![]() ![]() Wichita State played 11 games against the RPI Top 100, going 4-7, defeating Utah to go 1-3 against the Top 50. Naturally, with Wichita State still 11th in KenPom, the Shockers are well ahead of both of their opponents (Valparaiso is 33rd and Monmouth 66th). They also own the advantage in non-conference strength of schedule (11th compared to 52nd for Valpo and 93 for Monmouth). Thanks to a stronger Missouri Valley, the Shockers have the edge in strength of schedule rating (105 vs. Wichita State ranks eight spots higher (47th) and Valparaiso (54th) has a slight edge, as well. With the loss to Iona, Monmouth's RPI dropped to 55th. Computer NumbersĪll RPI and strength of schedule numbers are courtesy 's Live RPI and include the results of last night's 7 p.m. Which of the three has the best case? Do all of them have a chance? Let's break it down factor by factor. So now we have three high-quality mid-major teams who have an anxious six days ahead of them. The ladder format didn't do its job in this case (nor in the case of the IPFW Mastodons, the top seed in the Summit League, who lost to the fifth-seeded North Dakota State Bison nearly simultaneously). It was the Crusaders' first game in Detroit, as the Horizon's top two seeds earned a bye to the semifinals. Not long afterward, the Horizon League's regular season champion, the Valparaiso Crusaders, lost in their semifinal to the fourth-seeded Green Bay Phoenix 99-92 after overtime. That clinched the Gaels' first NCAA trip since 2013, while the Hawks will head to the NIT unless the Selection Committee judges their profile among the 36 most-worthy left. In last night's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament final in Albany, N.Y., the Iona Gaels defeated the Monmouth Hawks in their rubber match by a 79-76 score. I don't mind!) Two mid-major conference champions with compelling cases now sit alongside the Wichita State Shockers without an invitation to the 68-team party that starts a week from Tuesday night, waiting to be judged worthy. (I know some of you will skip the hundreds of words and sneak a peek. Since the bubble is even more crowded than it was a day ago, I'm going to jump into this post's analysis before revealing the bracket.
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