Ten(?) or so years ago, the RPI formula was tweaked to give northern teams a little bit of help. Anyone north of a California to Texas to North Carolina line has to play the first month of the season on the road because of weather concerns. These teams were having to spend a lot more travel money and were wearing themselves out before conference play even began. So now, you get a HUGE amount of credit for playing road games. Not necessarily winning or losing road games...just a lot of credit for playing them.
The southern teams are starting to figure this out. As much as we in the SEC love to have as many home games as possible, it really helps the RPI to do what A&M, for example, has done. Tuesday road games at Rice, A&M-Corpus, and Texas benefit us a ton more than playing them all at home. I really wish we would do a true road non-conference series like we used to do. These tourneys are nice and I like playing teams we don't typically see on the schedule, but a weekend at Pepperdine, Arizona, or even South Alabama (I'm thinking of my golfing options here...) would be great in a lot of ways.
But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)