The AAAAAAAAAAAAC

[Masterofreality]

Bad night for ESPN's new baby. UCon wins but Temple loses to Kent and Rutgers loses to UAB.

[GoMuskies]

Rutgers is going to the Big Ten. They're about as much a member of this mess as Louisville.

[xubrew]

Tulsa lost to Oral Roberts. They're in the league next year. Along with Tulane and East Carolina.

[GoMuskies]

Is Oral Roberts gonna be good this year. That's been a pretty solid program for a while. I cannot believe Scott Sutton is still the coach there.

[Milhouse]

It's not ESPN's baby.

It's the redheaded stepchild that no one else wants.

[Masterofreality]

It's not ESPN's baby.

It's the redheaded stepchild that no one else wants.

Well, they've been promoting it. Once Louisville and Rutgers leave, however, it will be like the bag of dog crap on your front porch that is on fire. What the hell do you do with it?

[xubrew]

Is Oral Roberts gonna be good this year. That's been a pretty solid program for a while. I cannot believe Scott Sutton is still the coach there.

Well, they won at Tulsa. The Southland is a tire fire this year, so even if they're just mediocre they should be a front runner.

And yes, Scott Sutton is still there.

[muskiefan82]

Well, they've been promoting it. Once Louisville and Rutgers leave, however, it will be like the bag of dog crap on your front porch that is on fire. What the hell do you do with it?

They need to change the name to ACK because that will more closely resemble the quality of basketball next year.

[nuts4xu]

Well, they've been promoting it. Once Louisville and Rutgers leave, however, it will be like the bag of dog crap on your front porch that is on fire. What the hell do you do with it?

I would punt it into the neighbor's yard. The core of that league is ok right now with Louisville, Memphis, UConn, and Cincy. If (or when) UConn and UC find better football conferences to join, the AAC will be the new version of Conference USA.

It was strange watching UC play a league football game against Southern Methodist last weekend. Makes no sense to have that team from Texas in the same league as the Nati.

[xubrew]

For basketball, the top of the league is good. Even without Louisville they've got UConn, Memphis and Cincinnati are strong. SMU has also gotten really good really quick.

Losing Rutgers is no real loss.

It's just that they're adding teams that are flat out terrible like Tulane. Tulsa is pretty bad as well, although they've had good teams in the past.

East Carolina made some sense for football, and basketball is getting better, but it's still not good.

They wanted the New Orleans market. Someone should have told them that no one in New Orleans cares about Tulane.

[Masterofreality]

Here's an analysis of the somewhat underwhelming and mediocre Recruiting year for the AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC in total. This is NOT insider stuff.

Scout has the AAAAAAAAAAAAAC ranked 6th in combined classes. They have the Big 12 ranked 7th. No analysis of the Big East yet, but it will have to rank higher than the AAAAAAAAAAAAAC.

http://scouthoops.scout.com/2/1346065.html

[Milhouse]

Gotta imagine Big East will be #3 behind ACC and B10.

[Masterofreality]

Gotta imagine Big East will be #3 behind ACC and B10.

Snow ranked them 4. Apparently the PAC12 has some players, but Snow loves the Desert Raccoon so it may not be fully unbiased.

[X-man]

Snow ranked them 4. Apparently the PAC12 has some players, but Snow loves the Desert Raccoon so it may not be fully unbiased.

Scout has the ACC as the top recruiting league, followed by the SEC and BIG. Imagine what the SEC ranking would look like without UK.

[Juice]

Scout has the ACC as the top recruiting league, followed by the SEC and BIG. Imagine what the SEC ranking would look like without UK.

and Florida?

[BMoreX]

Temple lost to Towson.

[Titanxman04]

Temple lost to Towson.

The same Towson team that only a few years ago, went winless, didn't they?

God, so happy to be in an actual conference that doesn't blow.

[kyxu]

Apparently, Towson was "favored" heading into that game. Don't know how that's possible. Maybe Temple is super shitty this year; I have no idea.

[Masterofreality]

Apparently, Towson was "favored" heading into that game. Don't know how that's possible. Maybe Temple is super shitty this year; I have no idea.

Well, then it was a perfect time for them to join the AAAAAAAAAAAAAC. Puke abounds.

[xubrew]

The same Towson team that only a few years ago, went winless, didn't they?

God, so happy to be in an actual conference that doesn't blow.

I think Towson is one of the best feel-good stories in college hoops.

They won just one game two years ago. Last year, they managed a winning record and were playing as well as anyone in the Colonial heading into the conference tournament. They won seven of their last nine, with both losses coming in overtime. The problem was they weren't eligible for the conference tournament due to APR scores. So, not only did the team suck. They apparently didn't go to class either. It was actually kind of cool because after they beat Hofstra in the last game of the year, the fans stormed the court. It was a huge turnaround.

They have everybody back, and I think they're good (by Colonial standards). I think Towson is a great story. I think Pat Skerry should have been considered for national coach of the year, although I knew he wouldn't be. No one has EVER walked into a mess like that and got it cleaned up so quickly. The students and alumni are really starting to get behind this team that many didn't even know existed two years ago.

[BMoreX]

Plus they have a newly renovated arena.

[X-band '01]

Newly renovated? Based on the time-lapse pictures on the NBC Sports broadcast, I thought they built a brand new arena (with a $67 million price tag for 5,000+ seats).

[XUOHTX]

I think Towson is one of the best feel-good stories in college hoops.

They won just one game two years ago. Last year, they managed a winning record and were playing as well as anyone in the Colonial heading into the conference tournament. They won seven of their last nine, with both losses coming in overtime. The problem was they weren't eligible for the conference tournament due to APR scores. So, not only did the team suck. They apparently didn't go to class either. It was actually kind of cool because after they beat Hofstra in the last game of the year, the fans stormed the court. It was a huge turnaround.

They have everybody back, and I think they're good (by Colonial standards). I think Towson is a great story. I think Pat Skerry should have been considered for national coach of the year, although I knew he wouldn't be. No one has EVER walked into a mess like that and got it cleaned up so quickly. The students and alumni are really starting to get behind this team that many didn't even know existed two years ago.

Has he improved the APR along with the wins? Then you have something to be proud of.

[xubrew]

Has he improved the APR along with the wins? Then you have something to be proud of.

They've gone from not being able to play in the postseason to being able to play in the postseason, so yeah, it has improved. The 2012-2013 APR won't come out until April of 2014, but considering that no one was ineligible last year and that they all stayed, It's probably going to go up a ton.

[Masterofreality]

Newly renovated? Based on the time-lapse pictures on the NBC Sports broadcast, I thought they built a brand new arena (with a $67 million price tag for 5,000+ seats).

Makes you appreciate that we got a 10,250 seat building built for about $45 million...and didn't scrimp.

Thank you Father Hoff!

[X-band '01]

Part of it is inflation and part of it is construction costs probably being higher in Baltimore than they would be in Cincinnati.

[Masterofreality]

From Rush the Court this morning:

"It’s still early, but the AAC continues to struggle to acquire good wins this season. As of*Sunday*night, the conference ranked ninth in RPI, with no wins over a team currently in the top 50 (although Indiana is likely to end up there). Only UConn (#14), Cincinnati (#45) and SMU (#78) are in the top 100. Again, it’s early, and the RPI will definitely shift substantially in the weeks and months ahead. But nearly three weeks into the college basketball season, it’s hard to dispute that the conference is off to a disappointing start. If it doesn’t start getting wins over decent teams soon, it risks a disappointing overall season; just ask the 2011 and 2012 Pac-10, which discovered that if none of your teams beats anybody in the non-conference slate, they don’t turn into quality wins themselves for conference foes come January and February. - See more at: http://rushthecourt.net/2013/11/25/aac-m5-11-25-13-edition/#sthash.2tPjvZS2.dpuf"

[GoMuskies]

Louisville is not in the top 100? Man, their schedule really does blow (other than UNC....who they couldn't beat).

[paulxu]

Big East is on top of conference RPI in early going.

http://www.rpiforecast.com/live-conf-rpi.html

[blueblob06]

I don't think the AAC will be good this season. Now that I've said that, the RPI rankings are all over the place this early. Heck, Xavier is #18 right now and we've played no one great. But according to the current RPIs, we've played #27 Morehead St, #100 Mia OH, #115 Tenn, & #215 Gardner Webb so we're 1-0 against the Top 50 and 2-0 against the Top 100.

So it's with a huge gain of salt and it jumps around so much. We were #5 at one point last week. Then some of our earlier opponents lost games and we dropped from #5 to #18 after a "top 100" win vs Miami.

[blueblob06]

Big East is on top of conference RPI in early going.

http://www.rpiforecast.com/live-conf-rpi.html

This order is great so far!
Big East is first
A10 is 8th
AAC is 9th
ACC is 10th

[casualfan]

Worrying about RPI anytime before conference play starts is a colossal waste of time.

[xubrew]

We're still at a point where individual opponents impact the RPI more than the actual team. In other words, Gardner Webb has a bigger impact on Xavier's RPI than Xavier right now.

But, the overall winning percentage and strength of schedule for the league is encouraging.

[xavierj]

Worrying about RPI anytime before conference play starts is a colossal waste of time.

Not really. Once conference play starts the RPI cannot change much since you play the same teams. if your conference is 1st at the start of conference play it is likely to pretty much stay around there. If you have a bunch of conference teams with high RPI's you will not lose much ground if you lose and your rpi stays high by beating teams with high RPI's. Not that having a high RPI means as much anymore though.

[casualfan]

Not really. Once conference play starts the RPI cannot change much since you play the same teams. if your conference is 1st at the start of conference play it is likely to pretty much stay around there. If you have a bunch of conference teams with high RPI's you will not lose much ground if you lose and your rpi stays high by beating teams with high RPI's. Not that having a high RPI means as much anymore though.

You really ought to lookup how RPI is calculated.

[GetUp5]

I know it's not related to the AAAAAAAAAC, but this thread seems to be venturing more into 'other teams of interest' anyways...

Dayton and Gonzaga tonight. Not that I frequent the site, but I do venture over to UDPride every once in awhile for the legitimate comedic value. Go check out their predict the score thread for the Zags game. It is hilarious.

[X-man]

You are correct, casualfan. The entire "RPI game", as played to perfection over the years by the Big least, is predicated on having the entire conference fatten up their winning percentages in nonconference play (with a sucky RPI at the end of nonconference play as a consequence). Once conference play begins, the RPI formula causes the league members to boost their individual RPI numbers by playing (and winning half the time on average) such "tough" league competition.

[xavierj]

You really ought to lookup how RPI is calculated.

No I completely understand how the RPI works. The reason the Big East has always had great RPI's is because they had high RPI's entering conference play. The conference order of the RPI will not change much once the conference play begins.

[casualfan]

No I completely understand how the RPI works. The reason the Big East has always had great RPI's is because they had high RPI's entering conference play. The conference order of the RPI will not change much once the conference play begins.

I don't think you do. You had stated earlier that once conference play starts the RPI can't change much because you play the same teams which infers that only teams you play directly affect your RPI.

That's categorically wrong. 75% of the RPI is based on your opponents winning % and their opponents winning %. Therefore, teams you have played previously are constantly affecting your RPI as they continue to win and/or lose.

The idea that once conference play starts the RPI doesn't change because it's only the teams in conference affecting one another's RPI is not true.


It's a total snapshot of the performance of the teams you have played throughout the year that continues to change as those teams win and/or lose games. That's why it's not worth looking at until about the start of conference play once teams have played enough games to get a somewhat accurate representation of who they are.

This is also why you can see teams who lose to good opponents go up in the RPI.

[xavierj]

You are correct, casualfan. The entire "RPI game", as played to perfection over the years by the Big least, is predicated on having the entire conference fatten up their winning percentages in nonconference play (with a sucky RPI at the end of nonconference play as a consequence). Once conference play begins, the RPI formula causes the league members to boost their individual RPI numbers by playing (and winning half the time on average) such "tough" league competition.

That was exactly my point. At the end of December the conference RPI will not change much but the individual teams will move up by playing other high RPI teams while teams playing in conferences with low rpis will take a hit.

[paulxu]

I completely do not understand the RPI... and I'm OK with that as long as Xavier is in the NCAA tournament.

[X-man]

That was exactly my point. At the end of December the conference RPI will not change much but the individual teams will move up by playing other high RPI teams while teams playing in conferences with low rpis will take a hit.

That is exactly what doesn't happen. Historically the Big Least teams all had high nonconference winning percentages but low individual RPI's because they devoted most of the schedule playing bought games at home against cupcakes. But since the RPI formula is based upon the winning percentages of teams, and not the RPI's of opponents, individual team RPI's would go up once conference play began. It's quite simple really, and it is a very bad formula for measuring power.

[SM#24]

it is a very bad formula for measuring power.
Which is why it is far and away the least important tool the NCAA selection committee uses.

[Masterofreality]

Which is why it is far and away the least important tool the NCAA selection committee uses.

But ESPN and their talking heads use it all the time to boost their cases- especially where the old Big East was concerned.

I want the AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC to suck in RPI so those blathering bumbleheads over there at the 4 letter network have nothing to hang their flimsy arguments on.

[xubrew]

Not really. Once conference play starts the RPI cannot change much since you play the same teams. if your conference is 1st at the start of conference play it is likely to pretty much stay around there. If you have a bunch of conference teams with high RPI's you will not lose much ground if you lose and your rpi stays high by beating teams with high RPI's. Not that having a high RPI means as much anymore though.

The overall conference RPI does continue to change throughout conference play.

Many think that collectively beating up on a bunch of tomato cans, and bloating out everyone's record, will boost the RPI once conference play begins and once they all start playing each other. The problem is that if you play nothing but tomato cans, and those teams do poorly in weak leagues, it's going to offset the the fact that the league has a good overall record.

Louisville, Georgetown, Marquette, Syracuse, UConn, and Cincinnati all managed out of conference wins against tournament teams away from home. Most of them had more than just one. I believe all of them lost a game to a tournament team away from home as well. Notre Dame didn't beat a tournament team, but they did beat Kentucky, who was very close to being one. So, it's not as if they all play nothing except tomato cans. If you have six teams in your league that beat a tournament team away from home, that's going to jack up your RPI a lot more than beating a mid-level Big South team will.

RPI aside, the teams on the bubble that get left out are usually the ones that didn't play a tough out of conference schedule and/or didn't play anybody good on the road out of conference.