Conference RPI Rankings

by **IWokeUpLikeThis** » January 6th, 2019, 1:25 pm

Since NET is keeping its formula and last year’s results secret, RPI at least gives us previous seasons to compare with and a transparent, outcome-based calculation. 2018 ranking in parentheses.

1 BXII (1)
2 B1G (5)
3 Big East (2)
4 SEC (4)
5 ACC (3)
6 American (7)
7 PAC (6)
8 Mid-American (10)
9 West Coast (13)
10 IVY League (25)
11 Missouri Valley (8)
12 Conference USA (14)
13 Southern (16)
14 Atlantic 10 (11)
15 WAC (15)
16 Mountain West (9)
17 Sun Belt (20)
18 Colonial (12)
19 Horizon (26)
20 Atlantic Sun (30)
21 Big West (22)
22 Patriot (27)
23 Ohio Valley (18)
24 Northeast (28)
25 Big Sky (17)
26 America East (23)
27 Big South (24)
28 Summit (19)
29 Southland (29)
30 Metro Atlantic (21)
31 SWAC (32)
32 MEAC (31)

*IVY League has seen the biggest year-to-year improvement in RPI history, vaulting from 25th to top 10.
*Mid-American turns in its second straight top 10 season.
*American passes up PAC12.
*A10 misses top 10 in back-to-back years.
*Mountain West putting up its worst season since the formation of the conference...trailing a league whose membership they damn nearly entirely poached!
*Metro Atlantic has fallen from a 2-bid league a few years ago to D1’s worst non-HBCU league.
*Texas Southern’s dirty work over Baylor, Oregon, & Texas A&M catapults the SWAC out of the cellar.

**Sponsor**

by **Kyle@MOState** » January 15th, 2019, 4:25 pm

I know we had another thread for this, but I am still wondering which conference we are looking at to have the conference challenge? While the WCC would be pretty ideal, I don't think Gonzaga plays by the same rules as the rest of the conference, so they may try to opt of the challenge, but that I guess that would be my first call. I guess the MAC would be my second call, it makes a lot of sense regionally, and it's a decent league most years. I just have a feeling we will probably get something done with Conference USA. They won't be the draw that some of the Mountain West games were, but I guess that would at least solve one game of the scheduling puzzle that coaches have to deal with every year.

by **MOST** » January 16th, 2019, 7:27 pm

I look at RealTime Rankings.

I see that the MVC is ranked at #14. That's 4-6 ranking spots lower than they used to be.

Is this drop a measure of how much WSU and Creighton elevated the MVC. Is a 13 to 15 range going to become the normal MVC ranking.

I don't think adding Valpo, Murrray, Belmont, N. Kentucky, or????????? is going to lift our conference ranking---unless there are big changes in the projected 2021/2022 realignments.

I Can see the MVC fracturing with several teams very possibly migrating to other conferences and back filling with much lesser teams. UNI and MOState going west, NW, or SW; SIU, IndSU and EvansVille going south; Loyola to the BE; Ill state maybe to the MID America; Valpo back to the Horizon. Drake and Bradley--who knows.

You can forget WSU and Creighton coming back and saving the MVC!

by **Rambler63** » January 16th, 2019, 8:05 pm

First, don't panic.

Loyola is having a down year after losing three key players to graduation, but the Final Four run has helped improve scheduling and provide some support to other conference teams. If Wichita State was back in the league, they wouldn't add much this season--- they're about on par with SIU or Indiana State as far as RPI.

Making the conference better is the way to go. The first thing you have to do is act like your conference is great, which shouldn't be too difficult. We have an excellent conference with far above average basketball history, fan support, and prime recruiting territory in our footprint. We need to dramatically bump up our game in social media, but other than that, I think we're doing OK.

If we bumped up budgets $250-500k around the league, we'd be closer to what the A-10 spends on hoops, and we might be able to poach some teams if we can continue to have a higher conference rank. Yes, I've heard a MILLION times "St. Louis doesn't want to join the MVC," but if Murray State agreed to join OR if a program like Dayton could be attracted as a joint deal with St. Louis, that would make the conference quite a bit better and more resilient. And comparing a higher-budget MVC with Dayton/St. Louis or Murray State/St. Louis to an A-10 without St. Louis and maybe Dayton, would go a long way to cementing the MVC above A-10 on a more permanent basis.

I don't think it could happen without a significant investment-- bumping up promotion, media, social media, design/marketing, scheduling, travel, etc.

by **MOST** » January 17th, 2019, 7:54 am

Too many "IFs. The drop and the #14 ranking is a true assessment of the current MVC BB.

by **MissouriValleyUnite** » January 17th, 2019, 8:31 am

MVC finished #8 last year with a Final 4 team. It finished outside the top 10 with Wichita and Creighton (2011, early 2000s). Mountain West is 16th this year. Welcome to the cycles of mid-major basketball.

edit: looking thru his history, MSU posters claim he’s some Travis troll from their board. Disregard then.

by **IWokeUpLikeThis** » January 17th, 2019, 8:53 am

MOST wrote:I look at RealTime Rankings.

I see that the MVC is ranked at #14. That's 4-6 ranking spots lower than they used to be.

Is this drop a measure of how much WSU and Creighton elevated the MVC. Is a 13 to 15 range going to become the normal MVC ranking.

I don't think adding Valpo, Murrray, Belmont, N. Kentucky, or????????? is going to lift our conference ranking---unless there are big changes in the projected 2021/2022 realignments.

I Can see the MVC fracturing with several teams very possibly migrating to other conferences and back filling with much lesser teams. UNI and MOState going west, NW, or SW; SIU, IndSU and EvansVille going south; Loyola to the BE; Ill state maybe to the MID America; Valpo back to the Horizon. Drake and Bradley--who knows.

You can forget WSU and Creighton coming back and saving the MVC!

Are you new to college athletics by chance? Just a heads up, this isn’t how realignment has worked for 100 years. It isn’t fantasy football. Realignment always trickles down 99% of the time, not up. It usually moves at glacial paces behind closed doors unless there’s an unprecedented armageddon like 2010-12. You also have to fundamentally understand Presidents’ motivations for movement.

Is this your first year following the sport? Welcome aboard. You’ll find that rankings fluctuate year to year. Ie: MVC dropped from 8th to 14th, MWC dropped from 9th to 16th, IVY League rose from 25th to 10th. Only multi-year windows establish trends. Extrapolating one outlier season into an overarching generalization typically isn’t well received.

by **MOST** » January 17th, 2019, 1:28 pm

Been watching BB since 1951. Seen a few games and lots of changes---but it is still BB. Have not been impressed with MVC in a while. Never more than a 2 team conference. They rode the coat tails of Creighton or WSU for 20 years. With those 2 gone they have lost a their relevance. They are now at the level of those hated Horizon, Ohio Valley and Summit conferences. At this point all those possible additions (teams) are not going to make the MVC a 2 bid conference. Wishful thanking that WSU coming back, and SLU and Dayton coming to the MVC.

by **IWokeUpLikeThis** » January 17th, 2019, 1:48 pm

21 OVC
22 Horizon
27 Summit

Unless you hold the binary belief the P6+AAC is one level and conferences 8-32 are the other level.

People hate the Horizon, Summit, and OVC? :huh:

by **BCPanther** » January 17th, 2019, 1:48 pm

MOST wrote:Been watching BB since 1951. Seen a few games and lots of changes---but it is still BB. Have not been impressed with MVC in a while. Never more than a 2 team conference. They rode the coat tails of Creighton or WSU for 20 years. With those 2 gone they have lost a their relevance. They are now at the level of those hated Horizon, Ohio Valley and Summit conferences. At this point all those possible additions (teams) are not going to make the MVC a 2 bid conference. Wishful thanking that WSU coming back, and SLU and Dayton coming to the MVC.

Most of this is objectively untrue.