This is one of those rare RPI WATCHes where there actually are some developments to discuss.
For starters, more of our non-conference opponents won Saturday than lost. That alone is cause for celebration.
BracketBusters wins were notched by Charleston Southern and Loyola Chicago (wow, Bradley must really suck).
Unfortunately, BracketBusters losses were incurred by Long Beach State and Southern Illinois. The former of those was particularly painful, as the 49ers led for virtually the entire second half until blowing the lead in the last minute.
Other big wins were tallied by Alabama over Tennessee and UTEP at Memphis, which simply was huge for their RPI and our SOS. Even lowly Howard got in on the act, winning at Coppin State.
Wins also were logged at home in overtime by North Florida and Virginia Tech, but I'd hesitate to call them "big."
More like "avoidance of bad losses." Kennesaw State is winless in A-Sun play and Georgia Tech simply has been woeful this season. There was no excuse for either home team to let those games go to extra minutes.
So, in combination with the signature win at Baylor, what was the net impact on K-State's tournament resume?
Our RPI improved from 63 to 49, passing Texas, which fell from 39 to 51. SOS improved by 10 spots and will improve again after Tuesday night. Things are looking up.
Also, it's worth noting that K-State would be 5-6 against RPI top 50 opponents, which is two more wins than last season, except that Texas just barely fell out of the top 50. Now the Longhorns need to recover.
Overall Record = 18-8
Big 12 Record = 7-7
Top 50 Record = 4-5
RPI = 49
SOS = 62
Signature Wins (RPI 1-30) = Missouri, Baylor
Quality Wins (RPI 31-100) = Alabama, Long Beach State, Texas
Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = Oklahoma (x2)
0 recs | 14 comments
Goddamned Oklahoma
Goddamned Oklahoma
Goddamned Oklahoma
Goddamned Oklahoma
Goddamned Oklahoma
Goddamned Oklahoma
Yeah, that’s about all I have to contribute.
Sean T - February 20, 2012
Goddamn Lon Kruger
Just my feelings
EMAW 4 Ever (iphone) - February 20, 2012 via iPhone app
Not that the losses to OU can be made up,
But winning in Columbia, Tuesday night, would go a long way to making those losses sit easier. If that’s at all possible.
rjd27 - February 20, 2012
Cannot believe it
Cannot believe that we lost to them TWICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
iCatDormRat - February 20, 2012
I can't believe that we are 2 of OU's 3 frieking Big12 wins. That's laughable.
GCat - February 20, 2012
Just like Mizzou can't believe WE are one of their two losses.
Hopefully we make it two of their 3 tonight.
Jeremy Sharp - February 21, 2012
Boom!
If you told me we would be 3-3 versus KU, BU, and MU before conference play began, I would have figured that would be good enough to win the league.
smitty3268 - February 21, 2012
Curious how ISU is at 41 having played only one game more than us...
but we actually have the better record versus the RPI Top 51. Not to mention our non-conference SOS.
Catbacker98 - February 20, 2012
Those 2 losses to OU
mean we are talking about a 9-10 seed right now instead of a 4-5.
rich04 - February 20, 2012
UT beating Baylor would have been nice for our vs Top 50 RPI category,
but I’m glad Baylor pulled it out. We want to keep that win as significant as possible. Baylor was on the verge of being considered overrated due to their loss to us (amazing how that happens).
yeahboozin - February 20, 2012
Honestly I think Baylor IS overrated, and not just because we beat them
Although that’s part of it. That’s a team that is going to get upset early in the tournament.
smitty3268 - February 21, 2012
Baylor was really pretty good two years ago, making the Elite 8
But Drew is a dreadful coach. They have the talent of a top-10 team, and the coaching of top-50 team.
Sean T - February 21, 2012
Baylor is a very good team.
I know it’s blasphemy to give any praise to anything having to do with Scott Drew, but they are. They’ve lost to KU and Mizzou twice each and us once. They’ve won 23 games!
For as unimpressive as they occasionally look given the amount of talent they have on the court, they still win almost every game they play. It was pretty insulting to us, IMO, that the media started this downward spiral narrative just because we beat them on Saturday.
One thing that Scott Drew has to realize by now is they can be a very good defensive team if they just play man to man. They have great length and athleticism. They shut us down with it in the second half of our first meeting. They completely neutralized UT last night with it. As long as Drew insists on a primary zone defense, it will hinder their tournament success. He should adjust, just like Frank did with the offense last season. But I won’t hold my breath for Drew to do what a good coach like Frank would.
yeahboozin - February 21, 2012
I view them as the anti-KSU team
They have a bunch of talent but they’re soft and don’t utilize it very well.
They’ve also won a bunch of close games at the end, just like we’ve lost a bunch of games in the last couple of possessions.
Baylor is probably a top 25 team, but i don’t consider them particularly much better than either us or ISU. Maybe a couple points better. I think they’re softness will trip them up in the tournament when they play against teams playing for their lives, and their close wins this year will ensure they get overseeded.
smitty3268 - February 21, 2012
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