TempleAg97 said:

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Some fantastic discussion and data in this thread.

A couple of questions.

How religiously do we expect the NCAA to emphasize RPI this year? Is it the #1 factor?

When should we expect Boyd's needs report to come out?

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Rpi has been pretty damn important for determining regional hosts and top 8 seeds. Like 80% of the equation seems to be rpi.

OR - the best 8/16 schools have the highest RPI. I know it's fashionable to bash RPI but baseball has enough data points to be accurate. That doesn't mean 25 is twice as good as 50. It does mean if you play a tough schedule, win a bunch of games (especially road games) and don't lose to bad teams, that you're pretty good.

Goose06 said:

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TempleAg97 said:

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Some fantastic discussion and data in this thread.

A couple of questions.

How religiously do we expect the NCAA to emphasize RPI this year? Is it the #1 factor?

When should we expect Boyd's needs report to come out?

---

Rpi has been pretty damn important for determining regional hosts and top 8 seeds. Like 80% of the equation seems to be rpi.

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I'm glad we're even discussing HOSTING a regional, considering where we were head to BR ...

Ole Miss jumped past the Ags today. So as of this moment, A&M has the 10th best RPI in the SEC. Lots of work to do going forward.

what's crazy is that A&M was in much better shape to host (or be a solid #2 seed) after winning the LSU & Auburn series...than it is now after winning the LSU, Auburn, Alabama, and Tennessee series.

in part because Bowling Green (10-25), Pepperdine (17-21), and Brown (12-21) have collapsed. Dropping A&M's non-conf SoS to #188

TempleAg97 said:

---

Some fantastic discussion and data in this thread.

A couple of questions.

How religiously do we expect the NCAA to emphasize RPI this year? Is it the #1 factor?

When should we expect Boyd's needs report to come out?

---

RPI is the starting point in the discussion. It's not necessarily the deciding factor, but after you take all the auto qualifiers, they then start looking at RPI to see who is in the discussion. League finish is probably right up there with it.

aginlakeway said:

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Goose06 said:

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TempleAg97 said:

---

Some fantastic discussion and data in this thread.

A couple of questions.

How religiously do we expect the NCAA to emphasize RPI this year? Is it the #1 factor?

When should we expect Boyd's needs report to come out?

---

Rpi has been pretty damn important for determining regional hosts and top 8 seeds. Like 80% of the equation seems to be rpi.

---

I'm glad we're even discussing HOSTING a regional, considering where we were head to BR ...

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Have to agree here.

The team has made this season enjoyable and competitive after it looked like it was gonna be a really tough year,

Anything positive is all gravy, imo. I expected a tough season going in.

AgE2theBONE said:

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aginlakeway said:

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Goose06 said:

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TempleAg97 said:

---

Some fantastic discussion and data in this thread.

A couple of questions.

How religiously do we expect the NCAA to emphasize RPI this year? Is it the #1 factor?

When should we expect Boyd's needs report to come out?

---

Rpi has been pretty damn important for determining regional hosts and top 8 seeds. Like 80% of the equation seems to be rpi.

---

I'm glad we're even discussing HOSTING a regional, considering where we were head to BR ...

---

Have to agree here.

The team has made this season enjoyable and competitive after it looked like it was gonna be a really tough year,

Anything positive is all gravy, imo. I expected a tough season going in.

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Any sane and marginally knowledgeable person should have expected a tough season going in. We lost a TON of talent and leadership from the 2016 team. Leadership especially - which takes time to develop. I've enjoyed watching this year's team battle. I think we have some young guys that will only improve when next year rolls around. But until then, let's see how far this team can take us.

twk said:

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TempleAg97 said:

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Some fantastic discussion and data in this thread.

A couple of questions.

How religiously do we expect the NCAA to emphasize RPI this year? Is it the #1 factor?

When should we expect Boyd's needs report to come out?

---

RPI is the starting point in the discussion. It's not necessarily the deciding factor, but after you take all the auto qualifiers, they then start looking at RPI to see who is in the discussion. League finish is probably right up there with it.

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I think its hard to say how much league finish matters. I focus more on RPI, personally.

They handed Florida the #1 national seed last year with the 4th best SEC regular season record and without the conference tournament victory, too.

Clemson was the #7 national seed despite the fourth best record in their own division, and 6th best record in the ACC. What Clemson did do was win the ACC tournament.

Auburn in 2015 got in the tournament with a 13-17 record while Missouri and Kentucky stayed home with better records.

I think for at-large bids in the better leagues (SEC, ACC...), it typically correlates where the higher RPIs are the better conference records. Or at the least, everyone gets in until there is a pretty clear drop-off in quality.

UNC last year would be the counterpoint where their conference record bit them in the butt.

4 ahead of the OP projection.