In doing a little deep dive into the brackets, the selection committee really did Clemson no favors.
Typically, the RPI goes a long way in determining who is in and who is out. The NCAA RPI is actually not great, but a poster on BS does a MUCH more analytical RPI. I looked at mainly his, and here are some thoughts.
Obviously, this season isn’t a perfect science with some teams not playing fall seasons or out of conference opponents and departures to the pros.
The average RPI ranking of a team in Clemson’s bracket was 20! If American wins their game tonight against Jacksonville, Clemson will face the team with the #1 RPI in American. Clemson also has Fordham and Georgetown in their bracket who are both very good and come in at 3 and 5 respectively in the RPI.
Wake “lucks” out with an average RPI at 43. Obviously, some thorns in our side in Stanford and UNC. New Hampshire though is actually the highest RPI at 2.
Indiana has a VERY good squad, but their competition hasn’t been great. Their RPI is 38, although their record obviously shows they are a team capable of winning the whole thing. The average team RPI in their bracket is 34. Seton Hall has a pretty good side and VT plays a game suited for a tournament run. I know nothing about Loyola (CA), but they’re one of only 4 undefeated in the fold.
Pitts’s bracket has an average RPI of 27. Grand Canyon and Missouri State may be outliers that make their bracket look harder than it is, but Washington and JMU have both been very good.
As for Coastal, they come in with an RPI of 71. Mentioned above, they have a bigger squad which has sometimes been our downfall. The boys have been finding ways to win all season, so let’s hope it continues.