Amanda Knapp
The Rating Percentage Index (RPI) was used by the NCAA men's basketball committee since 1981 and officially by the women's basketball committee since 1984. It was used as supplemental data to help select at-large teams and seed them for the NCAA basketball tournaments. However, in 2018, the NCAA announced that the RPI would no longer be used in the selection process for the Division I men's basketball tournament and would be replaced by the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET). The RPI has been criticized for its heavy emphasis on the strength of schedule, giving an unfair advantage to teams from major conferences. The NET system uses a quadrant system similar to the RPI, but with NET rankings instead of RPI rankings.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of abandonment | 2018 |
| Replacement | NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) |
| RPI components | Winning Percentage (25%), Opponents' Winning Percentage (50%), Opponents' Opponents' Winning Percentage (25%) |
| Criticisms | Emphasis on strength of schedule gives an unfair advantage to major conference teams |
| RPI adjustments | Home win (0.6), Road win (1.4), Home loss (1.4), Road loss (0.6), Neutral game (1) |
| Usefulness | Provides a useful point of comparison to the new NET Rating |
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What You'll Learn
NCAA's abandonment of RPI
The NCAA's abandonment of the RPI in its Division I men's basketball selection process came into effect in 2018. The RPI, or Rating Percentage Index, was previously used as a key factor in determining the rankings of teams and their selection for tournaments. However, it was replaced by the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) system.
The RPI formula considers a team's winning percentage (WP), opponents' winning percentage (OWP), and the winning percentage of those opponents' opponents (OOWP). The RPI calculation is heavily weighted towards strength of schedule (SOS), which comprises 75% of the RPI calculation. This factor has been controversial, as it may favour teams from major conferences who have more control over their choice of opponents. Teams from minor conferences may only get one or two weaker opponents on their schedule, while major teams can select many.
The NCAA's decision to abandon the RPI was likely influenced by the lack of statistical justification for the RPI formula. Other ranking systems that include margin-of-victory and other statistics have been shown to be better predictors of future game outcomes. The NET system, which replaced the RPI, retains the quadrant system, with RPI rankings simply replaced by NET rankings.
While the NCAA no longer uses RPI directly, it reportedly still displays a Strength of Schedule ranking derived from RPI data on the team sheets used during the selection process. Additionally, some independent sources, such as ESPN and CNN/SI, continue to publish their own RPI calculations for basketball, and some believe that publishing these ratings provides a useful point of comparison to the new NET ratings.
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The introduction of the NET Rating
The NCAA announced in 2018 that the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) would no longer be used in the selection process for the Division I men's basketball tournament. The RPI was replaced with the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rating. The NET rating uses the current RPI formulation, which comprises a team's winning percentage (25%), its opponents' winning percentage (50%), and the winning percentage of those opponents' opponents (25%). The opponents' winning percentage and the winning percentage of their opponents comprise the strength of schedule (SOS), which accounts for 75% of the RPI calculation.
The RPI was introduced in 1981 for men's basketball and 1984 for women's basketball as supplemental data to help select and seed teams for the NCAA basketball tournaments. The RPI formula takes into account a team's winning percentage, their opponents' winning percentage, and the winning percentage of their opponents' opponents. However, the RPI has been criticised for its heavy emphasis on strength of schedule, which may give an unfair advantage to teams from major conferences.
The NET rating is designed to address some of the limitations of the RPI. While the NET rating still uses the RPI formula, it also includes other statistics and margin-of-victory predictions to better predict the outcomes of future games. The quadrant system, which categorises wins and losses based on the relative strength of opponents, is still in use under the NET system, with RPI rankings replaced by NET rankings.
The NCAA has not disclosed the exact formula for the NET rating, but it is believed to be a more comprehensive evaluation tool than the RPI. The NET rating is designed to provide a more accurate assessment of team performance and strength of schedule, taking into account a wider range of factors than the RPI.
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Strength of Schedule (SOS)
In 2018, the NCAA announced that the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) would no longer be used in the selection process for the Division I men's basketball tournament. The RPI was replaced with the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET). The index comprises a team's winning percentage (25%), its opponents' winning percentage (50%), and the winning percentage of those opponents' opponents (25%). Opponents' winning percentages and the winning percentage of those opponents' opponents both comprise the strength of schedule (SOS). Thus, the SOS accounts for 75% of the RPI calculation and is 2/3 of opponents' winning percentages and 1/3 of opponents' opponents' winning percentages.
Some feel that the heavy emphasis on strength of schedule gives an unfair advantage to teams from major conferences. Teams from "majors" are allowed to pick many of their non-conference opponents (often blatantly weaker teams). Teams from minor conferences may only get one or two such opponents in their schedules. Additionally, some mid-major conferences regularly compel their member teams to schedule opponents ranked in the top half of the RPI, which could boost the strength of that conference and/or its tougher-scheduling teams.
- Relative Percentage Index: This method incorporates the win/loss records of opponents and opponents' opponents.
- Simple Rating System (SRS): This system also incorporates strength of schedule by employing margin of victory (MOV).
- NBAstuffer method: Opponent efficiency differential average (adjusted to the venue of the games) is used as an indicator of the strength of the schedule.
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RPI calculation
The Rating Percentage Index (RPI) was used by the NCAA men's basketball committee since 1981 and officially by the women's basketball committee since 1984. It was used as supplemental data to help select at-large teams and seed them for the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.
The RPI is calculated using three factors:
- Team's Division I winning percentage (25%)
- Opponents' winning percentage (50%)
- Opponents' opponents' Division I winning percentage (25%)
The first factor, the team's winning percentage, is calculated by taking the team's wins and dividing it by the total number of games played (wins plus losses). For Division 1 NCAA Men's basketball, the winning percentage factor was adjusted in 2004 to account for home, away, and neutral games. A home win counts as 0.6 wins, while a road win counts as 1.4 wins. Conversely, a home loss equals 1.4 losses, and a road loss is 0.6 of a loss. A neutral game counts as one win or loss.
The second factor, opponents' winning percentage, considers the strength of the team's opponents.
The third factor, opponents' opponents' winning percentage, further refines the strength of schedule calculation.
The RPI calculation gives significant weight to the strength of schedule, which has been a point of contention. Teams from major conferences have an advantage as they can choose many non-conference opponents, often weaker teams. On the other hand, teams from minor conferences may have limited opportunities to select their opponents and may be compelled to schedule stronger opponents, affecting their RPI ranking.
In 2018, the NCAA announced that it would no longer use the RPI for the Division I men's basketball tournament selection process. It was replaced by the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET). However, the quadrant system, which categorizes wins and losses based on RPI rankings, is still in use under the new NET system.
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Advantages for major conference teams
The Rating Percentage Index (RPI) was used by the NCAA men's basketball committee to select teams for the NCAA Tournament. It was calculated based on a team's winning percentage, opponents' winning percentage, and the winning percentage of the opponents' opponents. While the RPI has been abandoned since 2018, it is worth noting that it offered certain advantages to major conference teams. Here are some detailed explanations:
- Major conference teams have the advantage of selecting many of their non-conference opponents, often choosing weaker teams to boost their strength of schedule. In contrast, teams from minor conferences have fewer opportunities to do so, impacting their RPI ranking.
- The heavy emphasis on strength of schedule in the RPI formula gave an edge to major conference teams. As these teams typically have stronger opponents, their RPI ranking benefited from this factor.
- The RPI formula also included bonus and penalty points based on the team's non-conference schedule and the ranking of their opponents. Major conference teams, with their generally stronger opponents, were more likely to accumulate bonus points and avoid penalties.
- The RPI was used to determine quadrant wins and losses, with Quadrant 1 wins considered "good" and Quadrant 4 losses considered "bad." Major conference teams, by virtue of their stronger opponents and higher RPI rankings, were more likely to achieve Quadrant 1 wins, enhancing their reputation and seeding in the NCAA Tournament.
- The NCAA Tournament selection process considered the performance of teams against RPI quadrants. With their stronger opponents and higher RPI rankings, major conference teams were generally better positioned to secure wins against higher-ranked opponents, positively influencing the selection committee's decisions.
- The RPI formula gave more weight to road wins and less weight to home wins, recognizing the challenge of winning away games. Major conference teams, with their typically stronger rosters and resources, may have been better equipped to secure road wins, thus boosting their RPI ranking.
While the RPI system has been replaced, it is important to recognize these advantages that major conference teams held under this ranking methodology.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, the NCAA announced in 2018 that the RPI would no longer be used in the selection process for the Division I men's basketball tournament.
RPI stands for Rating Percentage Index.
The NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) replaced the RPI.
The NET considers a team's winning percentage (25%), its opponents' winning percentage (50%), and the winning percentage of those opponents' opponents (25%).
The RPI lacked theoretical justification from a statistical standpoint. Other ranking systems that consider the margin of victory and other statistics have been shown to better predict the outcomes of future games.
