Iona Coach Tim Cluess...

[HuskyBballFan]

had this to say after his loss to Fairfield: "If you're going to pick 8 or 9 teams out of the Big East, that's nonsense. Those teams aren't as good as we are."

Well, see Timmy, here's the thing. None of us know how many Big East teams Iona would beat. What we do know is that the 9th and 15th best teams in the Big East managed to beat Fairfield this year....and your team didn't.

 

[upstater]

I think Tim is missing a couple letters.

 

[businesslawyer]

In fairness, Iona did beat Fairfield twice this year.

 

[DogMania]

I think Tim is missing a couple letters.

LOL

 

[willie99]

it looks like their RPI is decent, and would be the 6th best in the BE

they've had a very good year, and may just get an at-large

If they took 8 or 9 BE teams, the RPI's for the last 4 would be 40,45,49 & 60. Cinci is sitting at 67

he may have a gripe

 

[Robertelamin]

Ah, life on the wrong side of the bubble. We will be hearing more and more coaches on bubble life support say this about the Big East as the week goes on. It is all desperation at this point.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

it looks like their RPI is decent, and would be the 6th best in the BE

they've had a very good year, and may just get an at-large

If they took 8 or 9 BE teams, the RPI's for the last 4 would be 40,45,49 & 60. Cinci is sitting at 67

he may have a gripe

Their RPI is fine but nothing else is remotely impressive about their resume. Their best win is either St. Joe's or Nevada. Their third best win is, I guess, Maryland??

They've lost to Hofstra (10-22 in the CAA) and Siena (14-17 in the MAAC), not to mention other MAAC teams Fairfield, Manhattan, and Loyola (MD).

 

[alexd]

Their RPI is fine but nothing else is remotely impressive about their resume. Their best win is either St. Joe's or Nevada. Their third best win is, I guess, Maryland??

They've lost to Hofstra (10-22 in the CAA) and Siena (14-17 in the MAAC), not to mention other MAAC teams Fairfield, Manhattan, and Loyola (MD).

Exactly, if you dig a little deeper you find this: Their SOS is 146. Three of their six losses are to teams rated 139, 241 and 250 in the RPI. Their 5 biggest wins are: MD (38), St Joe's (56), Nevada (49), Loyola (88) and Denver (90).

 

[tzznandrew]

it looks like their RPI is decent, and would be the 6th best in the BE

they've had a very good year, and may just get an at-large

If they took 8 or 9 BE teams, the RPI's for the last 4 would be 40,45,49 & 60. Cinci is sitting at 67

he may have a gripe

A school's RPI figure is less important to the team, but more as a measure stick to group teams. Who did you beat? They categorize who you played into segments: 1-50; 51-100, etc.

Top 50 wins are more important than your individual RPI.

Team A: 3-7 v. RPI Top 50; 4-1 Top 100; 12-3 sub 100
Team B: 5-4; 2-2; 15-3
Team C: 1-1; 5-2; 19-3
Team D: 4-7; 5-3; 10-2
Team E: 1-8; 5-1; 12-3
Team F: 5-6; 4-4; 9-2

Looking at those numbers, Team C and E stand out for lack of quality wins.
Teams B and C stand out for playing a lot of sub 100 teams.

If I'm ranking these teams:

1. B
2. F
3. D
4. A
5. E
6. C

It's debatable, perhaps, but probably only between E and C.

Those teams:
A: Seton Hall
B: Cincinatti
C: Iona
D: West Virginia
E: South Florida
F: UConn

I don't see how he can really believe his teams resume stacks up.

 

[Prezidint]

He's doing his job and doing it well. He understands that it's a zero-sum game. If 9 or 10 BE teams get in, that directly impacts his team's chances. Kudos to him.

I hope Iona doesn't get in.

 

[jfuchs91]

If Iona had made it into the tournament, I probably would have had them pull off an upset in the first round of my bracket just because of Scott Machado. As much as I would've liked to see him play in the NCAA Tournament, Iona really hasn't done enough to get themselves a bid without being an automatic qualifier.

 

[djct1999]

The MAAC is a one bid league....its as simple as that. Seriously, Providence would win that league. I went to a few Fairfield games this year and I personally feel the difference in athelete from a high major to a mid is more than the gap from a mid major to top d3 player. The Big East is played at a much faster pace and above the rim.(except vs ND)

 

[Ts5034]

Never realized how bad the USF situation actually is. 1-8 vs the RPI top 50 is terrible. They dont make a good case for themselves.

 

[uconnfan68]

Good one! That was for upstater. Tapatalk can be confusing for us older people.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk

 

[Tenspro2002]

It's tough to weigh USF versus Iona.

The difference between their profiles is basically 7 games where Iona went 7-0 vs. sub-100 RPI teams and USF went 0-7 vs. top-50 RPI teams.

 

[61cygni]

It would be nice for Iona to get in and lose to the 8th or 9th BE team in.

 

[willie99]

A school's RPI figure is less important to the team, but more as a measure stick to group teams. Who did you beat? They categorize who you played into segments: 1-50; 51-100, etc.

Top 50 wins are more important than your individual RPI.

Team A: 3-7 v. RPI Top 50; 4-1 Top 100; 12-3 sub 100
Team B: 5-4; 2-2; 15-3
Team C: 1-1; 5-2; 19-3
Team D: 4-7; 5-3; 10-2
Team E: 1-8; 5-1; 12-3
Team F: 5-6; 4-4; 9-2

Looking at those numbers, Team C and E stand out for lack of quality wins.
Teams B and C stand out for playing a lot of sub 100 teams.

If I'm ranking these teams:

1. B
2. F
3. D
4. A
5. E
6. C

It's debatable, perhaps, but probably only between E and C.

Those teams:
A: Seton Hall
B: Cincinatti
C: Iona
D: West Virginia
E: South Florida
F: UConn

I don't see how he can really believe his teams resume stacks up.

why on earth E > C? I think you're showing a tad bit of bias there. Is going 1-8 vs top 50 RPI better than going 1-1?

I would also suggest he has an argument over Team A just using your raw data.

but you left off the committee's biggest tool, which ranks the teams, 60, 67, 38, 45, 49 & 34 respectively

while you're order would be 67, 34, 45, 60, 49 @ 38

Cinci's SOS is also 102, despite playing in the BE

 

[tzznandrew]

My understanding is that a team's RPI is in and of itself, worthless. They simply use your RPI to slot you into a grid (1-25, 26-50, 51-100, etc.) to evaluate how many very good wins, good wins, decent wins, and bad wins you have. Team's RPI are less important than the amount of Top 50 wins. You can be hurt if you have too many sub-200 wins, or too many sub-100 losses.

SOS matters, too, but mostly that you win games.

That's pretty much the sole usage of the RPI, in my understanding. Hence MO State being left out with an RPI of 21 one year.

As for Iona v. USF, I was perhaps biased. But pretty much all the extra 7 Top 50 RPI losses are wins for Iona sub 200.

To further delineate it:

Team - 101-200 - 201-300 - 300+
Iona - 7-1 - 8-2 - 4-0
USF - 9-3 - 2-0 - 1-0

In other words, Iona has 25 wins, and 12 of them are Sub-200. And they have 2 sub-200 losses (@14-17 Sienna, @10-22 Hofstra). That's pretty awful.

USF's worst loss is N-Penn State (12-19). It's a bad loss, but has an RPI of 154. Similarly only 3 of USF's 19 wins have come against teams under 200.

 

[willie99]

you may be right

I'm no fan of the RPI, but it seems the committee does give it a lot of weight. It seems if your RPI is +50, you're in trouble. I think teams with RPI's 60+ rarely get bids, but I wouldn't bet my life on it

 

[willie99]

just found an article on ESPN http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bubblewatch

only 7 teams with an RPI of 63+ have received an at large bid

none with an RPI over 75

 

[The Funster]

Bottom line is that he knew that he was not going to get an at large berth. He said that he knew he had to win the tourney in order to get in. He didn't win. Get ready for the NIT, Iona.

 

[tzznandrew]

just found an article on ESPN http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bubblewatch

only 7 teams with an RPI of 63+ have received an at large bid

none with an RPI over 75

This is true. I think, as Brennon said, most times those teams with mediocre RPIs lack top wins. And Cincy may, in fact, not make it. Things are a little bit different now with 3 extra teams. USC got in last year with an RPI 68--the highest since New Mexico in 1999.

You are right in that teams with RPIs in the 60s rarely get bids, as well. I doubt we will see many/any.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

This is true. I think, as Brennon said, most times those teams with mediocre RPIs lack top wins. And Cincy may, in fact, not make it. Things are a little bit different now with 3 extra teams. USC got in last year with an RPI 68--the highest since New Mexico in 1999.

You are right in that teams with RPIs in the 60s rarely get bids, as well. I doubt we will see many/any.

Most teams with high win totals and a lousy RPI are from smaller conferences and haven't beaten anybody all year. Cincy is different in that they've beaten Uconn, Marquette, Louisville, Georgetown, Notre Dame, and even Seton Hall. Nobody else on the bubble has 6 wins as good as those - they'll get in.

 

[businesslawyer]

I also read the chart differently than the OP. Good percentage success against top opposition, even over a few games, when coupled with a strong win--loss record, is better than bad percentage success against top opposition over more games. The first team deserves the chance to show what it can do. The second has already had the chance and come up short.

I think Iona is right on the edge of the bubble. If you watch them play when it's going well, they look like they have a team that passes the eye test. Certainly, the fact that Momo Jones came from an Elite Eight team and didn't take over the team upon his arrival strengthens that position.

 

[Hoophound]

I p