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Here’s a look at the RPI Math……….
Team / 2013 RPI / D-1 Record / Home-Away / Date
Minnesota / 34 / 20-12 / Away / Nov. 8th
Rider / 146 / 18-14 / Home / Nov. 12th
Fordham / 229 / 7-24 / Away / Nov.15th
Houston / 197 / 18-12 / Away / Nov. 17th
Pittsburgh / 43 / 24-8 / Away / Nov. 20th
Texas So. / 183 / 17-14 / Neutral Site / Nov. 25th
S. Dakota St. / 62 / 22-9 / Away / Nov. 26th
or
Howard / 334 / 6-23 / Neutral Site / Nov. 26th
Sacred Heart / 253 / 9-20 / Home / Dec. 1st
St. Francis (PA) / 322 / 5-24 / Away / Dec. 4th
UMBC / 298 / 8-23 / Home / Dec. 7th
LIU / 184 / 20-14 / Home / Dec. 9th
Quinnipiac / 193 / 15-16 / Home / Dec. 21st
Bryant / 159 / 19-11 / Away / Dec. 30th
Our OOC RPI: 177 with S. Dakota State or 188 with Howard: 198
You must say we’re moving in the right direction when you look back at our prior 3 season of OOC play:
2012-13: 180
2011-12: 224
2010-11: 274
Here’s a look at how others in the PL did this year in lining up their OOC opponents in terms of Strength of Schedule.
Holy Cross 146
Boston U 156
Bucknell 173
Lafayette 180
Colgate 191
Army 192
American 209
Navy 256
Scheduling top flight talent in the preseason is a problem for everyone. For example, I give you the OOC PRI rankings of some of the bigger names in college basketball:
Ohio St. 145
Minnesota 171
Syracuse 178
St. John’s 181
Marquette 188
Purdue 189
Let’s look at some of the conferences being thrown around as present and perhaps future targets of play. Here are their 2013 RPI rankings (note: 33 conference / 347 teams including “Independents”).
A10 – 7th
Metro Atlantic – 14th
Patriot League – 18th
Northeast – 20th
American East – 22nd
Colonial – 23rd
Ivy – 24th
It is what it is. The PL is the 18th ranked unit in the country. Seventeen conferences are stronger and 15 are weaker.
It would be nice to “cherry-pick” teams from each of the better leagues and walk away with a stellar OOC schedule each year. But that’s not always possible due to long standing contractual commitments, the needs of our counterparties, and budgetary constraints. As for the NEC, some are down on the conference…… I’m not. Seven of their 10 members are ranked at 200 or better. This year we pick up three in that category, namely: Bryant (159), LIU (184), and Quinnipiac (193). Not bad…..not great. And, not a whole lot different than dates with #145 Delaware, #153 Towson and #179 Fairfield, but certainly better than – as may have been suggested – #207 Drexel and #325 Hofstra. Putting numbers aside for the moment, I’m all in favor of developing some in-state rivalries and not opposed to an Ivy or two each year. Let’s not loose sight of the academic side of the equation and the good that can come from our association on and off the field with members of the Ivy League. Hey, one man’s opinion.
All this to say, scheduling is a crap shoot every year. All in all, I think we did alright in 2013-14. You’ve got two Top 50 teams (Minn and Pitt), entry into the Legends Classic and 5 home games to attend all before the start of league play. Others around the league might wish that had is so good.