Mike writes:
 
>What are the reasons for preferring RPI?  Is it that some teams
>who were perceived to have been better were ranked higher
>in RPI than SOS? Then perhaps we have to ask what those perceptions
>are based on.  What about cases in which RPI ranked teams lower?
 
Note:
SOS = winning percentage + opponents winning percentage
RPI = (.25 x winning percentage)+ (.5 x opponents winning
percentage) + (.25 x opponents opponents winning percentage)
 
This looks like the case. The general consensus among D-III folks is
that SOS, which more heavily weights winnning percentage and
does not consider opponents opponents strength of schedule,
under-rates the NCHA schools and over-rates the MIAC and eastern
schools. Considering the way the NCHA (at least the top 4
teams - River Falls, Stevens Point, Superior and Bemidji) dominate
their out of conference opponents (including winning 9 of the last
10 D-II& D-III national championships), the feeling is that they should
be ranked higher. But because these 4 teams have played each
other at least 4 times each per season, their winning percentage
suffers when they beat up on each other.
 
On the other hand,  MIAC schools like
St. Thomas (Minn.) get ranked higher by SOS than most of the
NCHA schools due to playing teams like Bethel (3-21) and
Hamline (4-18) two
or three times each year. Usually,the NCAA has the sense to
seed the MIAC champ fourth in the west regardless of their record
and place River Falls, Superior and Point ahead of them, regardless
of their records (Bemidji goes to the D-II tournament, where
they are two time defending national champs).
 
Things will probably even out more this year with the departure of
Scranton (0-21) from the ECAC West/SUNYAC, and the NCHA's
addition of St. Scholastica and St. Norbert,  two relatively weak
programs.
 
I am not advocating using RPI as the major determination in
selecting or seeding  D-II/III teams. I think it's less useful here
because of the wide disparity in talent between the top and
bottom teams compared to D-I. No D-I conference team is going
to go 0-21.
 
I'ver been asked by several people to do *both* the SOS and RPI
ratings for the 1994/95 season. Since the formulas are so close, it
should be fairly easy to do. Then the D-III folks will have multiple
ratings systems to argue over they same way the D-I people do :)
 
Chris Lerch
EDS
RIT '84 & '91
 
RIT Tigers - 1993/94 ECAC West Champions!