What will improve Purdue RPI

[FirstDownB]

Ok. The cat is out of the bag, and once again the committee is leaning heavily on RPI. For those of us who favor more elegant metrics, maybe there is hope for next year..

But if one good thing came out of the preview show it is we know what to expect.
So, what things need to happen between now and March 12 to improve our RPI?

1) Win as many games as possible. It doesn't matter by how many points (RPI doesn't care) and we can't change who is on the schedule. Just take care of business by posting as many W's as possible. This is obvious.

2) Get a little help. SOS moves RPI. And SOS is moved by our opponents winning and losing. So, no-brainers are teams like Villanova and Notre Dame continuing to win. But also important are seemingly unimportant teams like Georgia State and Arizona State picking up wins. They all factor into the calculation.

3) Get a little extra help. Teams that appear twice on our schedule have 2x the effect on our opponent SOS. These are our conference two-plays like Iowa, MSU, Indiana, PSU. There are some tough calls here, though. For the minuscule effect they will have on our RPI, have to consider if it is worth seeing Izzo and Crean in the NIT.

4) Damn the competition! RPI is commonly thought of as a ranking, but it is first a calculation. Our RPI is currently .6244, which happens to be 18th best as of now. But even if it were to remain at .6244, Purdue could conceivably rise in the RPI ranking while others fall off. Competitors are those just ahead - Creighton, Cincy, Duke, Xavier, Virgina, Butler, Florida, Florida St. - and those just behind - SMU, S. Carolina, Minnesota, St. Mary's.

Things that will not directly affect Purdue's RPI, but will affect the RPI-influenced resume:

5) Getting more quality wins. As a slight caveat to #1 above, not all wins are created equal. The more teams we beat in the top 50 and top 100 the better. All remaining opponents but Rutgers are top 100. Should pick up 1-3 more in the BTT depending on advancement. Would be best not to have too many upsets in the BTT. We could use another game against Wisconsin and/or Maryland.

6)Emerging quality wins. As of today, Purdue has 5 top 50 wins and 10 top 100 wins. But those are not etched in stone. The win over Ohio State could BECOME a top 50 win if OSU improved their RPI by 9 spots. Similarly Iowa would need to improve 5 spots to be top 100. That would also make our worst loss to a top 100 team.

Everything being equal, my rooting interests for the next month are:

FOR:
Purdue - Duh!
OOC opponents - with the exception of Butler (or UL if they were to unexpectedly free-fall)
Ohio State - top 50 win
Iowa - 2x opponent and top 100 win
PSU - 2x opponent

AGAINST:
UW and Maryland - for conference rank
Any team near or ahead of us in RPI

And the answer is YES. I am mostly giving myself a reason to watch a lot of college hoops the next 4 weeks!!!

 

[Dryfly88]

Ok. The cat is out of the bag, and once again the committee is leaning heavily on RPI. For those of us who favor more elegant metrics, maybe there is hope for next year..

But if one good thing came out of the preview show it is we know what to expect.
So, what things need to happen between now and March 12 to improve our RPI?

1) Win as many games as possible. It doesn't matter by how many points (RPI doesn't care) and we can't change who is on the schedule. Just take care of business by posting as many W's as possible. This is obvious.

2) Get a little help. SOS moves RPI. And SOS is moved by our opponents winning and losing. So, no-brainers are teams like Villanova and Notre Dame continuing to win. But also important are seemingly unimportant teams like Georgia State and Arizona State picking up wins. They all factor into the calculation.

3) Get a little extra help. Teams that appear twice on our schedule have 2x the effect on our opponent SOS. These are our conference two-plays like Iowa, MSU, Indiana, PSU. There are some tough calls here, though. For the minuscule effect they will have on our RPI, have to consider if it is worth seeing Izzo and Crean in the NIT.

4) Damn the competition! RPI is commonly thought of as a ranking, but it is first a calculation. Our RPI is currently .6244, which happens to be 18th best as of now. But even if it were to remain at .6244, Purdue could conceivably rise in the RPI ranking while others fall off. Competitors are those just ahead - Creighton, Cincy, Duke, Xavier, Virgina, Butler, Florida, Florida St. - and those just behind - SMU, S. Carolina, Minnesota, St. Mary's.

Things that will not directly affect Purdue's RPI, but will affect the RPI-influenced resume:

5) Getting more quality wins. As a slight caveat to #1 above, not all wins are created equal. The more teams we beat in the top 50 and top 100 the better. All remaining opponents but Rutgers are top 100. Should pick up 1-3 more in the BTT depending on advancement. Would be best not to have too many upsets in the BTT. We could use another game against Wisconsin and/or Maryland.

6)Emerging quality wins. As of today, Purdue has 5 top 50 wins and 10 top 100 wins. But those are not etched in stone. The win over Ohio State could BECOME a top 50 win if OSU improved their RPI by 9 spots. Similarly Iowa would need to improve 5 spots to be top 100. That would also make our worst loss to a top 100 team.

Everything being equal, my rooting interests for the next month are:

FOR:
Purdue - Duh!
OOC opponents - with the exception of Butler (or UL if they were to unexpectedly free-fall)
Ohio State - top 50 win
Iowa - 2x opponent and top 100 win
PSU - 2x opponent

AGAINST:
UW and Maryland - for conference rank
Any team near or ahead of us in RPI

And the answer is YES. I am mostly giving myself a reason to watch a lot of college hoops the next 4 weeks!!!

Excellent analysis.

Did I mention that RPI sucks?

 

[BoilerStation]

Auburn could do us a big favor if they knock off Florida tomorrow night.

 

[BoilerDaddy]

Ok. The cat is out of the bag, and once again the committee is leaning heavily on RPI. For those of us who favor more elegant metrics, maybe there is hope for next year..

But if one good thing came out of the preview show it is we know what to expect.
So, what things need to happen between now and March 12 to improve our RPI?

1) Win as many games as possible. It doesn't matter by how many points (RPI doesn't care) and we can't change who is on the schedule. Just take care of business by posting as many W's as possible. This is obvious.

2) Get a little help. SOS moves RPI. And SOS is moved by our opponents winning and losing. So, no-brainers are teams like Villanova and Notre Dame continuing to win. But also important are seemingly unimportant teams like Georgia State and Arizona State picking up wins. They all factor into the calculation.

3) Get a little extra help. Teams that appear twice on our schedule have 2x the effect on our opponent SOS. These are our conference two-plays like Iowa, MSU, Indiana, PSU. There are some tough calls here, though. For the minuscule effect they will have on our RPI, have to consider if it is worth seeing Izzo and Crean in the NIT.

4) Damn the competition! RPI is commonly thought of as a ranking, but it is first a calculation. Our RPI is currently .6244, which happens to be 18th best as of now. But even if it were to remain at .6244, Purdue could conceivably rise in the RPI ranking while others fall off. Competitors are those just ahead - Creighton, Cincy, Duke, Xavier, Virgina, Butler, Florida, Florida St. - and those just behind - SMU, S. Carolina, Minnesota, St. Mary's.

Things that will not directly affect Purdue's RPI, but will affect the RPI-influenced resume:

5) Getting more quality wins. As a slight caveat to #1 above, not all wins are created equal. The more teams we beat in the top 50 and top 100 the better. All remaining opponents but Rutgers are top 100. Should pick up 1-3 more in the BTT depending on advancement. Would be best not to have too many upsets in the BTT. We could use another game against Wisconsin and/or Maryland.

6)Emerging quality wins. As of today, Purdue has 5 top 50 wins and 10 top 100 wins. But those are not etched in stone. The win over Ohio State could BECOME a top 50 win if OSU improved their RPI by 9 spots. Similarly Iowa would need to improve 5 spots to be top 100. That would also make our worst loss to a top 100 team.

Everything being equal, my rooting interests for the next month are:

FOR:
Purdue - Duh!
OOC opponents - with the exception of Butler (or UL if they were to unexpectedly free-fall)
Ohio State - top 50 win
Iowa - 2x opponent and top 100 win
PSU - 2x opponent

AGAINST:
UW and Maryland - for conference rank
Any team near or ahead of us in RPI

And the answer is YES. I am mostly giving myself a reason to watch a lot of college hoops the next 4 weeks!!!

My view is just go 9-0 and the rest will work out. (I don't expect 9-0, but my point is that it is all about Purdue winning.)

 

[70boiler]

... it is all about Purdue winning.)

I wouldn't agree with that.
It surely starts with Boiler wins, but seeds and matchups do matter and therefore against whom others win and lose also matter to Purdue.

 

[BoilerDaddy]

I wouldn't agree with that.
It surely starts with Boiler wins, but seeds and matchups do matter and therefore against whom others win and lose also matter to Purdue.

I agree to a small extent, but for the most part Purdue's non-conference performance is what it is. I will concede the best thing that could happen from an early opponent perspective would be if Notre Dame got hot, making Purdue's best non conference win look that much better.

 

[ahhculdee]

Auburn could do us a big favor if they knock off Florida tomorrow night.

Come on Bruce Pearl and Sauce boy.

 

[Boilermaker]

I wouldn't agree with that.
It surely starts with Boiler wins, but seeds and matchups do matter and therefore against whom others win and lose also matter to Purdue.

Gonzaga would indicate that who you beat doesn't matter so much, no? They'd not be in the top 10 if playing in the Big10.

 

[BoilerStation]

Gonzaga would indicate that who you beat doesn't matter so much, no? They'd not be in the top 10 if playing in the Big10.

They'd also probably not be undefeated if they were in the big ten but they aren't in the BT and they are currently undefeated. Not for one second do I think they are the best in the country or even top 5 but they have won every game they've played so you can't really compare anybody else to them who has lost so far this season.

 

[FirstDownB]

If the counterpoint being made by some is that point #1 (Purdue winning) outweighs all other points, then I completely agree. But the other minutia does count too and makes the next 4 weeks all the more interesting to some of us.

 

[Boiler Wolf]

Gonzaga would indicate that who you beat doesn't matter so much, no? They'd not be in the top 10 if playing in the Big10.

But, they won ALL the games on their schedule, including wins over Arizona(AP 5, Pom 23), Florida (AP 15, Pom 6), and Iowa State(Pom 26) , which is arguably better than our top three wins this season, Wisky(AP 11, Pom 15), ND (AP 25, Pom 24), and MD (AP 23, Pom 35). And no bad loses (or any), which we can't say, unfortunately.

 

[Purdue Grad in Texas]

Come on Bruce Pearl and Sauce boy.

114-95, Florida....was tied at halftime, 50 apiece. Pretty saucy, but was there any defense in this game? Also, 81 combined foul shots.....wow.

 

[JohnnyDoeBoiler]

114-95, Florida....was tied at halftime, 50 apiece. Pretty saucy, but was there any defense in this game? Also, 81 combined foul shots.....wow.

This is again why I think Florida is ranked too highly. They have lost every single game against good competition except for the Kentucky win in which UK played arguably the worst game I've seen under Calipari.

Purdue is currently 4-2 against the top 25...those two losses coming to Louisville and Villanova by a combined 10 points. Meanwhile, Florida is currently 1-3 against the top 25.

Of the top 16 seeds selected on Sunday, here are the schools that are currently ranked behind Purdue in RPI:
West Virginia (29)
UCLA (23)

However, in the better system of the BPI (Purdue ranked 9th):
Kansas (11)
Baylor (14)
Florida State (18)
Oregon (13)
Arizona (23)
Kentucky (10)
Butler (25)
UCLA (12)

I think if you were to go by the BPI, it would reflect a much better ranking system in which Purdue probably would have been the 3rd or 4th #3 seed. If they continue with what they showed in this previous ranking, the B1G is going to be playing the spoiler in a lot of those middle seed games and then getting a top 4 seed in the second round....would love to see the entire conference upset some brackets come March.

 

[02Boilermaker]

And the answer is YES. I am mostly giving myself a reason to watch a lot of college hoops the next 4 weeks!!!

CBSSports has a tool that tells you what game outcomes will increase a given teams RPI every night: CBS Palm Reader

I'm sure you could use that to find a rooting interest in just about any televised game whether it is to help Purdue or hurt a team just above them in RPI.