MVC WBB Notes 3-3

What’s Left?

Nine games remain on the Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball schedule, with seeding still to be determined for the State Farm MVC Women’s Basketball Championship, March 13-16, in St. Charles, Mo., at The Family Arena. 

Seeding is still up in the air as any of three teams can claim the top seed in the tournament, depending on results over the final weekend.

Current MVC Tournament Seeding (3/3)

Remaining Schedule:

Thurs., March 6                     *Evansville at Indiana State

Thurs., March 6                     *Creighton at Wichita State

Thurs., March 6                     *Drake at Missouri State

Thurs., March 6                     *Southern Illinois at Illinois State

Sat., March 8      *Northern Iowa at Bradley

Sat., March 8      *Drake at Wichita State

Sat., March 8      *Southern Illinois at Indiana State

Sat., March 8      *Evansville at Illinois State

Sat., March 8      *Creighton at Missouri State

Where Can They Finish? (tournament seeds)

No. 1 Seed: Creighton, Evansville, Illinois State

No. 2 Seed: Creighton, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State

No. 3 Seed: Creighton, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State

No. 4 Seed: Creighton, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State

No. 5 Seed: Indiana State, Missouri State, UNI

No. 6 Seed: Indiana State, Missouri State, UNI

No. 7 Seed: Bradley, Indiana St., Missouri St., UNI, Southern Illinois

No. 8 Seed: Bradley, Indiana State, Southern Illinois, Wichita State

No. 9 Seed: Bradley, Indiana State, Southern Illinois, Wichita State

No. 10 Seed: Bradley, Southern Illinois, Wichita State

Facts & Figures

RPI Bidding: Diminishing Returns

It’s no surprise that teams ranking in the top 30 of the RPI rankings are successful in earning spots in the NCAA Tournament.  In fact, 328 of 330 teams (99.4 percent) since 1997 that ranked in the top 30 of the final regular-season RPI have made the tournament, according to research by Collegiate Basketball News. 

Teams in the top 40 are pretty secure in earning a bid over that same span (87.3 percent).

The numbers fall off drastically after you leave the top 40.  Removing automatic qualifiers from the equation, 57.6 percent of teams ranked 41-50, made the dance and teams falling in the 51-60 range are less than one in four (23.3 percent) when you exclude automatic qualifiers.

On the bright side, two teams ranking from 51-60 have made the tournament as at-large teams in each of the past two seasons.

Illinois State is the top team in the CBN RPI at 45.

Top 50 and In?

Collegiate Basketball News released the list of 42 teams that had earned RPIs in the top 50 and were left out of the NCAA tournament from 1998-2007.  Just one MVC team with an RPI in the top 50 has been left out in that span.

RPI: According the Collegiate Basketball News, the Missouri Valley Conference is ranked ninth as a league in the RPI, behind the West Coast Conference for eighth.  If that ranking holds, it would tie the top end-of-year ranking in conference history.

RPI: Over the past five seasons, the No. 8 RPI league has received multiple bids into the NCAA tournament four times, the No. 9 RPI league has earned multiple berths three times. Last season, the 10th-rated league (CAA) earned three bids. 

RPI: Bidding Wars – Inequities?

Since the 2002-03 season, members of the six BCS football leagues (ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac 10, SEC) have combined to take 136 of the 165 total at-large bids (82.4 percent) to the NCAA tournament.

Quick math shows non-BCS leagues earning just 29 at-large berths (17.6 percent) over the same time span.   Non-BCS teams have failed to receive double-figure at-large bids for seven-consecutive seasons.

SOS: The Missouri Valley Conference boasts the nation’s eighth-best strength of schedule in overall games and holds the No. 5 non-conference strength of schedule according to Collegiate Basketball News (3/3).  The No. 5 non-conference strength of schedule puts the league ahead of three so-called “power conferences” -- SEC (6), Big East (7), ACC (8).

A Touch of CLASS...

UE senior Rebekah Parker was chosen as one of 10 national finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.  The award honors the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete of the Year in eight different sports and focuses on the characteristics of classroom, character, community, and competition.  A fan vote will help decide the recipient of the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, and fans can vote on-line at www.seniorclassaward.com.

Currently, Parker is tied for first in fan voting with Sarah Elliot of Kentucky.  Fans can vote once per day. Voting ends March 21.

Cirone Leads Nation

Illinois State’s Kristi Cirone is the national leader in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.08.  Teammate Tiffany Hudson is 10th nationally at 2.14.  As a team, Illinois State is third in the nation in A/TO at 1.32.