Our jump to the 15th-ranked strength of schedule is not accidental. In addition to the obvious suspects, such as Gonzaga and Virginia Tech, James Madison quietly has not lost a game since we beat them. The Dukes had five scorers reach double figures yesterday against Bucknell and shot 10 3-pointers, five of them from that Russian kid.
Iowa State appears to be this year's Texas Tech — the team that rides a super-weak schedule (ISU does not leave the state in its first 11 games) to a marginal top-25 ranking and an undefeated record, before the bottom falls out in a loss to a team such as Wichita State. Take Hoiberg's bunch with a grain of salt.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma appears to be this year's Oklahoma — a team so abysmally awful it left Maui 0-3 and allowed Chaminade to record only its sixth-ever win against a Division I team in the tournament. Keep in mind that OU really should have four losses now because the Sooners were lucky as hell to beat UNC Central.
Mizzou won the Cancun Challenge, which is at best a modest accomplishment when you consider the Tigers only had to beat Wyoming and La Salle to do so.
What should be concerning to Missouri fans is that both teams scored way too many points against a defense that might be missing J.T. Tiller, Zaire Taylor and Keith Ramsey a bit.
AP Ranking = 4
ESPN/USA Today Ranking = 4
Overall Record = 4-1
RPI = 17
SOS = 15
Signature Wins (RPI 1-30) = none
Quality Wins (RPI 31-100) = James Madison, Virginia Tech
Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = none
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James Madison (4-1) | RPI = 65: Win over Bucknell (85-75 in the CBE Classic)
- Virginia Tech (2-1) | RPI = 99
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Presbyterian (2-4) | RPI = 176: Win over Princeton (69-67 in the CBE Classic)
- No. 22 Gonzaga (3-2) | RPI = 121
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No. 1 Duke (5-0) | RPI = 23
- Texas Southern (1-4) | RPI = 261
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Emporia State (3-2*): Win over Southwestern (72-61)
- Washington State (3-0) | RPI = 141
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Alcorn State (0-5) | RPI = 237: Loss at Denver (51-69)
- Loyola Chicago (6-0) | RPI = 116
- No. 16 Florida (4-1) | RPI = 107
- UNLV (3-0) | RPI = 5
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UMKC (4-0) | RPI = 231: Win over SIU Edwardsville (82-64)
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North Florida (3-3) | RPI = 73: Win over Morgan State (59-52 in the Cancun Challenge)
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Savannah State (1-6) | RPI = 342: Loss at Cincinnati (41-54)
- Oklahoma State (3-0) | RPI = 157
- Colorado (2-2) | RPI = 195
- Texas Tech (4-1) | RPI = 170
- No. 11 Missouri (4-0) | RPI = 110: Win over La Salle (83-71 in the Cancun Challenge)
- Texas A&M (3-0) | RPI = 214
- No. 12 Baylor (4-0) | RPI = 50
- No. 6 Kansas (4-0) | RPI = 40
- Nebraska (3-2) | RPI = 272
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Iowa State (5-0) | RPI = 7: Win over Kennesaw State (91-51)
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Oklahoma (3-3) | RPI = 209: Loss at Chaminade* (64-68 in the Maui Invitational)
- No. 20 Texas (4-1) | RPI = 43
*Division II