Is the RPI really an inferior selection tool?

[gw67]

I agree with Kedsey that the MVC has gamed the RPI for awhile. To some extent, the Devils do as well. They play in tough pre-ACC tourneys but they generally schedule good OOC teams at either CIS or a friendly venue like MSG. They also typically play a bunch of teams in the 80 to 175 range as rated by RPI and again play them at CIS. This is not a putdown. I admire the basketball staff for following this course. The only time it backfires is when the "good" teams you scheduled don't turn out to be so good.

I prefer Sagarin over RPI because it includes won-loss, margin, and home/away. At about this time of year, I also begin to look at Massey's ratings comparison. His table compares several rankings including RPI, Sagarin, Pomeroy, as well as the two polls and a host of others and ranks them according to the calculated mean. As of Sunday he has Duke (6), UNC (16), FSU (40), VT (42), Md (44), Clemson (47) and BC (60). This is about right in my opinion.

http://www.masseyratings.com/cb/compare.htm

gw67