Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2018-19
I recall from last year, you guys weren't all that sure about the workings of the Pairwise, so I took a look at what might be coming for you.
Remember, there are three components to each Pairwise comparison: head-to-head, won-loss record against common opponents, and RPI. And in all instances, RPI is the tie-breaker.
For comparing against non-conference teams that you don't have any head-to-head against, the Pairwise comparison is won by RPI all by itself (because even if you lose 'common opponents', if you win RPI, you still win the comparison, because RPI is the tie-breaker). So, because there is no head-to-head, OSU's comparisons against the teams immediately behind it - Princeton, Clarkson, Cornell, Providence, BU, BC - all revert to a comparison of RPI. And the one team where there is head-to-head - Colgate - the games were one win apiece. Meaning no advantage one way or another as far as Pairwise goes. As far as I can see, for non-conference teams, if OSU's RPI remains better, you win the Pairwise comparison; if it falls behind them, you lose the comparison. Simple as that. As far as I can see, you can forget the rest of the details of Pairwise, and just look at RPI.
That said, RPIs for 4 through 11 are really pretty close, and there are plenty of games to be played. The gap between #3 and #4 is about the same as the gap between #4 and #10.
(And in all of the above, when I mention RPI, I'm talking about 'quality win bonus, adjusted RPI'. AKA the numbers you see in the Pairwise table.)
Originally posted by osualum86
View Post
Remember, there are three components to each Pairwise comparison: head-to-head, won-loss record against common opponents, and RPI. And in all instances, RPI is the tie-breaker.
For comparing against non-conference teams that you don't have any head-to-head against, the Pairwise comparison is won by RPI all by itself (because even if you lose 'common opponents', if you win RPI, you still win the comparison, because RPI is the tie-breaker). So, because there is no head-to-head, OSU's comparisons against the teams immediately behind it - Princeton, Clarkson, Cornell, Providence, BU, BC - all revert to a comparison of RPI. And the one team where there is head-to-head - Colgate - the games were one win apiece. Meaning no advantage one way or another as far as Pairwise goes. As far as I can see, for non-conference teams, if OSU's RPI remains better, you win the Pairwise comparison; if it falls behind them, you lose the comparison. Simple as that. As far as I can see, you can forget the rest of the details of Pairwise, and just look at RPI.
That said, RPIs for 4 through 11 are really pretty close, and there are plenty of games to be played. The gap between #3 and #4 is about the same as the gap between #4 and #10.
(And in all of the above, when I mention RPI, I'm talking about 'quality win bonus, adjusted RPI'. AKA the numbers you see in the Pairwise table.)
Comment