College Basketball Power Rankings

The rankings are based on a pairwise comparison schema between teams akin to how college hockey seeds its NCAA tournament. In this comparison, each of the 346 teams (all non Division 1A is considered “Z-Others”) is compared against each other on the following criteria:

  1. RPI ranking.  Using the NCAA RPI formula, RPI ratings are computed. (neutral site wins and losses worth 1 point, home wins and road losses worth 0.6 points and road wins and home losses are worth 1.4 points).  RPI = .25 x Team’s RPI + .5 * Opponent Win % vs Other Opponents + .25 * Opponents’ Opponent Winning %.  The team with the higher RPI gets a point.
  2. Record vs good teams.  Teams are compared by winning percentage against >.500 RPI squads.  1/3 of the team’s games must be against good teams to get a qualifying score here.  Once again, the higher percentage gets a point.  (Wins is the tiebreaker)
  3. Record vs common opponents.  Straightforward.  Highest one gets a point.
  4. Head to head.  The team with the most head to head wins against the other gets as many points as games it is ahead.  Usually this is just one game, but if there are rematches, additional points can be added for sweeps.
  5. Ken Pomeroy Ranking.  Felt like it made sense to include a “how they played” metric in addition to all the “who did you beat/play” metrics above.

The points are added across the five categories.  Whomever wins out gets the “pairwin”.  This comparison takes place for all teams though the “pairwins” category restricts it to how teams compare against other “good” teams (i.e. teams with .500 RPI or better), and thus a number is born.

Rankings through games of 3/11/2012

Rank Team W L RPI PairWins
1 Kentucky 32 2 0.67 (1) 165
2 Syracuse 31 2 0.669 (2) 164
3 North Carolina 29 5 0.665 (3) 163
4 Michigan State 26 7 0.658 (4) 162
5 Kansas 27 6 0.649 (6) 160
6 Duke 27 6 0.652 (5) 159
7 Ohio State 27 7 0.644 (7) 159
8 Missouri 30 4 0.635 (9) 159
9 Wichita State 27 5 0.619 (18) 156
10 Marquette 25 7 0.636 (8) 155
11 Baylor 27 7 0.631 (10) 155
12 Memphis 26 8 0.627 (12) 151
13 Indiana 25 8 0.623 (14) 151
14 Florida State 24 9 0.63 (11) 149
15 Louisville 26 9 0.625 (13) 149
16 New Mexico 27 6 0.609 (23) 149
17 Vanderbilt 24 10 0.62 (15) 147
18 Georgetown 23 8 0.619 (20) 147
19 Wisconsin 24 9 0.614 (22) 147
20 Michigan 25 9 0.619 (19) 146
21 Creighton 28 5 0.614 (21) 146
22 Saint Louis 25 7 0.596 (33) 146
23 Temple 24 7 0.619 (17) 145
24 Gonzaga 25 6 0.62 (16) 143
25 Florida 23 10 0.608 (25) 141
26 Murray State 30 1 0.601 (29) 140
27 Saint Mary’s 27 5 0.603 (28) 138
28 UNLV 26 8 0.607 (26) 136
29 California 24 9 0.593 (34) 136
30 San Diego State 26 7 0.6 (30) 135
31 Harvard 26 4 0.59 (37) 135
32 Alabama 21 11 0.591 (36) 134
33 Iowa State 22 10 0.597 (32) 132
34 Cincinnati 24 10 0.585 (43) 130
35 Southern Miss 24 8 0.607 (27) 129
36 VCU 28 6 0.587 (41) 129
37 Virginia 22 9 0.583 (46) 128
38 Notre Dame 22 11 0.588 (39) 127
39 Connecticut 20 13 0.598 (31) 125
40 South Dakota State 27 7 0.584 (45) 125
41 Kansas State 21 10 0.583 (47) 125
42 Oral Roberts 27 6 0.593 (35) 124
43 Purdue 21 12 0.583 (48) 122
44 Long Beach State 25 8 0.588 (40) 121
45 Belmont 27 7 0.575 (60) 120
46 Texas 20 13 0.584 (44) 118
47 Ohio 27 7 0.582 (50) 118
48 Xavier 21 12 0.585 (42) 117
49 West Virginia 19 13 0.578 (53) 115
50 Drexel 27 6 0.573 (66) 115
51 Iona 24 8 0.574 (63) 114
52 Oregon 22 9 0.588 (38) 113
53 NC State 22 12 0.582 (49) 113
54 BYU 25 8 0.577 (55) 112
55 Colorado State 20 11 0.609 (24) 110
56 MTSU 25 6 0.574 (61) 110
57 Seton Hall 20 12 0.574 (64) 110
58 Nevada 27 5 0.581 (52) 108
59 Arizona 23 11 0.565 (73) 107
60 Northwestern 18 13 0.575 (59) 106
61 New Mexico State 26 9 0.574 (62) 106
62 Miami-FL 19 12 0.573 (65) 102
63 South Florida 20 13 0.573 (67) 101
64 Ole Miss 20 13 0.576 (57) 98
65 Washington 21 10 0.575 (58) 98
66 Dayton 20 12 0.557 (82) 98
67 Saint Bonaventure 20 11 0.564 (75) 96
68 Saint Joseph’s 20 13 0.57 (69) 95
69 Marshall 21 13 0.582 (51) 93
70 Davidson 25 7 0.577 (54) 93
71 Akron 22 11 0.576 (56) 92
72 UCF 22 10 0.572 (68) 92
73 Mississippi State 21 11 0.566 (72) 90
74 Colorado 23 11 0.566 (71) 89
75 Minnesota 19 14 0.551 (91) 87
76 George Mason 24 9 0.558 (81) 86
77 Cleveland State 22 10 0.556 (84) 86
78 Stanford 21 11 0.552 (88) 86
79 Massachusetts 22 11 0.562 (76) 84
80 Northern Iowa 19 13 0.559 (77) 84
81 Loyola-MD 24 8 0.558 (79) 82
82 Tennessee 18 14 0.555 (85) 82
83 LaSalle 21 12 0.55 (93) 80
84 Lehigh 26 7 0.547 (95) 78
85 Illinois 17 15 0.552 (87) 77
86 Long Island 25 8 0.558 (78) 76
87 LSU 18 14 0.558 (80) 75
88 Illinois State 20 13 0.545 (100) 75
89 Wyoming 20 11 0.552 (89) 74
90 Denver 22 9 0.553 (86) 72
91 Pittsburgh 17 16 0.545 (98) 72
92 Princeton 19 11 0.547 (96) 71
93 Buffalo 19 10 0.557 (83) 70
94 Wagner 25 6 0.551 (92) 70
95 Montana 25 6 0.564 (74) 69
96 Bucknell 24 9 0.548 (94) 66
97 Georgia 15 17 0.544 (102) 61
98 Old Dominion 20 13 0.543 (103) 59
99 Valparaiso 22 11 0.542 (105) 59
100 Tulsa 17 13 0.538 (112) 59
101 Pennsylvania 19 12 0.546 (97) 58
102 Charleston 19 12 0.542 (106) 58
103 Iowa 17 16 0.527 (124) 57
104 Arkansas 18 14 0.542 (107) 56
105 Villanova 13 19 0.531 (119) 54
106 TX-Arlington 24 8 0.551 (90) 53
107 Lamar 23 11 0.544 (101) 53
108 Robert Morris 24 10 0.542 (104) 53
109 Virginia Tech 16 17 0.534 (116) 53
110 Butler 20 14 0.539 (108) 52
111 Duquesne 16 15 0.537 (113) 52
112 UCLA 19 14 0.531 (121) 50
113 Kent State 21 11 0.539 (110) 48
114 Oregon State 19 14 0.522 (135) 47
115 Richmond 16 16 0.527 (125) 46
116 Detroit 22 13 0.523 (133) 46
117 TCU 17 14 0.536 (114) 44
118 Fairfield 19 14 0.533 (117) 44
119 Loyola Marymount 19 12 0.528 (122) 44
120 UAB 15 16 0.545 (99) 43
121 Evansville 16 15 0.521 (137) 42
122 Milwaukee 20 13 0.527 (123) 40
123 Oklahoma 15 16 0.525 (126) 40
124 Missouri State 16 16 0.525 (128) 40
125 Oklahoma State 15 18 0.524 (129) 40
126 UC-Santa Barbara 20 10 0.531 (120) 39
127 Maryland 17 15 0.539 (109) 38
128 NC-Asheville 24 9 0.538 (111) 34
129 Mercer 22 11 0.525 (127) 34
130 Indiana State 18 14 0.52 (139) 34
131 Clemson 16 15 0.516 (149) 34
132 Utah State 17 15 0.522 (134) 33
133 UTEP 15 17 0.524 (132) 32
134 Weber State 24 6 0.567 (70) 31
135 Vermont 23 11 0.521 (136) 30
136 Yale 19 9 0.532 (118) 29
137 Georgia State 21 11 0.521 (138) 27
138 Drake 17 15 0.519 (141) 26
139 Rutgers 14 18 0.505 (163) 23
140 Oakland 17 15 0.524 (130) 22
141 San Francisco 20 13 0.52 (140) 22
142 Idaho 18 13 0.517 (146) 22
143 American 20 11 0.519 (142) 18
144 Bowling Green 16 15 0.507 (160) 18
145 Auburn 15 16 0.519 (143) 17
146 Delaware 18 13 0.512 (152) 17
147 Western Illinois 17 14 0.516 (148) 16
148 Quinnipiac 18 13 0.507 (161) 16
149 Manhattan 20 12 0.513 (151) 14
150 Tennessee State 20 12 0.536 (115) 12
151 USC Upstate 20 13 0.516 (147) 12
152 Nebraska 12 18 0.511 (153) 10
153 Penn State 12 20 0.505 (164) 9
154 Washington State 15 16 0.492 (184) 9
155 Saint John’s 13 19 0.509 (155) 8
156 Green Bay 15 15 0.51 (154) 7
157 Youngstown State 16 15 0.495 (176) 7
158 Providence 15 17 0.508 (157) 6
159 Boise State 13 17 0.497 (169) 6
160 Rice 17 15 0.491 (186) 6
161 East Tennessee State 17 14 0.495 (175) 5
162 Tennessee Tech 19 13 0.519 (145) 4
163 CS-Fullerton 21 9 0.513 (150) 4
164 North Dakota State 17 13 0.503 (165) 4
165 Charlotte 13 17 0.508 (158) 3
166 South Carolina 10 21 0.488 (194) 3
167 DePaul 12 19 0.486 (200) 3
168 Stony Brook 22 9 0.508 (159) 2
169 Texas A&M 14 18 0.5 (166) 2
170 George Washington 10 21 0.491 (185) 2
171 Georgia Tech 11 20 0.487 (199) 2
172 Wofford 19 13 0.497 (168) 1
173 Morehead State 18 15 0.497 (170) 1
174 Northeastern 14 17 0.496 (173) 1
175 Western Kentucky 15 18 0.493 (182) 1
176 Boston U 16 16 0.489 (192) 1
177 Columbia 15 15 0.487 (196) 1
178 Coastal Carolina 19 11 0.487 (197) 1
179 FL Gulf Coast 15 17 0.48 (206) 1
180 Western Michigan 14 20 0.48 (207) 1
181 Cal Poly 18 15 0.477 (210) 1
182 Houston 15 15 0.477 (211) 1
183 Florida Atlantic 11 19 0.476 (213) 1
184 Mississippi Valley 21 12 0.524 (131) 0
185 Norfolk State 25 9 0.519 (144) 0
186 Louisiana Tech 18 16 0.509 (156) 0
187 Charleston Southern 19 12 0.506 (162) 0
188 South Alabama 17 12 0.498 (167) 0
189 AR-Little Rock 15 16 0.497 (171) 0
190 Portland State 17 15 0.496 (172) 0
191 Holy Cross 15 14 0.495 (174) 0
192 McNeese State 17 15 0.495 (177) 0
193 North Florida 16 16 0.495 (178) 0
194 Wake Forest 13 18 0.495 (179) 0
195 Air Force 13 16 0.494 (180) 0
196 LA-Lafayette 16 15 0.494 (181) 0
197 Savannah State 22 11 0.493 (183) 0
198 Cornell 12 16 0.491 (187) 0
199 Austin Peay 12 20 0.491 (188) 0
200 Campbell 17 15 0.491 (189) 0
201 CS-Bakersfield 16 14 0.49 (190) 0
202 TX-San Antonio 18 14 0.49 (191) 0
203 East Carolina 15 16 0.489 (193) 0
204 San Diego 13 18 0.488 (195) 0
205 Lafayette 13 18 0.487 (198) 0
206 Hawaii 16 16 0.484 (201) 0
207 Georgia Southern 15 15 0.483 (202) 0
208 IUPUI 14 18 0.483 (203) 0
209 Rider 13 19 0.482 (204) 0
210 Eastern Washington 15 17 0.481 (205) 0
211 Stephen F Austin 20 12 0.479 (208) 0
212 Niagara 14 19 0.478 (209) 0
213 Saint Francis-NY 15 15 0.477 (212) 0
214 North Texas 18 14 0.476 (214) 0
215 Western Carolina 17 18 0.475 (215) 0
216 NC-Wilmington 10 21 0.475 (216) 0
217 Eastern Kentucky 16 16 0.475 (217) 0
218 Albany 19 14 0.474 (218) 0
219 Northwestern State 16 16 0.474 (219) 0
220 Texas Southern 15 18 0.474 (220) 0
221 Arkansas State 14 20 0.473 (221) 0
222 Wright State 13 19 0.472 (222) 0
223 NC-Greensboro 13 19 0.472 (223) 0
224 SMU 13 19 0.471 (224) 0
225 Lipscomb 13 18 0.471 (225) 0
226 Elon 15 16 0.47 (226) 0
227 Siena 14 17 0.47 (227) 0
228 Utah Valley 20 12 0.47 (228) 0
229 Fresno State 13 20 0.47 (229) 0
230 Bethune-Cookman 18 17 0.469 (230) 0
231 Presbyterian 14 15 0.469 (231) 0
232 Marist 14 18 0.468 (232) 0
233 Southern Utah 13 17 0.467 (233) 0
234 North Dakota 17 14 0.466 (234) 0
235 Portland 7 24 0.466 (235) 0
236 Central Connecticut 13 16 0.466 (236) 0
237 Furman 15 16 0.465 (237) 0
238 Texas Tech 8 23 0.464 (238) 0
239 Jacksonville State 15 18 0.464 (239) 0
240 Miami-OH 9 21 0.463 (240) 0
241 Sacred Heart 14 18 0.463 (241) 0
242 SE Missouri State 15 16 0.463 (242) 0
243 Eastern Michigan 14 18 0.462 (243) 0
244 Fordham 10 19 0.462 (244) 0
245 Monmouth 12 20 0.461 (245) 0
246 Arizona State 10 21 0.46 (246) 0
247 Toledo 18 16 0.459 (247) 0
248 Tulane 15 16 0.459 (248) 0
249 Boston College 9 22 0.459 (249) 0
250 NC Central 17 15 0.458 (250) 0
251 Delaware State 15 14 0.457 (251) 0
252 UC-Riverside 14 17 0.456 (252) 0
253 VMI 17 16 0.456 (253) 0
254 Appalachian State 13 18 0.454 (254) 0
255 Ball State 15 15 0.453 (255) 0
256 Jacksonville 8 22 0.453 (256) 0
257 MO-Kansas City 10 20 0.452 (257) 0
258 IPFW 11 19 0.451 (258) 0
259 High Point 13 18 0.451 (259) 0
260 Bradley 7 25 0.45 (260) 0
261 Rhode Island 7 24 0.449 (261) 0
262 FIU 8 21 0.449 (262) 0
263 James Madison 12 20 0.449 (263) 0
264 Pepperdine 10 19 0.448 (264) 0
265 Seattle 12 15 0.448 (265) 0
266 Troy 10 18 0.447 (266) 0
267 Samford 11 19 0.446 (267) 0
268 Winthrop 12 20 0.446 (268) 0
269 San Jose State 9 22 0.446 (269) 0
270 UC-Irvine 12 20 0.446 (270) 0
271 Stetson 9 20 0.446 (271) 0
272 Hofstra 10 22 0.445 (272) 0
273 USC 6 25 0.443 (273) 0
274 Montana State 12 17 0.443 (274) 0
275 Southern Illinois 8 23 0.442 (275) 0
276 Northern Colorado 9 19 0.442 (276) 0
277 Utah 6 25 0.44 (277) 0
278 Morgan State 9 20 0.439 (278) 0
279 Sam Houston State 13 19 0.438 (279) 0
280 Southern 17 14 0.438 (280) 0
281 Howard 10 21 0.437 (281) 0
282 Idaho State 9 21 0.437 (282) 0
283 Central Michigan 11 21 0.437 (283) 0
284 Coppin State 14 16 0.436 (284) 0
285 Pacific 11 19 0.435 (285) 0
286 Eastern Illinois 12 17 0.434 (286) 0
287 North Carolina A&T 12 20 0.434 (287) 0
288 Liberty 14 18 0.434 (288) 0
289 Gardner-Webb 12 20 0.431 (289) 0
290 Maine 12 17 0.431 (290) 0
291 Texas State 13 17 0.431 (291) 0
292 South Dakota 10 18 0.43 (292) 0
293 Nicholls State 10 20 0.429 (293) 0
294 AR-Pine Bluff 11 22 0.426 (294) 0
295 Hampton 12 21 0.425 (295) 0
296 NJIT 15 17 0.424 (296) 0
297 Prairie View A&M 14 18 0.424 (297) 0
298 Mount Saint Mary’s 8 21 0.423 (298) 0
299 Colgate 8 22 0.422 (299) 0
300 SIU-Edwardsville 10 17 0.42 (300) 0
301 Army 12 18 0.42 (301) 0
302 Santa Clara 8 22 0.418 (302) 0
303 William and Mary 6 26 0.417 (303) 0
304 New Hampshire 13 16 0.416 (304) 0
305 Alabama State 12 19 0.415 (305) 0
306 Texas A&M-CC 6 24 0.415 (306) 0
307 Chattanooga 11 21 0.414 (307) 0
308 Illinois-Chicago 8 22 0.413 (308) 0
309 Saint Peter’s 5 26 0.412 (309) 0
310 Loyola-IL 7 23 0.412 (310) 0
311 TX-Pan American 11 21 0.411 (311) 0
312 Sacramento State 10 18 0.411 (312) 0
313 Florida A&M 10 23 0.409 (313) 0
314 SE Louisiana 12 17 0.409 (314) 0
315 Hartford 9 22 0.409 (315) 0
316 Towson 1 31 0.407 (316) 0
317 MD-Eastern Shore 7 23 0.407 (317) 0
318 Brown 8 23 0.406 (318) 0
319 Houston Baptist 10 20 0.405 (319) 0
320 Saint Francis-PA 6 23 0.404 (320) 0
321 Jackson State 7 24 0.404 (321) 0
322 CS-Northridge 7 21 0.399 (322) 0
323 LA-Monroe 3 26 0.399 (323) 0
324 Central Arkansas 8 21 0.396 (324) 0
325 Citadel 6 24 0.395 (325) 0
326 Dartmouth 5 25 0.394 (326) 0
327 TN-Martin 4 27 0.392 (327) 0
328 Radford 6 26 0.389 (328) 0
329 Longwood 10 21 0.386 (329) 0
330 Navy 3 26 0.384 (330) 0
331 Kennesaw State 3 28 0.383 (331) 0
332 Fairleigh Dickinson 3 26 0.383 (332) 0
333 UC-Davis 5 26 0.381 (333) 0
334 Canisius 5 25 0.381 (334) 0
335 Northern Arizona 5 24 0.377 (335) 0
336 Northern Illinois 5 26 0.376 (336) 0
337 Chicago State 4 26 0.376 (337) 0
338 Alcorn State 9 22 0.372 (338) 0
339 Grambling State 4 24 0.368 (339) 0
340 UMBC 4 26 0.367 (340) 0
341 Bryant 2 28 0.364 (341) 0
342 Alabama A&M 7 21 0.361 (342) 0
343 NB-Omaha 11 18 0.361 (343) 0
344 SC State 5 26 0.357 (344) 0
345 Z-Others 15 360 0.356 (345) 0
346 Binghamton 2 29 0.341 (346) 0

Conference Rankings

  1. Big Ten
  2. Big East
  3. Big 12
  4. SEC
  5. Mountain West
  6. ACC
  7. Atlantic 10
  8. Pac 12
  9. Missouri Valley
  10. Conference USA

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