AT A GLANCE
RPI is according to RealTimeRPI.com. Records through Monday vs. D1 opponents.
Tennessee- 10-5 25
Austin Peay- 10-6 93
Kennessaw State- 2-12 330
Marshall- 10-4 55
Louisville- 13-2 41
Jackson State 6-8 138
Florida International- 6-7 259
Murray State- 8-5 103
Georgia State- 10-6 227
Georgia Tech- 7-7 175
IN DEPTH
Tennessee- The Vols are struggling a bit without Bruce Pearl, but are still a Top 25 team according to the RPI. Some of their bad losses could hurt them come NCAA selection time, and they probably need to get to 9 or 10 SEC wins to get into the dance. They are not playing good basketball right now, particularly, and lost to College of Charleston on New Year's Eve. They also lost their first conference game at Arkansas.
Austin Peay- The Governors ended Murray State's 25 game home winning streak on Saturday, and are 6-0 in OVC play. It is beginning to look like Austin Peay may be the best team in the OVC. The Mocs lost to them twice, and the second was a pathetic performance, but they are actualy helping the Mocs RPI right now a lot. They have been a pleasant surprise on the Mocs schedule.
Kennessaw State- Seriously, how do you beat Georgia Tech in your first game against a D1 opponent, and then go 1-12 after that? The Owls have not been good since they beat Georgia Tech, though they played well against the Mocs that night. This team has wound up hurting the Mocs RPI more than any other team on the schedule to this point. At 1-4 in conference play, the Owls are showing any signs of getting it going in the Atlantic Sun, either.
Marshall- This is the highest quality win on the Mocs schedule so far. The Thundering Herd actually have a better RPI than any team left on the Mocs schedule too, so anyone that thinks there is no way that this team can compete with the best in the SoCon need to nly look at this game for proof that they can. Marshall hammered a good Southern Miss team on Saturday, but lost at UCF by seven points on Wednesday. With a trip to Memphis this Saturday, the Thundering Herd could make a real claim to a possible at large bid.
Louisville- The Cardinals is 2-0 in Big East play and 13-2 overall. Their only losses are to Drexel and Kentucky. Their two conference wins are over Seton Hall and South Florida, which was not an amazing set of wins. The trip to Villanova this weekend is the toughest test on the schedule for a while, but there will be plenty of tests remaining in Big East play.
Jackson State- Jackson State is 4-0 in SWAC play, and the early favorite to win the conference. They are still just 6-8 against D1 opponents, but they continue to impress in conference play. Their toughest remaining road game (at least according to RPI) is a trip to Texas Southern, who has an RPI of 159. They have an outside shot of running the table in the SWAC. They are clearly the best team in the conference.
Florida International- It's a good thing Isaiah Thompson has taken over. It's always good when an NBA legend with a name that is easy to get wrong that has an obsession with the New York Knicks can get his team off to a 3-0 start in the Sun Belt Conference. They are still not a great team, having beaten three of the lesser teams in the Sun Belt. Then again, they were considered one of the lesser teams in the Sun Belt until then. They may be able to compete this year, and they seem to be improving, and they could be a threat with a good seed in the SBC Tourney, to make a run and get an automatic bid to the dance.
Murray State- Surprisingly, the Racers have not dominated the OVC. They have two conference losses already to Morehead State and Austin Peay. They should roll now in conference play until their trip to Austin Peay on February 5. The Racers could get it going and get an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. But the at large bid that was rumored to be possible when the season began is probably out the window at this stage.
Georgia State- The Panthers loss to UNC-Wilmington was not good overall, but they are 3-1 in the CAA, which is a tough conference. They have beaten James Madison and VCU in conference play already, two of the conference heavyweights. This team has been on a tear lately, and it really got going in Chattanooga when they won the Dr Pepper Classic. This team is a sneaky good team, that seems to be just streaky enough shooting that they could get hot in the CAA Tournament and win the whole thing.
Georgia Tech- The Yellow Jackets got beat by Kennesaw State, but have beaten Richmond and UTEP, two RPI Top 100 teams. They lost to Boston College in their first ACC game, and are expected to be one of the lesser ACC teams. The Mocs have a shot to beat them, but will need to play one of their best games to win on the road. Will they be prepared to win this between a huge trip to Appalachian State and the home dates with Wofford and Furman? The good news is that this game happens right around the time of Bracketbusters. The Mocs will not be in that, but this game will help prepare them just as well as any game that they could play in that. The Yellow Jackets RPI will probably hover right around 150 for most of the remainder of the year, and the Mocs will not be hurt by playing them, I don't expect.
SUMMING IT UP
The losses have come to teams that are a combined 21-4 in conference play so far, and 18-2 if you look at mid-majors and take out their performances against each other. The wins came over teams that are a combined 2-5, but Marshall is a really good team in a good conference. That win over Marshall may wind up being one of the top wins in the SoCon this whole year.
All in all, the OOC schedule has not been bad, and with the Georgia Tech game as the only game played during a nine day stretch, the Mocs can focus on that one without worrying too much about conference games. And the Mocs could sure use a big win late in the year. They need to show up in that game in a big way. Can they beat an ACC team?
This has turned into a decent schedule. The Mocs schedule is not great, but if they had more wins it would not have been a solid schedule.
GO MOCS!
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