The Purplest Kool-Aid Ever

A few of my reporting peers -- both of whom now call ESPN.com their home -- used to poke fun at my consistent interest in the RPI, Sagarin and other formulaic ratings.

While it's true I enjoy the math-based stuff, even I recognize that RPI and the rest don't mean diddly just three weeks into this hoops season. But I can't resist sharing a snippet of today's rankings, courtesy of CollegeRPI.com.

The top-ranked Big Ten team in the RPI? None other than the 5-1 Northwestern Wildcats...and check out who's just behind them in the national rankings...

Rank School W-L RPI W L Pct OWP
9 Northwestern 5-1 0.7000 3.8 0.6 0.8636 0.7083 (17)
10 Duke 8-0 0.6983 6.4 0.0 1.0000 0.6092 (60)
11 North Carolina 7-0 0.6938 6.2 0.0 1.0000 0.5690 (92)

OWP, by the way, is opponents winning percentage (and the national rank is in parentheses).

Is it too soon to project the Wildcats into the Sweet 16, if not the Final Four?

LW