College basketball

Team's RPI is just one of number of factors

As folks try to forecast which 34 teams will receive at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament, they quote -- yes, guilty as charged -- the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) as if it were the Gospel.

The RPI is a mathematical formula that attempts to quantify the relative strengths of the 327 Division I teams. The main components are a team's Division I winning percentage (25 percent), its schedule strength (50 percent) and its opponents' opponents schedule strength (25 percent).

The NCAA augments the formula with bonus and penalty points for certain factors, which it conveniently has not disclosed. Nor does it publish its RPI during the season.

That has not prevented others from trying to produce a reasonable facsimile of the RPI, which is in more places than Dick Vitale. Based on those readily available numbers, if a team's RPI is in the 30s or low 40s, that team usually is a virtual lock for an at-large bid. The high 40s and 50s is "bubble" territory and the 60s usually mean NIT.

But do not read too much into the RPI, selection committee chairman Jim Livengood warns.

"The RPI, in my opinion and I know the committee would go along with this, is really overrated," he said. "It's overrated by coaches. It's overrated by fans. It's overrated by media. I know I'm overstating the obvious, but the RPI is just one of many factors.

"Going on the committee four years ago, I probably felt the same way, that the RPI is just everything. I found that to be not true at all."

The 10-person group in fact pores over reams of data on teams, including their record against top teams, their road records, their finish in their last 10 games and if there were any injuries, suspensions or unusual circumstances. (Such as the clock problem that cost Texas Tech a win against Oklahoma.)

And when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of separating the last few teams, committee members try to think like coaches and consider which team they would least want to face; that is the one to pick.

Still, it is difficult not to imagine that the RPI might take on a bit more weight as the committee makes those final few agonizing decisions.

"When we get down to Selection Sunday, obviously, it's one of the things because it's one of the few things that's very numerical, it's very easy to understand a number," Livengood said. "Two is better than 10, 12 is better than 16. It's much more objective and it's much easier to understand. But it really is overrated in many, many ways."

STAYING FOCUSED: Embattled Georgia coach Jim Harrick said he is fine and he will not allow the accusations enveloping him and his son Jim Harrick Jr., who was fired Wednesday, to dampen his enthusiasm.

"The team comes first," he said. "I love these guys. They've competed for me and busted, and they're great, great young guys. They all came over to my house (Wednesday) and we watched a game and had really a nice time. They're very, very supportive. ... We've got a chance to have some fun and get into this thing; to play in the NCAA Tournament is the greatest show on Earth and is something kids play for since the fourth grade, and I'm not going to do anything to deter their enthusiasm, their excitement. I'm excited about it equally because there's nothing like the tournament; nothing like the tournament."

NUMBERS GAME: The Big Ten has drawn more than 2-million fans for the 11th consecutive season.

FAB FOUR: You might think that a matchup of Top 10 teams, like today's between No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Oklahoma, could never be old hat, but ... . This will be the fourth time this season each team has been involved in such a game. Texas has played Arizona, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, while the Sooners have faced Connecticut, Kansas and Texas.

CREMINS HAS HIS DAY: Georgia Tech will honor former coach Bobby Cremins today after the Yellow Jackets' regular-season finale against Clemson. Atlanta governor Sonny Perdue has proclaimed it "Bobby Cremins Day," and the court at Alexander Memorial Coliseum will be named Cremins Court.

-- Brian Landman covers men's college basketball. He can be reached at (813) 226-3347 or by e-mail at landman@sptimes.com.

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