and no one is assuming anything about whether illinois will retain an rpi that would otherwise merit inclusion in the tourney. which is why i used the words “if” and “may.” just pondering the possibilities, which as last year’s example of illinois proves, could happen again this year.

True, you would think a losing W-L record would eliminate the Fighting Illini from an at-large bid — regardless of its RPI.

But I hope Illinois ends the season with a losing record for two reasons: one, it will throw the NCAA into an embarrassing situation as Illinois is one of the predetermined regional sites; and two, it will call back a long forgotten NCAA Championship tournament in which a Big Ten team did receive an at-large bid in spite of its losing overall W-L record.

But really, Who Cares? All sports is LOCAL! As Tako says, Go Rainbow-Wahine!

illinois is #25 in rpi. but currently have a losing record of 7-9. if they don’t get to .500 or better (which they will be hard-pressed to do competing in the big10), then even if they maintain an rpi in the top 32, they won’t make the tournament.

i wasn’t even disagreeing with you! there was nothing in my statement that was in disagreement. i was merely offering an observation to give people an idea where the rpi-cutoff has traditionally fallen. are there exceptions? well, yes, because when it comes down to it, the rpi is not the only factor relied upon by the committee in making their selections. (although sometimes it just feels like they’re only using the rpi.)

you started your post by saying it was from the “who cares department.” … and then you get all defensive when someone tries to add to the conversation? it sounds like “you” care quite a bit… or would you prefer that you be allowed to post your thoughts, but not allow others to add to the discussion? if so, then participating in a blog might be the wrong forum for you … just sayin’ …

Moreover, I recall a year in which a mid-major team in the mid 30s failed to secure a bid after winning its conference at the end of the season but then losing in the first round of its conference’s championship tournament and thus the NCAA gave the automatic berth to the conference champion but an invite to the runner-up of that tournament (which was a “bubble” team).

Further I disagree with you. Teams in the mid-40s are what I consider to be “bubble teams” and — should they fail to secure their conference title — are left to the mercy of the Selection Committee.

we should also realize that the drop in the rpi for hawaii this week is owed, not just to the loss over the weekend, but also because ucsb’s 8-8 record and cal poly’s 8-9 record were calculated into the rpi formula. hawaii has yet to play some of the big west teams with winning records, like northridge and uc davis (although davis is just barely above .500).

plus a number of teams from hawaii’s non-conference schedule are starting to pick up wins in their own respective conference … raising their overall winning percentages. (not all are doing that, of course, like ucla … but the overall strength of hawaii’s non-conference schedule may allow hawaii’s rpi to hold steady.).

Lets remember, last year Hawaii’s first RPI was pretty low and they had to win to climb up the RPI.