Enjoy it While you Can

[GoMuskies]

The A-10 is currently the fifth rated conference according to the Sagarin ratings. Oh, and the Big East is sixth.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/bkc1112.htm

[xudash]

LaSalle will personally put an end to that soon enough, with a big assist by Fordham.

[nuts4xu]

We just need to keep taking care of business. The more wins we can stack up this month, the less the conference ranking will affect us.

The Vandy win will look even better later this season when they are playing at full strength.

[waggy]

RPI Forecast currently projects (using Sagarin) that the A10 will finish 6th overall, but 5th in OOC RPI. And projects the BE to finish 5th overall, but 6th in OOC. Game locations play a huge role in this effect for the A10. Nevertheless, in a couple years I could see the A10 surpassing the BE.

The big shocker right now is the projection for the PAC12... Projected to finish 11th both overall and OOC.

Note: It's still a little early to put too much confidence in these projections, but that's the current trend.

[OTRMUSKIE]

They project Xavier to go 16-12 and have Dayton with a better record. Don't trust this site at all.
http://www.rpiforecast.com/confs/A10.html

[smileyy]

Wow. That's a big WTF. They must be using current RPI ranking as a straight-up W/L predictor, which is nonsensical.

For a more reputable prediction (details are behind a paywall), Ken Pomeroy has projects XU going 21-7, 12-4 A-10. The expected losses are @Memphis, @Temple and @SLU, with the rest of the losses being probabalistic.

Xavier has already defied some of those expectations by beating Vanderbilt, which KenPom had projected as a narrow Vandy win.

Here's a few more interesting KenPom stats:
Xavier put up the best offensive performances (points per 100 possessions) that IUPUI (115.8), Miami (98.8), and Vanderbilt (95.8) have seen so far. Vandy's 90.3 points-per-possession last night was the most the XU defense has given up all year (but I guess that isn't too surprising)

[waggy]

It's not that they can't be trusted, it's that you have to know the details and understand them..

First, he uses Sagarins rankings/predictions to calc all game results. He is not ranking teams, only projecting their RPI. The problem right now is how Sagarin does his rankings - last seasons results are used at the early part of the new season. X didn't exactly end the year very well or start this one off that great. And, last nights game hasn't been factored in yet.

[XU-PA]

The A-10 is currently the fifth rated conference according to the Sagarin ratings. Oh, and the Big East is sixth.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/bkc1112.htm

And about that bigeast,,,,, just getting chuckles today from the bottom of the list,,,,,,
http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_bige_Men.html

[Muskie in dayton]

I think this is old, maybe ca. 1988. They refer to us as "Xavier-Ohio".

[xubrew]

fifty percent of the RPI is your opponents' winning percentage.

At this juncture in the season, when teams have only played four or five games (if that many) a single opponent can have a bigger impact on your own RPI than you yourself do. In other words, Vandy is 5-2, but their RPI went up more than Xavier's even though they lost because Xavier is currently undefeated.

I believe once a team plays it's ninth or tenth game, this is no longer the case because you've played enough teams where one individual opponent won't impact it that much. So, the RPI isn't really that practical right now. Right now, teams with poorer RPIs can be in far better shape long term.

[Masterofreality]

The A-10 is currently the fifth rated conference according to the Sagarin ratings. Oh, and the Big East is sixth.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/bkc1112.htm


LaSalle will personally put an end to that soon enough, with a big assist by Fordham.

HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! twice.

Oh, where is the Pac 12?

Sucking....that's where.

Jeezuz. I didn't know the desert raccoon moved west to pull a YTG and get an easier road.