The Au-Zone Files 2017-2019

[Cajunsmike]

No doubt the additional games help create more connectivity. Elite baseball teams also don't "protect" their RPI like the elite basketball teams try to do. I do believe much of that is driven from the top level of the conferences and school administrations. Lets face it; basketball can bring huge revenues to the top conferences. Baseball doesn't do that so there is very little pressure from the top to "schedule" accordingly.

Geography is another key factor. It isn't realistic for any baseball team at any level to travel very far for most mid week games. As a Southern based team that certainly plays in our favor. We have a large number of schools within easy driving distance that consistently have decent records. However if you are a Northern team such as Maryland you almost certainly will find yourself having to schedule some teams that are consistently pretty weak.

Under most circumstances statistical tools are better with additional data and broader datasets. I think you get that with baseball due to the number of games played and more diverse schedules that create more connectivity.

I noted the geography factor you cited. The weather prevents northern schools from prioritizing baseball and that is a reason why it does not receive publicity from the national media until playoff time and often not until the CWS. Consider the ESPN scroll. College baseball scores never appear there while those of women's basketball do. That supports your earlier point that there is much less of an effort made to "protect your RPI" by some schools as the programs are not that important to some administrators.

[IndiaPaleAle]

I asked Coach Robichaux about RPI this morning during our interview. Here's the link to the show: https://soundcloud.com/ian-auzenne/s...-april-22-2017

[Cajun90]

I asked Coach Robichaux about RPI this morning during our interview. Here's the link to the show: https://soundcloud.com/ian-auzenne/s...-april-22-2017

You can't fix what you don't understand.... Robe doesn't understand but the guy who really needs to understand is Bab since he does the scheduling.

[Cajunsmike]

You can't fix what you don't understand.... Robe doesn't understand but the guy who really needs to understand is Bab since he does the scheduling.

Who understands and who does not was not the key message here. Robe did say coaches are beginning to talk about tweaking the system. I am not sure what can be done but they may put together a proposal and submit it to the NCAA. Baseball RPI is different than other sports because of pitching. Theoretically you may want to pitch Gunner Leger against LSU or Texas but that would destroy the set schedule the guy is on and may cause him to miss two starts. Maybe the RPI could be adjusted so the weeknight games could still be factored into the equation but to a lesser degree.

[Cajun90]

Who understands and who does not was not the key message here. Robe did say coaches are beginning to talk about tweaking the system. I am not sure what can be done but they may put together a proposal and submit it to the NCAA. Baseball RPI is different than other sports because of pitching. Theoretically you may want to pitch Gunner Leger against LSU or Texas but that would destroy the set schedule the guy is on and may cause him to miss two starts. Maybe the RPI could be adjusted so the weeknight games could still be factored into the equation but to a lesser degree.

And thus the misunderstanding continues. Let me tell you what I heard today..... RPI...RPI..RPI.

We can't predict what someones RPI is going to be in 2-3 years when we play them....blah blah blah.

Forget about RPI. Look at winning percentage coach!!!! I guarantee you it wasn't hard to look at the historical winning percentage of St. Peters and figure out these guys weren't going to help you. Problem is the coaches are talking about changing a system when they don't even understand how it works!!! Sounds like 90% of the politicians I know.

[Cajun90]

Maybe the RPI could be adjusted so the weeknight games could still be factored into the equation but to a lesser degree.

That in itself is fundamentally flawed. Especially for teams from weaker conferences.

[GoneGolfin]

This is due to the recognition RPI is too heavily weighted on schedule as schools have little control over that at times.

This is the secondary problem. The primary problem is that the SOS measurement is extremely flawed ... and can be manipulated easily by anyone that has a rudimentary understanding of math (gaming the system is easy and I am shocked that most are not taking advantage ... but instead participating as the prey). Secondary is that the RPI does not appropriately weight winning. Combined it makes the system comical.

Brian

[GoneGolfin]

The RPI worked very well in our favor when we hosted Regionals and Supers in 2014.

We just need to schedule for it. To the schedule's defense I think St. Peter's was the major flaw; and we could of had Southern on the schedule like we normally do. The last I saw they were having an atrocious year.

Tulane started out terribly but have put it together. I think they are pretty good. After we let their starter off the hook he shut us down and their second guy threw it well.

Tulane does not hurt the Cajuns' RPI ... and may very well be a nice help by year end. I expect Tulane to make a run at an at-large bid.

Brian

[GoneGolfin]

The RPI worked very well in our favor when we hosted Regionals and Supers in 2014.

We just need to schedule for it.

The Cajuns lucked into some advantageous OWP those years. But also a big contributor was the significant number of road games (and success) in those years. The Cajuns would not have sniffed a national seed in 2014 under the older formula.

What bothers me though is that the staff does not understand what makes a good RPI schedule.

Brian

[LifeTimeCajun]

Still don't understand why LSU and UL don't open up every year in a 3 game home and home.