The Washington Post ran an article this week, with quotes from several high-profile coaches upset at the rise to prominance of the MVC. It incensed me, so I thought I'd tear it apart a bit today and have some fun.
But some coaches, whose teams also are jockeying for tournament bids, suggest privately and publicly that the Valley's RPI credentials are inflated, and that they have outsmarted the computer formula. Doug Elgin, the Valley's commissioner, has heard coaches such as Houston's Tom Penders refer to the Valley's "hype machine" and such analysts as ESPN's Jay Bilas say the selection committee needs to look beyond RPI numbers.
"Any major coach hiding behind that notion that we have cracked the code, tell that coach to come play our teams and see how overrated we are," Elgin said. "That notion that we have somehow outsmarted the system is a bunch of crap. . . . It's easy to make those statements when you're not willing to back it up."
In response, Maryland Coach Gary Williams said: "They haven't been banging down anyone's door in the ACC to play. The phone works both ways, last time I checked."
"What is RPI, garbage in and garbage out?" Penders said, speaking in general about the formula. "How do you build RPI, go out and play no one? If it's just a computer thing this year, I was born in 1945, I don't know much about computers. . . . The committee will dictate what guys do the next few years. If teams are rewarded for playing no one in the computers, then we should all do that."
Williams said the ACC and its teams need to examine the RPI and decide whether it is beneficial to continue to schedule difficult nonconference opponents. Williams suggested that it might be better to play a lower-ranked team on the road, even though that takes away one revenue-generating home game.
Williams, who compared the RPI to the Da Vinci Code, also said the ACC should consider lobbying for its teams more aggressively because the MVC has "done a great job publicity-wise, I'll say that for them."
"Somebody has" beaten the RPI, Williams added. "The Missouri Valley has. I've looked at all their schedules. They didn't play anybody. If they would have played all the Big Ten teams or something, then that's different. The only thing I can figure, and I don't know if this is true, is if you lose to a team with a pretty good RPI, that's better than beating a team that has a low RPI. If you look at our league, those stats, what's the problem?"
***
OK, so Gary Williams is not only an idiot, he's an ignorant idiot at that. And an ass to boot. Let me settle down before I respond...
***
"The Valley's RPI credentials are inflated"
I assume by this they mean that the top teams have a good RPI, and then when conference season rolls around, the rest of the teams get their RPI raised by playing each other. Right?
And this is different from what ACC, Big Ten, Big XII, SEC, Pac-10 and Big East have always done...how? Many of those teams -- not all, but many -- play doofus teams that they beat by 50 points, knowing that once conference season rolls around, the high RPI of their conference brethern will raise them up as they play each other. So the MVC has reversed the formula somewhat, playing the tough games early to level the playing field come March. Then as they play each other, their RPI gets raised...just like the big boys.
Anyone who makes this claim is a fan or coach of a big-time school, upset and/or appalled that the MVC might earn an at-large bid they feel is their birthright by playing in a "Big Six" conference. They're also a fool. I pity fools.
"They haven't been banging down anyone's door in the ACC to play. The phone works both ways, last time I checked."
Wrong. To the best of my knowledge, and not being an insider I can't say for sure, but schools in the MVC have been trying to line up games with not just the ACC but the Big Ten and others for years and years. To say this means Williams is not just a fool and an ass, he's chicken. Come play Southern Illinois in Carbondale. Come play Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. Go to Wichita and play the Shockers. Better yet, come play Creighton in the Qwest Center. I wager two PBR's from the Cheap Beer Shack at the Qwest that Maryland will never visit any of those places. Because they just might lose. And if there's one thing Gary Williams hates more than making accurate, thoughtful statements about the MVC, its losing to them. So we'll never see them out here.
"How do you build RPI, go out and play no one? ...If teams are rewarded for playing no one in the computers, then we should all do that."
Tom Penders, Houston coach? Houston from Conference USA? Really? You're really saying that?
Come on, Tom, you did the same thing. Your Cougars went 9-3 against the 37th toughest non-conference schedule. Then you went into Conference USA with Memphis, UAB and a cast of extras, the 13th ranked conference, and built your RPI up to 57. And you're upset? Think about that, and come back to me tomorrow.
As for how this statement applies to Gary Williams' Terrapins, according to the Washington Post, the top six teams in the ACC played 43 games against the RPI top 50; 13 of these were out-of-conference. The top six teams in the Valley played 68 games against the RPI top 50; 8 of these were out-of-conference. That is a five-game difference, but it hardly proves the Valley doesn't play anybody. Again, play a home-and-home with us, and we'll kill two birds with one stone: our RPI won't be "inflated", and when you lose, you'll have to shut up.
"Williams said the ACC and its teams need to examine the RPI and decide whether it is beneficial to continue to schedule difficult nonconference opponents."
Yes. Do that, Gary. This will only make Maryland look even worse in the eyes of the committee, and the Valley and others look better. Please go play bad teams. I'll even give you some suggestions; shoot me an email and I'll hook you up with plenty of RPI 250+ schools that will be happy to lay down for you, Gary.
"The Missouri Valley needs to be studied," Saint Joseph's Coach Phil Martelli said. "How did they get there? What did they do? I do think we have to look at what is going on -- where are our numbers falling short? And we're going to need administrators at some schools to back their coaches. If there needs to be changes, let's make changes."
Yes, come join us, Phil. Then when you're a top-four team vying for a number one seed again and Billy Packer rips into you on national TV for playing no one, you'll have ammunition to fire back.
--
Whew, that got me worked up. Good lord. I've decided now that if the Jays fate is indeed the NIT, bring in Maryland. Gary Williams has a behind kickin' comin' to him. My shoe is waiting.
Leave a comment