC…both in the conference standings and in the RPI:
I don’t think that many people expect Maryland to stay in the top-50, but right now State stands at 4-4 against the RPI top-50…with a little help from an old friend.
Alabama checks in this week at #50 after beating #20 LSU on Saturday. Looking over their results, Alabama appears to be up and down, beating #30 Kentucky and losing to #112 Ole Miss over the last month. They need to build a cushion over the next three games (#65 Vandy at home, #109 Miss. away, and #80 SC away) before they play Tenn at home.
We may be able to stop our bi-weekly check on GW (at least until they lose). Their victories over Xavier and Richmond moved them comfortably into the top-50….currently at #38. All of their remaining games come against teams ranked 100+, with the exception of a road game against St Joseph’s on 2/11.
Bubble Teams (and their fans) need to pull for GW in the A-10 conference tournament…so that they don’t have to compete against GW for an at-large bid. Other A-10 teams (Xavier, Temple, and maybe St Joseph’s) have a chance at an at-large bid, but will need to pick up the pace to earn a spot in the Big Dance.
ACC UPDATE
I’m trying out different table formats to see which one works out the best. Here’s my latest attempt at a conference summary with NCAAT status based on historical trends:
|
|
|
Conf |
This Week’s |
NCAAT |
|
|
RPI |
TEAM |
Record |
Schedule |
Status |
|
|
1 |
Duke |
9-0 |
UNC |
(A) |
|
|
|
|
|
UMD |
(A) |
|
|
22 |
NC State |
7-2 |
UM |
(A) |
|
|
|
|
|
GT |
(A) |
IN |
|
26 |
|
5-3 |
Duke |
(H) |
|
|
|
|
|
UM |
(A) |
|
|
28 |
|
5-4 |
WF |
(A) |
|
|
|
|
|
CU |
(H) |
|
|
41 |
|
4-4 |
UVA |
(H) |
|
|
|
|
|
Duke |
(H) |
|
|
55 |
|
5-4 |
UMD |
(A) |
|
|
|
|
|
VT |
(H) |
Bubble |
|
61 |
|
6-3 |
NCSU |
(H) |
|
|
|
|
|
UNC |
(H) |
|
|
63 |
Clemson |
3-6 |
VT |
(H) |
|
|
|
|
|
BC |
(A) |
|
|
74 |
|
4-5 |
|
|
|
|
108 |
|
1-8 |
|
|
OUT |
|
129 |
Virginia Tech |
2-7 |
|
|
|
|
145 |
Georgia Tech |
2-7 |
|
|
|
ITEMS OF INTEREST
Duke
Did anyone else see SheWill run into the FSU shooter with no foul called just before Leonard Hamilton ripped off his coat in disgust? I couldn’t believe that they never showed a replay…and the announcers never discussed the play other than to comment on Hamilton getting upset.
I wish I knew more about HTML than just how to spell it. It would be interesting to select blatant missed calls on Duke, display a small clip of them on a website, and let people vote on the worst call made in Duke’s favor after each game. Wouldn’t it be funny to watch DBR try to argue away visual evidence instead of their usual hand-waving?
However, you have to give the Devil(s) their due….they are amassing an impressive record against a very tough schedule. Looking over the eight years worth of RPI info archived at kenpom.com, I found the following (detailed numbers at the end):
– Duke currently has a higher RPI value than any team in kenpom’s archives.
– Duke’s SOS is higher than any team that finished the year at #1 or #2.
– The gap between #1 and #2 is substantially higher this year than any other year.
If not for hassle involved with the road/home weighting issues, it would be interesting to figure out how many games Duke could lose and still stay #1 in the RPI rankings. However, my whole point boils down to just proving the obvious…Duke is a rock-solid lock for the NCAAT.
Kansas showed last year that stumbling down the stretch can throw away a #1 seed, even if you are still ranked #1 by the RPI. When you see how quickly Maryland is tanking, an
unexpected losing streak could easily send any of the other three teams
currently IN
to the NIT instead. Everyone needs to finish strong…some to make the tourney and some for seeding.
Boston College stopped their mini-slide with a road victory at VT.
UNC and Virginia continue to improve their ranking.
Miami went 3-0 in their last three games against the bottom of the ACC and moved onto the bubble. Things get harder as the Pack and the Heels head to Miami this week. Next week they get BC and Duke on the road.
Clemson is hanging on, but they need to make a move before it is too late.
RPI VALUES AT THE TOP
|
|
RPI |
|
|
|
|
RPI r |
|
Year |
Rank |
Team |
W-L |
SOS |
RPI |
1-2 |
|
2006 |
1 |
Duke |
20-1 |
0.6369 |
0.7196 |
|
|
|
2 |
Villanova |
17-2 |
0.6023 |
0.6743 |
0.0453 |
|
2005 |
1 |
|
23-6 |
0.6252 |
0.6693 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
32-1 |
0 .5630 |
0.6672 |
0.0021 |
|
2004 |
1 |
Duke |
27-5 |
0.6073 |
0.6664 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
26-4 |
0.5995 |
0.6663 |
0.0001 |
|
2003 |
1 |
|
29-3 |
0.5774 |
0.6596 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
25-3 |
0.5675 |
0.6489 |
0.0107 |
|
2002 |
1 |
|
26-2 |
0.5768 |
0.6648 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
26-3 |
0.5832 |
0.6616 |
0.0032 |
|
2001 |
1 |
Duke |
29-4 |
0.5924 |
0.6640 |
|
|
|
2 |
Stanford |
26-2 |
0.5634 |
0.6547 |
0.0093 |
|
2000 |
1 |
|
28-3 |
0.5860 |
0.6653 |
|
|
|
2 |
Duke |
27-4 |
0.5648 |
0.6413 |
0.0240 |
|
1999 |
1 |
Duke |
32-1 |
0.6013 |
0.6934 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
28-4 |
0.5971 |
0.6666 |
0.0268 |
Duke on 2/5/2006
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