The NCAA selection committee says it considers RPI when building its tournament field, and even though it publishes the power rankings throughout the season, they are becoming less relevant.
Colorado State, which had an RPI of 28, was left out of the field, while Indiana (RPI 61) got in. Dayton (RPI 32) was the last at-large team selected.
"The RPI, to me, seems to me a bit antiquated in some senses, and it can be manipulated some,'' Boise State coach Leon Rice said Tuesday.
One of those ways is scheduling teams that will rack up wins, even if it is in a lower-tier league. Colorado State had more wins over NCAA teams than the Broncos, but two came against the WAC and Sun Belt champions. Boise State (RPI 40) lost at two top-40 schools.
"I don't think your RPI matters as much as the amount of top-100 teams you play,'' Dayton coach Archie Miller said.
One thing certainly helps take care of that - get into a league like the Pac-12, Big Ten or ACC. All at-large teams with an RPI of 58 or better from the Power 5 got in, while eight teams with better RPIs from conferences like the Mountain West, American Athletic and Horizon were left out. For 11 straight seasons, the top two RPI teams left out of the field came from mid-majors.
"If you're not in a power conference, there's about seven to nine bids a year that everyone's fighting for,'' Miller said.
Contagious excitement
There are the stone-cold shooters like Derrick Marks, whose emotions hardly vary whether a shot is good or not. Then there is sophomore forward Nick Duncan.
Duncan has made 76 3-pointers this season, but as the games mean more down the stretch, each one gets the Aussie going wild. From the fist pumps to the screams of excitement, the team feeds off it.
"The only thing I ask Nick not to do is slap my hand too hard, because he has a tendency to do that,'' senior guard/forward Rob Heyer said. "His excitement is like bringing the crowd on the court. ... It brings the rest of the team up. Makes the team make bigger plays the next possession or whatever.''
A member of the All-Mountain West Tournament Team, Duncan has 14 3-pointers in the past three games.
"That's when he's playing his best basketball, when he's hitting his chest and playing with emotion and energy,'' Rice said. "He plays a lot of minutes. And so that's hard to play at that high emotion. But we want his energy up in all of these games. And that's when he's the best player he can be.''
Miller wary of BSU offense
Miller praised Boise State's ability to shoot from any position on the floor, noting that forwards Duncan and James Webb III have combined for 123 3-pointers.
"They're very unorthodox,'' Miller said. "There isn't any seed in the tournament that would feel comfortable playing them.''
Miller said anyone assuming the Flyers will win by virtue of being at home is "really underappreciating how good Boise State is."
Both teams use what could be seen as a small lineup, with the Broncos often using the 6-foot-8 Nick Duncan to guard other teams' centers. The Flyers have no one taller than 6-6 on their active roster.
"I think so many times size is overrated," Miller said. "Style of play is huge. If you're able to do your style and you're able to work your, do what you do better than the other team does, then you're going to be successful."
More cautious this time?
Rice, as usual, had a few zingers during his press conference Tuesday before practice, but perhaps his best was when he was asked about the team playing in Dayton again after doing so in the First Four against La Salle in 2013.
Of course, this time, it's against the home team.
"I'm not sure they'll embrace us the way they did last time,'' Rice said. "We brought in a food-taster just in case, just to make sure everything is OK.''
Colorado State, which had an RPI of 28, was left out of the field, while Indiana (RPI 61) got in. Dayton (RPI 32) was the last at-large team selected.
"The RPI, to me, seems to me a bit antiquated in some senses, and it can be manipulated some,'' Boise State coach Leon Rice said Tuesday.
One of those ways is scheduling teams that will rack up wins, even if it is in a lower-tier league. Colorado State had more wins over NCAA teams than the Broncos, but two came against the WAC and Sun Belt champions. Boise State (RPI 40) lost at two top-40 schools.
"I don't think your RPI matters as much as the amount of top-100 teams you play,'' Dayton coach Archie Miller said.
One thing certainly helps take care of that - get into a league like the Pac-12, Big Ten or ACC. All at-large teams with an RPI of 58 or better from the Power 5 got in, while eight teams with better RPIs from conferences like the Mountain West, American Athletic and Horizon were left out. For 11 straight seasons, the top two RPI teams left out of the field came from mid-majors.
"If you're not in a power conference, there's about seven to nine bids a year that everyone's fighting for,'' Miller said.
Contagious excitement
There are the stone-cold shooters like Derrick Marks, whose emotions hardly vary whether a shot is good or not. Then there is sophomore forward Nick Duncan.
Duncan has made 76 3-pointers this season, but as the games mean more down the stretch, each one gets the Aussie going wild. From the fist pumps to the screams of excitement, the team feeds off it.
"The only thing I ask Nick not to do is slap my hand too hard, because he has a tendency to do that,'' senior guard/forward Rob Heyer said. "His excitement is like bringing the crowd on the court. ... It brings the rest of the team up. Makes the team make bigger plays the next possession or whatever.''
A member of the All-Mountain West Tournament Team, Duncan has 14 3-pointers in the past three games.
"That's when he's playing his best basketball, when he's hitting his chest and playing with emotion and energy,'' Rice said. "He plays a lot of minutes. And so that's hard to play at that high emotion. But we want his energy up in all of these games. And that's when he's the best player he can be.''
Miller wary of BSU offense
Miller praised Boise State's ability to shoot from any position on the floor, noting that forwards Duncan and James Webb III have combined for 123 3-pointers.
"They're very unorthodox,'' Miller said. "There isn't any seed in the tournament that would feel comfortable playing them.''
Miller said anyone assuming the Flyers will win by virtue of being at home is "really underappreciating how good Boise State is."
Both teams use what could be seen as a small lineup, with the Broncos often using the 6-foot-8 Nick Duncan to guard other teams' centers. The Flyers have no one taller than 6-6 on their active roster.
"I think so many times size is overrated," Miller said. "Style of play is huge. If you're able to do your style and you're able to work your, do what you do better than the other team does, then you're going to be successful."
More cautious this time?
Rice, as usual, had a few zingers during his press conference Tuesday before practice, but perhaps his best was when he was asked about the team playing in Dayton again after doing so in the First Four against La Salle in 2013.
Of course, this time, it's against the home team.
"I'm not sure they'll embrace us the way they did last time,'' Rice said. "We brought in a food-taster just in case, just to make sure everything is OK.''
