Longhorns look to ride RPI wave
If it?s anything like the BCS rankings, the RPI is likely headed for scrutiny and criticism.
RPI is an acronym for Ratings Percentage Index, which is produced by the NCAA to help its tournament selection committee evaluate at-large teams and determine the seedings of the championship bracket.
Developed in 1981, the RPI is a computerized rankings system based on mathematical formulas and statistics. The system analyzes a team?s strength of schedule and how it performs in that schedule.
Specifically, the RPI factors in a team?s winning percentage (25%), its opponents? winning percentage (50 %), and the winning percentage of its opponents? opponents (25 %).
Since its creation, the NCAA has guarded the RPI, refusing to make it public. As a result, dozens of independent RPIs are produced every year.
Those independent RPIs, many of which have been incorrect, end up getting published through a variety of mediums, particularly the Internet.
In an effort to stay transparent and eliminate some of the errors and confusion, the NCAA announced on Monday that it will begin making its RPI public starting next week.
Perhaps anticipating the debates the RPI will inevitably generate, the NCAA was quick to point out that the RPI is just one tool members of the selection committee use.
?While the official RPI is a part of the evaluation process, it is the subjective opinions formed by committee members after countless hours of observation and discussion which are central in the selection, seeding and bracketing process,? said Craig Littlepage, director of athletics at the University of Virginia and chair of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee.
?Still, we think that announcing the results of the RPI ranking on a weekly basis has its benefits.?
The RPI will be released on Thursdays starting next week, and will be based on games through the previous Monday. The NCAA has chosen this time of the year to release the RPI since teams will have had a chance to play conference opponents.
The RPI will no doubt be criticized from opposite sides. Some will say the committee relies too much on the RPI in its selections and seedings, others will claim the committee ignores the RPI and is too subjective.
Regardless, the NCAA?s RPI will give bettors another reliable tool to help them handicap games heading into the second half of the season as attention shifts from football to college hoops.
One team that will likely debut with a high rating in the RPI will be No. 4 Texas. The Longhorns are riding a nine-game winning streak and top the Big 12 with a 5-0 conference record (17-2 overall).
They are the only undefeated team remaining in the Big 12, having won all of their conference games by an average of 26 points.
Notable non-conference wins have come against No. 6 Villanova, No. 3 Memphis, No. 9 West Virginia and then-No. 18 Iowa. Their two losses came back-to-back, the first to then-No. 1 Duke and unranked Tennessee.
The loss to Duke, a 97-66 spanking, combined with the loss to the Vols dropped the Horns from No. 2 to No. 15.
Since then, they?ve climbed their way back to the top, and made a big statement on Monday crushing Oklahoma State 80-46 as 13-point home favorites.
Leading the way for the Horns has been sophomore F LaMarcus Aldridge and junior F P.J. Tucker.
Both players are neck-and-neck in team scoring with Aldridge averaging 16.4 ppg and Tucker with 16.3 ppg. The two put on a slam-dunk show in the second half of the Horns? beat-down on the Sooners.
In terms of boards, Aldridge leads the Big 12 with 9.4 rpg, and Tucker is right behind him with 8.9 rpg.
The Horns should face a bigger challenge this Saturday when they visit No. 24 Oklahoma, the only other ranked team in the Big 12 (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2). This will be the only game featuring two ranked teams this weekend.
The Sooners are 11-4 overall but just 2-2 against conference opponents. Losses have come to No. 6 Villanova and No. 9 West Virginia, which now leads the powerful Big East. Conference losses came to Nebraska and Missouri back-to-back.
Oklahoma has the second-worst scoring offense (66.5 ppg) in the Big 12 as well as the second-best defense in terms of points allowed (59.3 ppg).
Those two stats together have meant lower-scoring games for the Sooners, who have only seen three of 10 games go OVER the posted total.
The lack of scoring has also meant the Sooners are not covering the spread. OU has been favored in eight games, but has only covered two. Overall, the Sooners are 3-7 ATS.
The Longhorns have the second-best scoring offense in the Big 12 (79.9 ppg) as well as the best-ranked defense (57.8 ppg).
Texas? ability to score has enabled the team to cover the spread ? the Horns are 8-5-1 ATS. However, by shutting down opponents, the Horns are also seeing lower-scoring games ? only five of 16 games have gone OVER the posted total.
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If it?s anything like the BCS rankings, the RPI is likely headed for scrutiny and criticism.
RPI is an acronym for Ratings Percentage Index, which is produced by the NCAA to help its tournament selection committee evaluate at-large teams and determine the seedings of the championship bracket.
Developed in 1981, the RPI is a computerized rankings system based on mathematical formulas and statistics. The system analyzes a team?s strength of schedule and how it performs in that schedule.
Specifically, the RPI factors in a team?s winning percentage (25%), its opponents? winning percentage (50 %), and the winning percentage of its opponents? opponents (25 %).
Since its creation, the NCAA has guarded the RPI, refusing to make it public. As a result, dozens of independent RPIs are produced every year.
Those independent RPIs, many of which have been incorrect, end up getting published through a variety of mediums, particularly the Internet.
In an effort to stay transparent and eliminate some of the errors and confusion, the NCAA announced on Monday that it will begin making its RPI public starting next week.
Perhaps anticipating the debates the RPI will inevitably generate, the NCAA was quick to point out that the RPI is just one tool members of the selection committee use.
?While the official RPI is a part of the evaluation process, it is the subjective opinions formed by committee members after countless hours of observation and discussion which are central in the selection, seeding and bracketing process,? said Craig Littlepage, director of athletics at the University of Virginia and chair of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee.
?Still, we think that announcing the results of the RPI ranking on a weekly basis has its benefits.?
The RPI will be released on Thursdays starting next week, and will be based on games through the previous Monday. The NCAA has chosen this time of the year to release the RPI since teams will have had a chance to play conference opponents.
The RPI will no doubt be criticized from opposite sides. Some will say the committee relies too much on the RPI in its selections and seedings, others will claim the committee ignores the RPI and is too subjective.
Regardless, the NCAA?s RPI will give bettors another reliable tool to help them handicap games heading into the second half of the season as attention shifts from football to college hoops.
One team that will likely debut with a high rating in the RPI will be No. 4 Texas. The Longhorns are riding a nine-game winning streak and top the Big 12 with a 5-0 conference record (17-2 overall).
They are the only undefeated team remaining in the Big 12, having won all of their conference games by an average of 26 points.
Notable non-conference wins have come against No. 6 Villanova, No. 3 Memphis, No. 9 West Virginia and then-No. 18 Iowa. Their two losses came back-to-back, the first to then-No. 1 Duke and unranked Tennessee.
The loss to Duke, a 97-66 spanking, combined with the loss to the Vols dropped the Horns from No. 2 to No. 15.
Since then, they?ve climbed their way back to the top, and made a big statement on Monday crushing Oklahoma State 80-46 as 13-point home favorites.
Leading the way for the Horns has been sophomore F LaMarcus Aldridge and junior F P.J. Tucker.
Both players are neck-and-neck in team scoring with Aldridge averaging 16.4 ppg and Tucker with 16.3 ppg. The two put on a slam-dunk show in the second half of the Horns? beat-down on the Sooners.
In terms of boards, Aldridge leads the Big 12 with 9.4 rpg, and Tucker is right behind him with 8.9 rpg.
The Horns should face a bigger challenge this Saturday when they visit No. 24 Oklahoma, the only other ranked team in the Big 12 (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2). This will be the only game featuring two ranked teams this weekend.
The Sooners are 11-4 overall but just 2-2 against conference opponents. Losses have come to No. 6 Villanova and No. 9 West Virginia, which now leads the powerful Big East. Conference losses came to Nebraska and Missouri back-to-back.
Oklahoma has the second-worst scoring offense (66.5 ppg) in the Big 12 as well as the second-best defense in terms of points allowed (59.3 ppg).
Those two stats together have meant lower-scoring games for the Sooners, who have only seen three of 10 games go OVER the posted total.
The lack of scoring has also meant the Sooners are not covering the spread. OU has been favored in eight games, but has only covered two. Overall, the Sooners are 3-7 ATS.
The Longhorns have the second-best scoring offense in the Big 12 (79.9 ppg) as well as the best-ranked defense (57.8 ppg).
Texas? ability to score has enabled the team to cover the spread ? the Horns are 8-5-1 ATS. However, by shutting down opponents, the Horns are also seeing lower-scoring games ? only five of 16 games have gone OVER the posted total.
BetWWTS.com
