Interesting, but the selection process is MORE THAN JUST THE
RATING PERCENTAGE INDEX. Remember, teams are also evaluated on:
 
 
     head-to-head records with other teams under consideration
     record vs the teams under consideration
     common opponents with other teams under consideration
     record in the last 20 games
 
 
Over the past several years, the selections have matched the
ratings pretty closely. But the committee does not just read
off the selections based on the rating; they look at several
other factors.
 
Northeastern is an interesting team to watch this year. Although
they have a good rating, they currently only have 1 win against
teams in the top half of the rating and are under .500 in their
last 20 games.
 
If all you do is to look at the Rating Percentage Index, you are
not getting the whole picture.
 
Answering Jayson's questions:
 
1) Yes, each conference will get two bids. This has been the
   practice for many years now. The new wrinkle is that the
   committee will choose the league's regular season winner,
   regardless of the above factors.
 
2) And yes, I truly believe that Wisconsin *could* "get the boot"
   even though they are a regional host. I think the committee
   proved its commitment to the numbers last year.....
 
   BUT, if Wisconsin is selected, they *will* be placed in the
   west regional. The committee was pretty up-front about trying
   to maximize revenue from the regionals last year and I believe
   they are still concerned about making the current format work.
 
 
 
Keith