Xpectations
03-09-2013, 09:23 AM
When the news first broke about XU joining what will now be the new Big East, I knew that it would be a big upgrade in terms of RPI and NCAA Tournament credentials. But I wanted to find out just how much of a boost it would be.
I created a spreadsheet with the previous 10 years (02-03 through 11-12 seasons) of RPI values for the old Big East, the old Atlantic 10 (before Butler and VCU), and the new Big East based on a variety of potential teams being added. Below are the results
5-Year Average RPI:
Old A-10: 116
Old Big East: 73
New Big East (10 teams with XU, Butler, Creighton): 77
New Big East (12 teams, adding Dayton, St. Louis): 77
10-Year Average RPI:
Old A-10: 125
Old Big East: 73
New Big East (10 teams with XU, Butler, Creighton): 76
New Big East (12 teams, adding Dayton, St. Louis): 79
Some interesting conclusions and findings along the way:
Despite many UC fans (and coach) saying the New Big East is not nearly the same as the Old Big East, their RPIs are virtually identical.
The New Big East is obviously a big upgrade for XU, with our new conference opponents being in the neighborhood of 40 to 45 spots higher in RPI than our old conference opponents.
Of the New Big East teams (in either of the above configurations), XU had the 2nd best 5-year RPI (Georgetown 20 vs. XU 22). The next best team was Marquette at 35.
Of the New Big East teams (in either of the above configurations), XU had the 2nd best 10-year RPI (Villanova 38 vs. XU 41). Georgetown and Marquette both had 10-year averages of 43.
Over the previous 5 seasons, XU was the only team that never had an RPI of 50 or worse (worst season was 11-12 at 41).
Over the previous 10 seasons, XU was the only team that had 2 or fewer seasons with an RPI of 50 or worse. Marquette and Villanova each had 3 seasons with RPIs worse than 50, and Georgetown had 4. Obviously XU will be below that mark this season though.
I have data sets to create other potential combinations as well (e.g., Richmond, VCU, even Gonzaga) if someone has a different combination theyd like to compare.
I created a spreadsheet with the previous 10 years (02-03 through 11-12 seasons) of RPI values for the old Big East, the old Atlantic 10 (before Butler and VCU), and the new Big East based on a variety of potential teams being added. Below are the results
5-Year Average RPI:
Old A-10: 116
Old Big East: 73
New Big East (10 teams with XU, Butler, Creighton): 77
New Big East (12 teams, adding Dayton, St. Louis): 77
10-Year Average RPI:
Old A-10: 125
Old Big East: 73
New Big East (10 teams with XU, Butler, Creighton): 76
New Big East (12 teams, adding Dayton, St. Louis): 79
Some interesting conclusions and findings along the way:
Despite many UC fans (and coach) saying the New Big East is not nearly the same as the Old Big East, their RPIs are virtually identical.
The New Big East is obviously a big upgrade for XU, with our new conference opponents being in the neighborhood of 40 to 45 spots higher in RPI than our old conference opponents.
Of the New Big East teams (in either of the above configurations), XU had the 2nd best 5-year RPI (Georgetown 20 vs. XU 22). The next best team was Marquette at 35.
Of the New Big East teams (in either of the above configurations), XU had the 2nd best 10-year RPI (Villanova 38 vs. XU 41). Georgetown and Marquette both had 10-year averages of 43.
Over the previous 5 seasons, XU was the only team that never had an RPI of 50 or worse (worst season was 11-12 at 41).
Over the previous 10 seasons, XU was the only team that had 2 or fewer seasons with an RPI of 50 or worse. Marquette and Villanova each had 3 seasons with RPIs worse than 50, and Georgetown had 4. Obviously XU will be below that mark this season though.
I have data sets to create other potential combinations as well (e.g., Richmond, VCU, even Gonzaga) if someone has a different combination theyd like to compare.