Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Mississippi St. on the Bubble



Mississippi St. enters the SEC Tournament having won 2 in a row after losing the 5 prior games.  The losing streak tanked their near lock status for the tournament, but as it stands I still have them in on my current Bracketology.  The Bulldogs are 21-10 overall, 8-8 in the SEC, and currently have a 64 RPI.

Quality Wins: Vanderbilt (27), Alabama (32), West Virginia (45), Mississippi (60), Tennessee (75)
Bad Losses: Georgia (112), Auburn (138)

Using RPI Forecast we can get an idea of what their RPI will be based on how far they advance in New Orleans.

Final RecordW-L pctg.Expected RPIProbability
25-1071.43%19.31.31%
24-1168.57%31.79.95%
23-1167.65%43.69.52%
22-1166.67%57.444.39%
21-1165.62%79.634.82%

Getting to play on Thursday is going to help the Bulldogs numbers as long as they beat Georgia.  Losing to Vandy would decrease their RPI to 57.4 and I think they would slide into the tournament unless a lot of surprise teams win their conference tournaments.  If Mississippi St. beats Vandy but loses in the Semifinals their RPI would be around 43.6.  I think this puts them in the completely safe zone and assures them a bid on selection Sunday.  Getting to the final game puts them at 31.7 and starts to ensure a better seed.

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