Summit League Signature Win?

[Old Titan]

What do you think is the most impressive and/or significant win so far this season by a Summit League team?

Now, before you answer, consider this:

• Xavier may have been 8-0 and ranked 8th in some polls, but they were without 40% of their offense due to suspensions and had not played in eight days since their brawl.

• Tennessee currently sits at 2-6 on the year, with losses to College of Charleston and at home to Austin Peay.

• Washington is currently 5-5 on the year, with their best win being a home victory over Ron Hunter's Georgia State.

• Missouri State is now 5-3, with their best win coming over Nevada.

• Valpo is 5-4, with their best win at the expense of a 4-6 Butler squad.

• Houston is 4-5, with a loss to Texas State.

Not such an easy question, is it?

[tmh8286]

No easy answer - probably could make a case for nearly all of them - especially if you also consider the point in the season in which the game was played. For instance, the Oakland win over Tennessee doesn't seem as big NOW, but it seemed huge and was huge at the time that it took place.

[Dr. Cornelius]

The PAC12 isn't what it used to be but beating Washington is a big win.

[Old Titan]

Washington also played without their 7-0 starting center (out with a knee sprain), but surprisingly I didn't hear anyone say they should put an asterisk next to SDSU's win...

[ORUTerry]

SDSU lost to North Dakota (!) by 19(!) in their previous contest.... just sayin'

[jackit]

SDSU lost to North Dakota (!) by 19(!) in their previous contest.... just sayin'

That makes SDSU's win even more impressive...just sayin

[Old Titan]

That makes SDSU's win even more impressive...just sayin

Really?

How?

I'm just wondering if almost ALL of these "big wins" say as much about the bona fides of the opponents as it does the Summit League team who won.

Suffice it to say that Oakland, ORU, and SDSU appear either as good or better than advertised, while NDSU, IPFW and even Western Illinois are better than expected. With a few exceptions, the top tier of the Summit League has taken advantage of the opportunities afforded them in non-conference play.

It should be WILD once they start playing each other.

[tmh8286]

Really?

How?

I'm just wondering if almost ALL of these "big wins" say as much about the bona fides of the opponents as it does the Summit League team who won.

Suffice it to say that Oakland, ORU, and SDSU appear either as good or better than advertised, while NDSU, IPFW and even Western Illinois are better than expected. With a few exceptions, the top tier of the Summit League has taken advantage of the opportunities afforded them in non-conference play.

It should be WILD once they start playing each other.

As of today ORU has moved to #72 in RPI (which, at this point in the season is just beginning to have some legitimacy), which is second place in the conference - just two spots behind 3-3 perennial celler-dweller Western Illinois!

Based on RPI values given on Statsheet.com (http://statsheet.com/mcb/rankings/RPI), which give slightly lower values than some other sites, FOUR Summit league teams have RPIs below 100 - WIU, ORU, Oakland and SDSU. NDSU comes in at 105, UMKC at 107.

RPI numbers like these have got to be unprecedented since we've been in the conference. The hidden benefit of this is that as we enter conference play in a week or so playing conference games is not going to decimate the RPI of the lower (or is that higher - I get SO CONFUSED by this!) ranked teams.

(Just noticed this line on the Statsheet RPI page: "StatSheet is the only site on the web to compute RPI/SOS metrics multiple times daily.

That's one reason our numbers may vary from other sites--we are more up-to-date.")

[89rabbit]

SDSU lost to North Dakota (!) by 19(!) in their previous contest.... just sayin'

And we beat North Dakota by 38 two games before that . . . just sayin'

[89rabbit]

I'm just wondering if almost ALL of these "big wins" say as much about the bona fides of the opponents as it does the Summit League team who won.

Suffice it to say that Oakland, ORU, and SDSU appear either as good or better than advertised, while NDSU, IPFW and even Western Illinois are better than expected. With a few exceptions, the top tier of the Summit League has taken advantage of the opportunities afforded them in non-conference play.

It should be WILD once they start playing each other.

Agreed. Wow that kinda hurt.

[Old Titan]

I really think Centenary being gone has helped bolster the cellar floor in ways that I personally find immeasurable.

Can any of you stat guys estimate how their annual 300+ RPI would be dragging the conference down right about now?

[ORUTerry]

The league is certainly in unprecendented territory in terms of RPI rankings. The key will be to 'steal' some wins on the road and hold serve at home.

[ORUTerry]

And we beat North Dakota by 38 two games before that . . . just sayin'

That makes the subsequent loss that more puzzling. Just goes to show how hard it is to win on the road.

[ORUalum]

you could make a case for Oakland's win over Tennessee because it was nationally televised. i ended up voting for ORU's win because it was against a top ten team and received more national attention because of the suspensions. however, the SDSU, Oakland, and ORU wins were all great for the league.

it will be interesting to see how these RPIs hold up once league play starts. if the season ended w/3 or 4 teams under 100 rpi, that would have to be a record for the league.

[ORUTerry]

We need the upper tier teams to win their conference games in order for the league to finish strong in RPI ratings.

The top three are:

1. ORU vs. Xavier (top 10 win)

2. Oakland vs. Tennessee (on television and against an SEC team)

3. SDSU vs. Washington (a win over a PAC 12 team on their court)

All three are nice wins that help the profile of the conference.

[Dr. Cornelius]

I really think Centenary being gone has helped bolster the cellar floor in ways that I personally find immeasurable.

Can any of you stat guys estimate how their annual 300+ RPI would be dragging the conference down right about now?

Yay Southland... oh wait.

[Old Titan]

To me the most surprising win was IPFW over Valpo - appears we can no longer assume all of the top tier teams will register a "W" in Fort Wayne.

[Hoopsdude18]

Xavier has the talent and coaching to be ranked for the rest of the season. It could be a 3 or 4 seed in the NCAA tournament. ORU's win over the Musketeers will stand out as the best win in my opinion at the end of the year.

From a promo standpoint, SDSU's win takes the cake. That program had never had a win quite like that, and it seems to have really put them and Mr. Wolters on the map, which is of course great for the league to have another school being talked about alongside ORU and OU.