Conference RPI standings
1. Big East
2. ACC
3. Big 12
4. SEC
5. Atlantic 10
6. Big Ten
7. Mountain West
8. Pac-10
9. Conference USA
10. Missouri Valley
14. Horizon
Source: Collegerpi.com.
The Atlantic 10 may always have to fight for respect nationally, but the league has some ammo for its argument that it can play with the beasts of college basketball after another strong showing last weekend.
Temple’s 10-point paddling of No. 3 Villanova and Xavier’s double-overtime win over Cincinnati were given wide exposure on ESPN’s SportsCenter and other media outlets. As much as the Musketeers’ success may not be exactly what most University of Dayton fans want to see, the league needs marquee wins to boost its profile, and those two results qualify as marquee wins.
The A-10 currently is the fifth-best league in the RPI computer standings, ahead of the Big Ten (sixth) and PAC-10 (eighth). There are three weeks to go in the nonconference season, and some fluctuation is expected to take place, but that’s pretty heady company for a league that has finished no higher than seventh in the last 15 years.
Five A-10 teams are in the top-50 in the RPI: Temple (sixth), Dayton (27th), Richmond (33nd), Rhode Island (39th) and Xavier (43rd).
Jerry Palm of collegerpi.com pointed out that the league has just a 1-19 record against the Top-25 in the RPI — a key criteria in NCAA tournament selection — but the A-10 has only two sub-.500 teams and just one school in the bottom half of the standings (No. 260 Fordham).
The Big Ten has seven top-100 teams but is being dragged down by four schools languishing in the lower portion of the ratings: Iowa (188th), Indiana (197th), Penn State (215th) and Michigan (237th).
“League rankings are for entertainment purposes only. Leagues don’t get NCAA bids; teams do,” Palm said.
“That being said, the A-10 is off to a nice start and could be a three- or four-bid league.”
The A-10’s top six schools have a 10-8 record against BCS teams.
“I think it speaks volumes for the league and volumes for how good the league will be in January and February,” UD coach Brian Gregory said. “You look at what some teams have done and where they’ve gone to play, and it’s been an impressive start.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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