December 4, 2008
Albuquerque Journal
Lobos Among Worst
By Mark Smith, Journal Staff WriterYou know those patsies that drag down the University of New Mexico men's basketball RPI every year?
You know, the Longwoods, the Presbyterians, the Grambling States of the world?
Guess what? The Lobos are now one of those teams.
They are one of the teams others gripe about having to play because it kills their Ratings Percentage Index.
While the first official NCAA RPI is still a few weeks away, the replicas — which are always very accurate — aren't looking pretty for UNM.
How bad is it?
High 100s?
Even low 200s?
Hardly. Wednesday's version of CollegeRPI.com has New Mexico ranked 307th out of the nation's 343 Division I teams.
Three hundred and seven!
UNM officials said no school records are kept on the RPI, but it is believed to be the lowest in the program's history.
One thing is certain. New Mexico (3-4), by far, has the lowest ranking of any Mountain West Conference team.
Colorado State (3-4) is the next worst at 213. Utah (4-1) is the best at No. 3.
"It's early," said UNM coach Steve Alford. "Those things don't make sense until after Christmas."
The RPI is based on strength of schedule and how a team fares against that schedule. It's determined by a computer formula, and plays a part in the NCAA Tournament selection process come March.
UNM's schedule is rated 304th.
Early in the season, there are always some strange rankings. Everyone starts at zero, and things can be skewed because teams have played so few games to this point. Nothing carries over from year to year.
Thus, teams like Niagara (24), Hofstra (26) and Wofford (38) are in the top 40, while North Carolina is rated only 13th.
Winning on the road helps a great deal. Losing at home hurts — especially to teams like the University of Central Florida.
The Lobos did just that, losing to the Knights in the Pit on Nov. 22. UNM's RPI tumbled from 121 to 258 the day after that loss and has been plummeting since.
But unlike the stock market, New Mexico's shares in the RPI have seemingly bottomed out.
While the Lobos' opponents thus far have been weak, their final eight nonconference games are all against teams rated higher than them.
Then again, who isn't? Even Oral Roberts is at 288.
But New Mexico has a number of games against teams that will help its RPI, including Ole Miss (25), Texas Tech (39), San Diego (101) and UTEP (114).
The Lobos also play New Mexico State (174) twice and Southern Miss (148) to round out their nonconference slate. The latter visits the Pit on Saturday.
"We've got a lot of work to do before league play," Alford says. "We're not very good and we're struggling in a lot of different areas. It's good for us to have this week of practice to try and get better."Saturday
Southern Miss at New Mexico, 4 p.m. TV: The mtn. Radio: KKOB-AM (770)