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 2/19/2012

Rank Team W L RPI PairWins
1 Syracuse 27 1 0.68 (1) 174
2 Kentucky 26 1 0.67 (2) 174
3 Duke 23 4 0.665 (3) 172
4 Michigan State 21 5 0.662 (4) 172
5 North Carolina 23 4 0.658 (5) 171
6 Ohio State 22 5 0.65 (7) 170
7 Kansas 22 5 0.655 (6) 169
8 Missouri 25 2 0.647 (8) 169
9 Wichita State 24 4 0.625 (15) 166
10 Marquette 22 5 0.644 (9) 165
11 New Mexico 22 4 0.608 (27) 165
12 Baylor 22 5 0.635 (10) 164
13 Georgetown 20 5 0.629 (11) 162
14 Temple 21 5 0.629 (12) 160
15 Florida 21 6 0.625 (17) 160
16 Saint Louis 22 5 0.607 (29) 160
17 Indiana 20 7 0.627 (14) 157
18 Florida State 19 7 0.625 (16) 157
19 Michigan 21 7 0.628 (13) 156
20 Wisconsin 20 7 0.615 (23) 156
21 Louisville 21 6 0.619 (21) 154
22 Gonzaga 21 5 0.625 (18) 153
23 California 22 6 0.608 (28) 152
24 Southern Miss 21 5 0.623 (19) 151
25 UNLV 22 6 0.62 (20) 150
26 Creighton 23 5 0.613 (25) 150
27 Harvard 23 3 0.596 (39) 150
28 Memphis 19 8 0.616 (22) 149
29 Virginia 20 6 0.6 (32) 149
30 Vanderbilt 19 8 0.613 (24) 148
31 Alabama 17 9 0.598 (37) 144
32 Oral Roberts 25 5 0.602 (31) 143
33 Iowa State 19 8 0.6 (34) 142
34 Notre Dame 19 8 0.598 (35) 141
35 West Virginia 17 10 0.597 (38) 139
36 Connecticut 16 10 0.611 (26) 138
37 MTSU 24 4 0.594 (41) 138
38 Seton Hall 18 9 0.6 (33) 137
39 Kansas State 18 8 0.589 (45) 136
40 BYU 23 6 0.583 (55) 136
41 Saint Mary’s 23 5 0.593 (42) 135
42 Texas 17 10 0.59 (43) 132
43 Northwestern 16 10 0.595 (40) 128
44 San Diego State 20 6 0.588 (47) 128
45 Iona 21 7 0.58 (57) 127
46 VCU 23 6 0.568 (69) 127
47 Long Beach State 19 7 0.589 (44) 125
48 Purdue 17 10 0.586 (51) 125
49 Oregon 19 8 0.598 (36) 124
50 Miami-FL 16 9 0.588 (48) 124
51 Cincinnati 19 8 0.563 (78) 124
52 Washington 19 8 0.589 (46) 122
53 Arizona 19 9 0.576 (62) 122
54 Nevada 23 4 0.587 (50) 120
55 Xavier 17 9 0.583 (54) 120
56 South Dakota State 22 7 0.577 (60) 120
57 Drexel 23 5 0.566 (73) 120
58 Saint Joseph’s 18 10 0.587 (49) 119
59 Mississippi State 19 8 0.583 (53) 117
60 NC State 18 9 0.58 (56) 115
61 LSU 16 10 0.578 (58) 114
62 Murray State 26 1 0.584 (52) 112
63 South Florida 17 10 0.576 (61) 110
64 Colorado State 16 9 0.604 (30) 109
65 Illinois 16 11 0.574 (64) 109
66 Minnesota 17 10 0.566 (75) 108
67 New Mexico State 20 8 0.567 (70) 107
68 Belmont 21 7 0.566 (71) 107
69 Akron 19 8 0.572 (65) 106
70 Marshall 16 10 0.578 (59) 102
71 Davidson 20 7 0.569 (67) 102
72 Dayton 16 10 0.566 (74) 102
73 Northern Iowa 17 12 0.568 (68) 101
74 LaSalle 18 9 0.561 (79) 101
75 Wagner 23 4 0.566 (76) 100
76 UCF 19 7 0.572 (66) 99
77 Cleveland State 20 8 0.56 (82) 98
78 Ole Miss 15 11 0.576 (63) 97
79 George Mason 23 6 0.561 (80) 97
80 Denver 20 8 0.556 (88) 97
81 Ohio 21 6 0.556 (87) 93
82 Arkansas 17 10 0.566 (72) 92
83 Massachusetts 18 8 0.559 (84) 92
84 Colorado 18 8 0.554 (90) 88
85 Stanford 18 9 0.553 (92) 88
86 Tulsa 16 10 0.551 (95) 87
87 Pittsburgh 15 13 0.554 (91) 86
88 Duquesne 15 11 0.557 (85) 85
89 Wyoming 18 8 0.553 (93) 84
90 Buffalo 16 8 0.557 (86) 80
91 Kent State 19 7 0.551 (97) 77
92 Charleston 17 11 0.55 (98) 77
93 Loyola Marymount 18 10 0.547 (100) 77
94 TX-Arlington 20 6 0.561 (81) 76
95 Bucknell 20 8 0.555 (89) 76
96 Virginia Tech 15 12 0.545 (104) 76
97 Tennessee 14 13 0.541 (108) 76
98 Valparaiso 19 10 0.546 (102) 75
99 Loyola-MD 20 7 0.55 (99) 74
100 Missouri State 16 13 0.546 (101) 74
101 Saint Bonaventure 14 10 0.54 (111) 74
102 Illinois State 17 11 0.534 (120) 74
103 Montana 20 6 0.551 (96) 69
104 Lehigh 21 7 0.538 (116) 69
105 Villanova 11 15 0.544 (106) 68
106 Mercer 20 8 0.541 (107) 64
107 Butler 17 12 0.54 (112) 63
108 Princeton 15 10 0.538 (117) 62
109 TCU 15 11 0.541 (109) 61
110 Maryland 15 11 0.551 (94) 60
111 Oklahoma 13 13 0.545 (103) 60
112 UCLA 15 12 0.53 (126) 59
113 Oklahoma State 13 14 0.539 (114) 58
114 Georgia 12 14 0.54 (113) 57
115 Milwaukee 17 12 0.533 (121) 56
116 Iowa 14 13 0.528 (128) 56
117 Clemson 13 13 0.517 (151) 56
118 Georgia State 19 9 0.531 (123) 55
119 Robert Morris 21 8 0.53 (125) 55
120 UTEP 13 13 0.527 (129) 54
121 Old Dominion 18 11 0.537 (118) 53
122 UAB 12 14 0.545 (105) 52
123 Pennsylvania 15 11 0.54 (110) 51
124 Weber State 22 4 0.563 (77) 50
125 Yale 17 7 0.532 (122) 49
126 North Dakota State 17 10 0.527 (132) 48
127 Lamar 17 10 0.538 (115) 46
128 Nebraska 12 13 0.531 (124) 43
129 Richmond 14 14 0.52 (147) 43
130 Manhattan 19 10 0.526 (134) 40
131 Penn State 12 16 0.523 (141) 40
132 Delaware 15 12 0.522 (143) 40
133 Auburn 14 12 0.535 (119) 39
134 Fairfield 16 11 0.525 (136) 39
135 Oregon State 15 12 0.517 (152) 39
136 Evansville 14 13 0.511 (157) 38
137 UC-Santa Barbara 15 8 0.528 (127) 37
138 Drake 15 13 0.524 (139) 37
139 Rutgers 12 15 0.514 (154) 36
140 Indiana State 16 12 0.521 (144) 35
141 NC-Asheville 19 9 0.527 (131) 33
142 Washington State 14 13 0.501 (174) 33
143 Vermont 19 10 0.523 (142) 31
144 Tennessee State 19 10 0.526 (133) 30
145 Idaho 16 11 0.515 (153) 29
146 Saint John’s 11 16 0.524 (138) 27
147 American 18 9 0.524 (140) 27
148 Charlotte 12 13 0.524 (137) 26
149 Detroit 17 12 0.503 (172) 26
150 Boise State 13 12 0.508 (162) 24
151 Providence 13 15 0.507 (163) 22
152 Bowling Green 14 12 0.511 (159) 21
153 Long Island 21 7 0.559 (83) 19
154 San Francisco 18 11 0.519 (148) 19
155 Utah State 14 14 0.517 (150) 19
156 Texas A&M 13 13 0.511 (158) 19
157 USC Upstate 18 11 0.52 (146) 18
158 LA-Lafayette 16 13 0.518 (149) 17
159 Oakland 15 14 0.525 (135) 15
160 CS-Fullerton 18 7 0.52 (145) 15
161 Wake Forest 12 15 0.514 (155) 13
162 Youngstown State 14 13 0.5 (176) 11
163 Coastal Carolina 18 9 0.489 (196) 11
164 AR-Little Rock 14 14 0.51 (161) 9
165 Quinnipiac 15 12 0.497 (181) 9
166 Columbia 14 12 0.496 (183) 9
167 TX-San Antonio 15 12 0.495 (185) 9
168 Georgia Tech 9 17 0.505 (166) 8
169 Stony Brook 18 8 0.505 (167) 8
170 Fresno State 12 16 0.483 (203) 8
171 East Tennessee State 13 13 0.482 (206) 8
172 South Carolina 10 16 0.503 (173) 7
173 Hawaii 15 11 0.494 (188) 7
174 Air Force 13 11 0.506 (165) 6
175 George Washington 9 17 0.501 (175) 6
176 Tennessee Tech 18 11 0.512 (156) 5
177 Campbell 17 12 0.51 (160) 4
178 Wofford 17 12 0.498 (180) 4
179 Tulane 15 11 0.487 (199) 4
180 Green Bay 12 14 0.504 (170) 3
181 Holy Cross 13 13 0.504 (171) 3
182 McNeese State 15 10 0.504 (168) 2
183 Florida Atlantic 11 16 0.5 (177) 2
184 DePaul 11 15 0.499 (179) 2
185 Western Michigan 11 16 0.495 (184) 2
186 Boston U 14 15 0.494 (187) 2
187 Rice 15 12 0.492 (193) 2
188 Northeastern 12 15 0.49 (194) 2
189 Cornell 10 14 0.488 (198) 2
190 Northwestern State 15 12 0.484 (202) 2
191 Wright State 13 16 0.479 (208) 2
192 IUPUI 13 16 0.47 (225) 2
193 North Texas 15 12 0.465 (237) 2
194 Miami-OH 8 17 0.461 (242) 2
195 Toledo 13 14 0.457 (253) 2
196 Hofstra 9 20 0.453 (261) 2
197 Norfolk State 18 9 0.507 (164) 1
198 Charleston Southern 17 10 0.504 (169) 1
199 South Alabama 15 10 0.5 (178) 1
200 Morehead State 15 14 0.493 (189) 1
201 Austin Peay 10 19 0.492 (190) 1
202 CS-Bakersfield 14 14 0.488 (197) 1
203 Western Illinois 13 12 0.486 (201) 1
204 Louisiana Tech 13 14 0.483 (204) 1
205 Lafayette 11 16 0.48 (207) 1
206 NC-Wilmington 9 18 0.478 (210) 1
207 Cal Poly 15 13 0.478 (212) 1
208 Houston 12 13 0.475 (215) 1
209 Boston College 8 19 0.472 (220) 1
210 Delaware State 12 12 0.471 (222) 1
211 SMU 11 16 0.47 (224) 1
212 Arkansas State 12 17 0.469 (226) 1
213 Arizona State 8 19 0.469 (227) 1
214 Siena 12 15 0.466 (235) 1
215 Western Kentucky 9 18 0.463 (238) 1
216 Ball State 13 12 0.462 (239) 1
217 USC 6 20 0.462 (240) 1
218 Jacksonville 7 20 0.461 (243) 1
219 Jacksonville State 12 17 0.46 (244) 1
220 James Madison 11 18 0.454 (258) 1
221 Central Connecticut 11 15 0.454 (259) 1
222 Seattle 9 14 0.45 (264) 1
223 Southern Illinois 8 20 0.449 (267) 1
224 Mississippi Valley 15 11 0.527 (130) 0
225 Saint Francis-NY 15 12 0.497 (182) 0
226 North Florida 14 15 0.494 (186) 0
227 Georgia Southern 14 12 0.492 (191) 0
228 Portland State 13 13 0.492 (192) 0
229 Savannah State 18 10 0.49 (195) 0
230 Eastern Kentucky 15 14 0.487 (200) 0
231 NC-Greensboro 12 16 0.483 (205) 0
232 East Carolina 12 13 0.479 (209) 0
233 Niagara 12 17 0.478 (211) 0
234 Eastern Washington 12 15 0.476 (213) 0
235 Lipscomb 12 15 0.475 (214) 0
236 San Diego 11 16 0.475 (216) 0
237 Albany 17 13 0.473 (217) 0
238 Rider 11 18 0.472 (218) 0
239 Utah Valley 18 10 0.472 (219) 0
240 Eastern Michigan 11 16 0.471 (221) 0
241 Texas Tech 8 18 0.471 (223) 0
242 SE Missouri State 14 13 0.469 (228) 0
243 Fordham 9 16 0.468 (229) 0
244 Marist 11 16 0.468 (230) 0
245 Portland 6 21 0.467 (231) 0
246 Texas Southern 10 15 0.467 (232) 0
247 FL Gulf Coast 13 14 0.467 (233) 0
248 MO-Kansas City 10 18 0.467 (234) 0
249 Sacred Heart 13 16 0.465 (236) 0
250 Appalachian State 12 15 0.462 (241) 0
251 Samford 11 16 0.46 (245) 0
252 Presbyterian 12 15 0.46 (246) 0
253 Idaho State 9 17 0.459 (247) 0
254 Elon 13 14 0.459 (248) 0
255 Bethune-Cookman 13 14 0.459 (249) 0
256 Bradley 7 22 0.459 (250) 0
257 Western Carolina 12 17 0.458 (251) 0
258 Furman 13 14 0.458 (252) 0
259 Stephen F Austin 15 11 0.456 (254) 0
260 UC-Riverside 12 15 0.456 (255) 0
261 Southern Utah 12 15 0.456 (256) 0
262 FIU 7 19 0.455 (257) 0
263 San Jose State 9 17 0.454 (260) 0
264 Monmouth 10 19 0.451 (262) 0
265 Pepperdine 9 18 0.451 (263) 0
266 IPFW 10 17 0.449 (265) 0
267 Coppin State 13 13 0.449 (266) 0
268 Stetson 9 18 0.448 (268) 0
269 NC Central 14 12 0.446 (269) 0
270 Rhode Island 5 23 0.446 (270) 0
271 North Dakota 12 14 0.443 (271) 0
272 Montana State 11 15 0.442 (272) 0
273 Winthrop 11 18 0.442 (273) 0
274 High Point 11 17 0.441 (274) 0
275 Northern Colorado 9 17 0.441 (275) 0
276 Pacific 11 15 0.44 (276) 0
277 Gardner-Webb 12 17 0.44 (277) 0
278 Santa Clara 8 19 0.439 (278) 0
279 Central Michigan 8 18 0.437 (279) 0
280 VMI 13 14 0.437 (280) 0
281 UC-Irvine 10 17 0.437 (281) 0
282 Eastern Illinois 12 15 0.437 (282) 0
283 Utah 5 21 0.436 (283) 0
284 North Carolina A&T 11 17 0.436 (284) 0
285 South Dakota 9 17 0.434 (285) 0
286 Troy 8 17 0.433 (286) 0
287 Howard 8 19 0.431 (287) 0
288 Sam Houston State 11 16 0.429 (288) 0
289 Nicholls State 8 17 0.427 (289) 0
290 Morgan State 6 18 0.426 (290) 0
291 Mount Saint Mary’s 7 20 0.426 (291) 0
292 Colgate 8 19 0.426 (292) 0
293 Prairie View A&M 11 15 0.423 (293) 0
294 TX-Pan American 11 17 0.422 (294) 0
295 Alabama State 10 15 0.422 (295) 0
296 Southern 14 13 0.422 (296) 0
297 New Hampshire 12 14 0.422 (297) 0
298 Maine 11 15 0.421 (298) 0
299 Army 12 15 0.421 (299) 0
300 Liberty 12 17 0.42 (300) 0
301 NJIT 11 15 0.419 (301) 0
302 Texas State 11 15 0.419 (302) 0
303 Jackson State 7 19 0.418 (303) 0
304 Loyola-IL 7 19 0.418 (304) 0
305 Illinois-Chicago 8 18 0.416 (305) 0
306 MD-Eastern Shore 6 19 0.416 (306) 0
307 Saint Peter’s 5 23 0.416 (307) 0
308 Towson 1 28 0.416 (308) 0
309 William and Mary 5 24 0.416 (309) 0
310 Chattanooga 10 19 0.416 (310) 0
311 Texas A&M-CC 5 21 0.414 (311) 0
312 Houston Baptist 9 17 0.41 (312) 0
313 Hampton 9 17 0.41 (313) 0
314 Sacramento State 9 17 0.408 (314) 0
315 CS-Northridge 7 18 0.408 (315) 0
316 Central Arkansas 7 18 0.406 (316) 0
317 SIU-Edwardsville 8 16 0.405 (317) 0
318 Brown 7 20 0.405 (318) 0
319 SE Louisiana 10 15 0.404 (319) 0
320 Hartford 8 19 0.403 (320) 0
321 Saint Francis-PA 6 21 0.402 (321) 0
322 Dartmouth 5 21 0.4 (322) 0
323 TN-Martin 4 25 0.4 (323) 0
324 Florida A&M 7 19 0.395 (324) 0
325 Chicago State 4 23 0.394 (325) 0
326 AR-Pine Bluff 6 21 0.394 (326) 0
327 Radford 6 23 0.391 (327) 0
328 Kennesaw State 3 25 0.391 (328) 0
329 Citadel 5 22 0.39 (329) 0
330 LA-Monroe 2 25 0.382 (330) 0
331 Longwood 9 17 0.381 (331) 0
332 Canisius 5 22 0.381 (332) 0
333 Northern Arizona 5 22 0.377 (333) 0
334 Alcorn State 7 18 0.374 (334) 0
335 Navy 3 23 0.374 (335) 0
336 Fairleigh Dickinson 2 25 0.372 (336) 0
337 SC State 5 21 0.372 (337) 0
338 Northern Illinois 3 22 0.372 (338) 0
339 UC-Davis 4 22 0.368 (339) 0
340 UMBC 4 23 0.367 (340) 0
341 Alabama A&M 5 17 0.364 (341) 0
342 Bryant 2 26 0.364 (342) 0
343 Grambling State 3 21 0.362 (343) 0
344 NB-Omaha 11 16 0.356 (344) 0
345 Z-Others 14 359 0.353 (345) 0
346 Binghamton 0 26 0.325 (346) 0

Conference Rankings

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

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s