Before we even submit this entry you need to know that we KNOW that any reference to the RPI (or any ranking system) at this point of the season is COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT.
BUT…in the last 15 years the date of November 24th has turned on the calendar 15 times. And, on those 15 November 24ths, NC State has never been ranked as high in the RPI as we are today. I don’t care what you want to say about the importance of the RPI for this season, anytime that your program is performing at a level higher than it has in the previous decade and a half then you have something to champion.
As of today, NC State is currently rated #7 in the Ratings Percentage Index (after peaking at #6 earlier in the week). Of course, we had to throw this entry up before the Wolfpack’s game later today against (#326) Gardner-Webb that will certainly not help the Pack’s rating. But, State has enough challenges on the out of conference schedule – particularly Michigan and Alabama – to provide the Pack enough opportunity to solidify a nice ranking before conference play begins.
Out of 336 Division One College Basketball programs, the following is the current RPI of various teams of interest:
(1) Butler
(2) UCLA
(3) Nebraska
(4) Wichita St
(5) Ohio State
(7) North Carolina St
(10) Xavier
(15) Duke
(16) Georgia Tech
(18) UNC Wilmington
(22) Maryland
(24) Clemson
(26) Wofford
(27) Alabama
(33) Florida St
(56) Michigan
(64) Delaware St
(95) Valparaiso
(99) West Virginia
(110) North Carolina
(113) East Carolina
(116) Virginia 3-0
(171) Wake Forest
(182) Savannah St
(198) Florida
(207) Cincinnati
(214) Georgetown
(233) Miami-Florida
(265) Virginia Tech
(268) UNC Greensboro
(312) UNC Asheville
(315) Boston College
(326) Gardner-Webb
(335) Arizona St
(336) South Dakota St
With only 10% of the basketball season behind us very little that has happened to this point will have significant impact on ratings/rankings by the end of the year. But don’t excessively discount the impact of the early season. Fox Sports has a nice link about the early season that makes reference to NC State opponent, Alabama:
Alabama established itself as a Final Four contender with wins over Iowa and Xavier. To be sure, both performances left something to be desired. The Crimson Tide committed 17 turnovers against the Hawkeyes and shot poorly from behind the arc against the Musketeers. But the Tide held on thanks to their newfound defensive prowess. After last year allowing more points per possession than all but two SEC clubs, Mark Gottfried’s club held Iowa and Xavier to 37.5 and 32.3 percent shooting respectively.
That the Tide could triumph with only one player, sophomore forward Richard Hendrix, turning solid back-to-back performances is a further testament to their balance and potential. Point guard Ronald Steele, for example, scored 18 points against Iowa, but only five against Xavier. Reserve Mykal Riley did the reverse, missing all six shots against Iowa, but scoring13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against Xavier.
