Current RPI

[Bogus Smith]

With the win over LBSU Sunday, the Golden Eagles increased their RPI to No. 64.  The next highest RPI in the Mid-Con is Centenary at No. 221.  Let's hope that we get the KU game back from earlier this week and that we have success in Wichita and Stillwater on the next two Tuesdays.  We'll need to win out in conference play to have any luck of maintaining our standing (which isn't guaranteed).

http://boydsworld.com/baseball/rpi/currentrpi.html

[89rabbit]

With the win over LBSU Sunday, the Golden Eagles increased their RPI to No. 64.  The next highest RPI in the Mid-Con is Centenary at No. 221.  Let's hope that we get the KU game back from earlier this week and that we have success in Wichita and Stillwater on the next two Tuesdays.  We'll need to win out in conference play to have any luck of maintaining our standing (which isn't guaranteed).

http://boydsworld.com/baseball/rpi/currentrpi.html

If SDSU was in the Mid-Con this season we would be the next highest at # 195.  That of course is nothing to brag about, but our transition from D-II to D-I is going pretty well. 

[89rabbit]

To take it one step further this is how the Mid-Con would look if SDSU, NDSU, and IPFW were already in.

#64 - ORU

#195 - SDSU

#222 - Centenary

#225 - Western Ill.

#251 - Valpo

#269 - NDSU

#274 - Oakland

#285 - Southern Utah

#287 - IPFW

[Old Titan]

To take it one step further this is how the Mid-Con would look if SDSU, NDSU, and IPFW were already in.

#64 - ORU

#195 - SDSU

#222 - Centenary

#225 - Western Ill.

#251 - Valpo

#269 - NDSU

#274 - Oakland

#285 - Southern Utah

#287 - IPFW

For the life of me, I can not understand why the Mid-Con added IPFW, unless it's just because they are immediately eligible for the basketball tournament.

Otherwise, they seem awfully weak.

[ORUTerry]

For the life of me, I can not understand why the Mid-Con added IPFW, unless it's just because they are immediately eligible for the basketball tournament.

Otherwise, they seem awfully weak.

Give the man a dollar.....

[Mike Minyard]

I sure hope the Mid-Con drops down to a three-game series.  Can you imagine four games against all those RPI's?  It just kills our RPI.

[Bogus Smith]

On a positive note, all of the teams are relatively close to each other in RPI ranking so they are easier to find among the entire 295 college baseball teams!!    Unfortunately four of the teams are in the bottom 10%!! 

[SpaceManSpiff]

Wow, I didn't realize how bad our conference was at baseball... I knew it was bad... but wow.

(The following rankings group independents together in their own 'conference'...)

The Mid-Con is ranked ~24-25 out of 31 baseball.

Conference Rankings - Baseball (PDF)

(scroll down to the 5th page for conference rankings.)

The Mid-Con is ranked 22 out of 32 in basketball.

Conference Rankings - Basketball

At least we don't play in the SWAC.

They are ranked 30 out of 31 in baseball, and 32 out of 32 in basketball.

It looks like the Big Sky Conference doesn't play baseball. Is that right?

[Bogus Smith]

Wow, I didn't realize how bad our conference was at baseball... I knew it was bad... but wow.

(The following rankings group independents together in their own 'conference'...)

The Mid-Con is ranked ~24-25 out of 31 baseball.

Conference Rankings - Baseball (PDF)

(scroll down to the 5th page for conference rankings.)

At least now we know the REAL reason why Valpo is moving to the Horizon League...they want to be more competitive in baseball.  I didn't realize how bad THEIR conference was in baseball!

[89rabbit]

Wow, I didn't realize how bad our conference was at baseball... I knew it was bad... but wow.

(The following rankings group independents together in their own 'conference'...)

The Mid-Con is ranked ~24-25 out of 31 baseball.

Conference Rankings - Baseball (PDF)

(scroll down to the 5th page for conference rankings.)

Using the ISR that you referenced for the conference here is how the teams stack up (including SDSU, NDSU, and IPFW):

#55 - ORU

#129 - SDSU

#184 - Western Ill.

#228 - Centenary

#248 - NDSU

#254 - Valpo

#263 - Southern Utah

#266 - Oakland

#288 - IPFW

I like the ISR better. 

[tmh8286]

I'm looking forward to playing you guys next year, rabbit.  You're facilities look first class.

[Bogus Smith]

With the win last night, our RPI has popped back up north of No. 50 - sitting in the #49 spot right now.  The wins over the ranked teams certainly help our chances for an at-large bid should we stub our toe in Macomb, but should also help us attain a minimum #3 seed with a Mid-Con Tournament win.

Editor's Note: If you're interested in seeing the entire RPI listing, the link is on the first entry of this thread.

[Bogus Smith]

After a 4-game sweep of Southern Utah, the Golden Eagles' RPI drops from #49 to #57 in the latest rankings.    Tuesday night's opponent (Oklahoma State), after winning 2 out of 3 from Texas A&M, popped up from #62 to #59 in the same rankings. 

If the weather cooperates, it should be a great game in Stillwater with as much energy and fireworks on the field as there will be in the sky.  If the weather prevails, though, I doubt that we get a make-up game in May.  We desperately need this game for our RPI - win or lose (SUU popped up a couple of spots from #280 just for losing four games to us this weekend).

[mickeyb]

Our ISR (Iterative Strength Rating) isn't too bad at #40 ... showing how tough we play our non-conference schedule.  As of today our SOS is 29.

[Bogus Smith]

NCAA Releases RPI

Posted Apr. 25, 2007 10:53 am by John Manuel

Filed under: Around The Nation

The NCAA?s official baseball website has featured one ranking this season?Baseball America?s top 25. Now it has two.

As mentioned last week, for the first time the NCAA is releasing its official baseball Ratings Percentage Index, and there are a few surprises at the top. One non-surprise: Vanderbilt, No. 1 in our rankings, is No. 1 in the RPI, followed by Rice, South Carolina and Texas A&M.

While the Aggies are something of a surprise at No. 4, Long Beach State shouldn?t be a surprise at No. 5. The Dirtbags, who have played a nation-best 22 games against teams in Baseball America?s Top 25 and are unranked in BA?s latest poll. LBSU has the highest ranking of any team on the West Coast, followed by Arizona State at No. 8. However, West Coast teams actually aren?t quite as under-represented as expected in the RPI, with San Diego, Pepperdine, Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine, Oregon State and Arizona all are bunched from Nos. 20-27.

Several Atlantic Coast Conference teams suffer in the RPI compared to the national rankings, thanks mostly to poor strength of schedule and/or a preponderance of home games. Florida State is 37-6 for the purpose of the RPI and ranked second in BA?s top 25, but its weak non-ACC schedule, coupled with 34 of its 43 games being at home, help drive it down to 14th on the RPI. Virginia, No. 3 in the BA poll, is just 13th in the RPI, with North Carolina (which has lost head-to-head series with both FSU and UVA) ranked as the top ACC team, ninth overall in the nation.

Among other items of note:

? Minnesota checks in at No. 17 thanks to an arduous non-Big Ten schedule, but the Golden Gophers are almost certain to drop as the bulk of their remaining games are against conference opponents who are ranked low in the RPI. The snow-out of a four-game set with Michigan (No. 33 in the RPI) will hurt both teams? chances of being regional hosts or No. 1 seeds.

? UCLA leads the Pacific-10 but its 22-16 record is a big reason its RPI ranking is at 51, putting it squarely on the bubble if it does not win the Pac-10 regular season and its ensuing automatic bid. Southern California was No. 43 in the rankings, prior to a 3-1 loss Tuesday to Cal State Fullerton, but at 21-21, the Trojans are sliding the wrong way and putting their at-large chances in jeopardy.

? Conference USA, with jumbled standings after league-leader Rice, has four teams scrambling for regional bids. East Carolina, at No. 16, has the second-best RPI among CUSA schools, with Southern Mississippi (38) next. Memphis (47) is the schizophrenic team of the league at 26-16, 9-6 in the league. The Tigers were on the fast track to a regional bid until losing two home games last weekend to previously winless (in league play) Marshall. Houston (50) is 9-3 in the conference and should be in if it remains second in the league, but Tulane (53), fifth in the conference at 8-7, could be on the wrong side of the bubble if it doesn?t start playing better.

? The Missouri Valley, another mid-major conference in search of at-large bids, has two teams with borderline RPIs in Creighton (48) and Evansville (49). Creighton won two of three against the Purple Aces in Evansville, which could prove a significant advantage come selection time, but Evansville?s non-league schedule was significantly stronger at the top and down the stretch. The Purple Aces would really help their cause with a series win against league leader Wichita State (No. 11 in the RPI).

? Louisville (No. 40) leads the way for the Big East, with league leader Rutgers (62) and sliding South Florida (44) the only other teams in hailing distance of at-large bids.

? Air Force (7-33) checks in as Team Irrelevant at No. 293, behind even winless Coppin State (0-36) thanks to schedule strength.

Update: Comments can change the world . . . I forwarded the comment below about home fields and neutral sites to the NCAA?s Jim Wright, and he?s already realized one mistake and will make changes in next week?s RPI release. Here?s his reply, in edited form:

?For Rice, we DO consider games at Minute Maid home games for them FOR RPI PURPOSES. Thus, both Vandy and Texas A&M will receive bonus points for beating a top 25 team at home. Our logic here?and this applies to all RPI sports, not just baseball?is a team has an advantage playing in their home city, even if it is not their home facility. If Rice played Houston at Minute Maid, it would be a neutral site. We also have Rice playing away at TAMU-CC, but do have them with two neutral site games at TAMU-CC vs. TCU and Texas Tech. The Texas games came to me listed as being played in Round Rock. I just found out that?s literally a suburb of Austin, so I?m changing those to home games, thus giving San Diego and Stanford some bonus points.?

Take a bow, texd, for making the college baseball world a better place.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 25, 2007 at 10:53 am by John Manuel and is filed under Around The Nation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

[89rabbit]

Mid-Con (with SDSU, NDSU, and IPFW)

ORU - 57

SDSU - 184

Western Ill. - 232

Centenary - 249

Valpo - 252

Oakland -267

NDSU - 270

Southern Utah - 281

IPFW - 288

[tmh8286]

Based on those numbers, two of the three newcomers are in the bottom ten percent of all D-I baseball teams . . . 

Last weekend shows what happens when you sweep a Mid-Con team - you drop in RPI.  Too bad we couldn't have won a few more of those earlier games against better competition - might have gotten our RPI up a bit more before taking the Mid-Con hit.

[Bogus Smith]

Interestingly, even after a loss on the home field to #251 Valparaiso, the Golden Eagles only drop to #55 (from #51) today.  It certainly can't help our seeding when Tournament time comes to have lost a game in the Conference, but hopefully we'll pick it up in Rochester this weekend when we play Oakland (who has actually dropped below Southern Utah at #283 out of 293 D-1 baseball-playing schools).