There are a couple things that strike me about the RPI rankings this morning as it pertains to Ole Miss and SEC hosting chances around the conferences.
Ole Miss is No. 17, but the top 16 has some soft spots, so the Rebels are potentially in better shape at 18 wins that we have given them credit for in the past week or so. Out of the top 16, at least three teams (No. 15 Auburn, No. 16 TAMU, No. 10 Tennessee) aren't hosts currently, giving room for hosts outside that group. Usually the RPI is really important for host sites -- especially in the SEC since no SEC team outside the top 14 RPI has hosted since 2010 -- and it still will be to an extent, but it's softer than usual because of conference records and conference standings at the moment.
Tennesse is 10-14 in the SEC, A&M is 12-11-1 and Auburn is 12-12. The Vols are in danger are being the RPI team completely left out because of league record (like UNC a couple years ago) and Auburn and the Aggies are two seeds currently.
There's also the case of what to do with UC-Santa Barbara. The Gauchos are a gaudy No. 14 in the RPI and 36-7 overall, but UCSB hasn't played anyone. Irvine is the only top 50 team UCSB has played, and the Eaters are No. 48. Can you give a host site to a team with 0 top 50 games? I think it opens up another host site elsewhere since UCLA, Stanford and maybe Oregon State are giving the West Coast enough sites to not worry about geographical balance. Santa Barbara's remaining series are against 228, 242 and 163.
Looking outside the top 16 there are currently a couple potential host stealers in other conferences. The Beavers are at No. 22 in the RPI and probably on the bubble/in line after Oklahoma State swept them this past weekend. Stanford is going to be an outside-top-16 host thief. Guaranteed. And Illinois -- currently at No. 18 and 10-8 in the Big Ten -- could do it as well if it gets hot the rest of the year. Only RPI drains remain though.
West Virginia RPI 21 and Baylor RPI 27 are teams to watch. WVU lost to TCU so they are bubble out while Baylor may still be in if the projectors want to be cute. League record is good. Wouldn't hurt to root against them and NC State the rest of the way.
Basically there's a path to a host at 18 wins for Ole Miss if it doesn't lose to ASU. Not a guarantee but better than maybe I thought. 19 would lock it up. And I think Hoover matters more this year because of all this oddity with RPIs and conference records. Ole Miss could really benefit from a top 4 seed in Hoover. I wouldn't want to be the bubble host who loses on Tuesday. There are too many RPI points at stake to go one-and-done at the SEC Tournament.
I'll be really surprised if the projections don't have Ole Miss in as a host this week. Just a huge series this weekend.
Ole Miss is No. 17, but the top 16 has some soft spots, so the Rebels are potentially in better shape at 18 wins that we have given them credit for in the past week or so. Out of the top 16, at least three teams (No. 15 Auburn, No. 16 TAMU, No. 10 Tennessee) aren't hosts currently, giving room for hosts outside that group. Usually the RPI is really important for host sites -- especially in the SEC since no SEC team outside the top 14 RPI has hosted since 2010 -- and it still will be to an extent, but it's softer than usual because of conference records and conference standings at the moment.
Tennesse is 10-14 in the SEC, A&M is 12-11-1 and Auburn is 12-12. The Vols are in danger are being the RPI team completely left out because of league record (like UNC a couple years ago) and Auburn and the Aggies are two seeds currently.
There's also the case of what to do with UC-Santa Barbara. The Gauchos are a gaudy No. 14 in the RPI and 36-7 overall, but UCSB hasn't played anyone. Irvine is the only top 50 team UCSB has played, and the Eaters are No. 48. Can you give a host site to a team with 0 top 50 games? I think it opens up another host site elsewhere since UCLA, Stanford and maybe Oregon State are giving the West Coast enough sites to not worry about geographical balance. Santa Barbara's remaining series are against 228, 242 and 163.
Looking outside the top 16 there are currently a couple potential host stealers in other conferences. The Beavers are at No. 22 in the RPI and probably on the bubble/in line after Oklahoma State swept them this past weekend. Stanford is going to be an outside-top-16 host thief. Guaranteed. And Illinois -- currently at No. 18 and 10-8 in the Big Ten -- could do it as well if it gets hot the rest of the year. Only RPI drains remain though.
West Virginia RPI 21 and Baylor RPI 27 are teams to watch. WVU lost to TCU so they are bubble out while Baylor may still be in if the projectors want to be cute. League record is good. Wouldn't hurt to root against them and NC State the rest of the way.
Basically there's a path to a host at 18 wins for Ole Miss if it doesn't lose to ASU. Not a guarantee but better than maybe I thought. 19 would lock it up. And I think Hoover matters more this year because of all this oddity with RPIs and conference records. Ole Miss could really benefit from a top 4 seed in Hoover. I wouldn't want to be the bubble host who loses on Tuesday. There are too many RPI points at stake to go one-and-done at the SEC Tournament.
I'll be really surprised if the projections don't have Ole Miss in as a host this week. Just a huge series this weekend.
