Breaking Down The RPI Rankings

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I posted the first edition of this season's RPI rankings yesterday afternoon. Today, I want one article to explain what goes into it and how I run it. In my other article today, I'll talk about some takeaways at this point in the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What Factors are in RPI?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The three main factors are your winning percentage (WP), Opponents Winning Percentage (OWP), and Opponents Opponents Winning Percentage (OOWP).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>How are those Factors Weighed?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Your WP is a quarter of the formula, your OWP is half, and OOWP is the final quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Things to Note</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last season, raw RPI did a solid job of giving an idea of where teams would be seeded.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The WIAA uses more factors than just raw RPI, but that's what I have to work with.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Teams who play in a conference that has conference play early, like the Big Eight, hampers those teams early on in the RPI. Verona was the best example of that from early last season. The Wildcats ended tied in RPI with Sun Prairie West but earned a three-seed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last season, there were over 4000 games that I inserted, and right now, we are at around 1200. Due to that, there is still an argument that we have too small of a sample size to take anything from where we sit now, and I'd agree with that train of thought.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Teams competing for either a state title or sectional title can be low in RPI for a few reasons, but most will because of their OWP.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I do not take out-of-state opponents into account. If I did, I'd have to untangle essentially the entire country's data to be sure I have everything as correct as possible. For instance, Hortonville played Providence Academy from Minnesota, who also played Dowling Catholic from Iowa. The WIAA also treats all non-Wisconsin teams as if they'd end the regular season at .500, so I don't see the value diving into that rabbit hole.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What to Watch Going Forward</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Due to how the WIAA treats out-of-state teams, I am curious what Notre Dame's seeding at the tournament looks like, assuming they get there. They'll play a legitimately hellish non-conference schedule, but four non-conference opponents are out-state. Since the FRCC hasn't been as kind to them RPI-wise, we may have a peculiar situation seeding the State Tournament. There's a chance they walk into the Resch Center as a three or four, depending on how things shake out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The fallout of that happening would lead to legitimate questions about how seedings get worked out. There's a chance that playing four state title contenders in other states hurts them, which is silly, but as of now, those ".500 teams" would help their OWP. The case of this Notre Dame team is the most significant seeding storyline since the WIAA went to computer seeding.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's the link for the RPI Rankings: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iX0etKDg_5kUWfaM-M72JTxaUK_EPlZib0pKNk-YOlA/edit?usp=sharing</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->