I'm running one day late on my weekly RPI watch, thanks to the presence of finals that have been hitting me like a ton of bricks for the past week and will continue through this week. (I'm currently a grad student at the University of Illinois, so my finals are running a week later than NU's.) I just turned in a group project this morning, so now I can break to give you the latest updates!
Although I may be feeling a little sluggish, our men's basketball team isn't! They woke up from a short hoops hibernation to knock off Long Island, 81-65 last night.
Looking at the polls, the 'Cats remain stagnant due to their inactivity last week, remaining tied for 31st in the Coaches' Poll with 15 points. The 25th-ranked team, Texas, only has 41 points, so a continued undefeated run may push the team into the Top 25 before our last non-conference game. The AP Poll hasn't been quite so nice, dropping the 'Cats back into a three-way tie for 36th with Washington State and Cincinnati, each with 5 points.
It's that time... time to check the RPI.
Showing posts with label RPI Watch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RPI Watch. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
RPI Watch, December 6th: Blue Moon
Blue moon,
You saw me standing alone,
Without a dream in my heart,
Without a love of my own.
-"Blue Moon", Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
Who loves the Big Ten/ACC Challenge? I love the Big Ten/ACC Challenge! The annual inter-conference event gave many teams an early chance to look good in the eyes of NCAA voters. Some of our teams made the absolute most of it (Wisconsin) while others fell flat on their faces (Minnesota). Even though the Big Ten won the challenge, the conference's overall RPI took a hit due to former opposition losing a host of bad games.
Thanks to everyone who voted in the BT/ACC Challenge poll! The majority were correct this year, as 60% of you said that the Big Ten would win by the slimmest of margins. 40% of you expected the ACC to win, 6 to 5.
One team that benefitted from its win was our beloved 'Cats, who delivered a 91-71 shellacking to Georgia Tech at home. As Georgia Tech is considered to be a bubble NCAA team early on in the season, this win may bode well for us. It's definitely turned some heads, as NU has garnered more poll votes: They now sit at 31st in the Coaches' Poll with 9 points, good enough to be tied with Arizona, just behind Wisconsin and North Carolina and ahead of former heavyweight Gonzaga, which lost to Illinois over the weekend. They've also obtained votes in the AP, tied at 34th with Cincinnati, garnering 6 points. Now here I go rambling again! Let's cut to the chase and look at the RPI, shall we?
You saw me standing alone,
Without a dream in my heart,
Without a love of my own.
-"Blue Moon", Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
Who loves the Big Ten/ACC Challenge? I love the Big Ten/ACC Challenge! The annual inter-conference event gave many teams an early chance to look good in the eyes of NCAA voters. Some of our teams made the absolute most of it (Wisconsin) while others fell flat on their faces (Minnesota). Even though the Big Ten won the challenge, the conference's overall RPI took a hit due to former opposition losing a host of bad games.
Thanks to everyone who voted in the BT/ACC Challenge poll! The majority were correct this year, as 60% of you said that the Big Ten would win by the slimmest of margins. 40% of you expected the ACC to win, 6 to 5.
One team that benefitted from its win was our beloved 'Cats, who delivered a 91-71 shellacking to Georgia Tech at home. As Georgia Tech is considered to be a bubble NCAA team early on in the season, this win may bode well for us. It's definitely turned some heads, as NU has garnered more poll votes: They now sit at 31st in the Coaches' Poll with 9 points, good enough to be tied with Arizona, just behind Wisconsin and North Carolina and ahead of former heavyweight Gonzaga, which lost to Illinois over the weekend. They've also obtained votes in the AP, tied at 34th with Cincinnati, garnering 6 points. Now here I go rambling again! Let's cut to the chase and look at the RPI, shall we?
Monday, November 29, 2010
RPI Watch, November 29th: Or, Why the RPI Sucks This Early
The college basketball season has been underway the past few weeks, and I for one am happy to see its arrival. The football season for the Wildcats realistically ended with Dan Persa's demise after the Iowa game, and the Big Ten season is now officially over with only the bowl games in sight (and oh yeah, that one non-con that Illinois has against Fresno State). After drubbings against Illinois at Wrigley and in Camp Randall against Wisconsin, the 'Cats go limping into the bowl selection wait, presumably to punch a ticket to Dallas as part of the TicketCity Bowl.
That said, it's time to start talking men's basketball. The Wildcats came back from their turkey hangover by fighting to a 65-52 home victory over Creighton last night. The win puts the 'Cats at 4-0, a record that has not been matched by a men's team since the 1993-94 season, when it started the season 9-0. Unfortunately, that team from 17 seasons ago would go on to lose its next 7 games and finish the season 15-12. We hope to be riding this wave of early success into the Big Ten season and, furthermore, into the NCAA Tournament for the very first time.
This regular series will take a look at the RPI rankings of each of the Big Ten teams. As much as people much prefer to use Pomeroy to judge a team's rank, the pundits at ESPN and the NCAA selection committee still use the RPI system as a resume tool for each basketball team. It sucks, but that's what I get to work with. I'll try to update this ranking every Monday, something akin to the Momentum Game (except I don't bother ranking the teams myself).
Jump inside to see how everyone's doing!
That said, it's time to start talking men's basketball. The Wildcats came back from their turkey hangover by fighting to a 65-52 home victory over Creighton last night. The win puts the 'Cats at 4-0, a record that has not been matched by a men's team since the 1993-94 season, when it started the season 9-0. Unfortunately, that team from 17 seasons ago would go on to lose its next 7 games and finish the season 15-12. We hope to be riding this wave of early success into the Big Ten season and, furthermore, into the NCAA Tournament for the very first time.
This regular series will take a look at the RPI rankings of each of the Big Ten teams. As much as people much prefer to use Pomeroy to judge a team's rank, the pundits at ESPN and the NCAA selection committee still use the RPI system as a resume tool for each basketball team. It sucks, but that's what I get to work with. I'll try to update this ranking every Monday, something akin to the Momentum Game (except I don't bother ranking the teams myself).
Jump inside to see how everyone's doing!
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