2008 Woodie Awards
Jags snubbed in post-season
Julie Andrews
Issue date: 3/19/08 Section: Commentary
Apparently there is no love for IUPUI basketball this season. IUPUI did not receive a single invite to a post-season tournament despite one of the best season in Division I play for the team.
The Jaguars, who went 26-7 during the 2007-2008 season, were ranked in the top five nationally in several shooting percentages and 2008 Summit League Player of the Year George Hill is currently ranked 17th in the nation in scoring.
IUPUI's basketball team is ranked fourth in field goal percentage (50.3 percent), second in 3-point percentage (42.3 percent), and fourth in free throw percentages (77.6 percent).
The team beat Massachusetts and Oral Roberts who are 43rd and 53rd. The Jag held a close game against No. 20 Marquette and lost by ORU by eight points in the first regular season game of the season. However, IUPUI was undefeated at home for the third time in school history.
So why isn't there love for IUPUI?
Coach Hunter said in an article by the Indianapolis Star, "A lot of it has to do with what's written on our chests," Hunter said. "It wasn't about the body of our work."
The ranking percentage index (RPI) for IUPUI according to the NCAA RPI site was 69. However, teams like Akron and San Diego State who RPI is 76 and 82 respectively got invites to the NIT tournament.
The RPI is used as a tool to pick the 64 teams in post-season tournaments. Thirty-one teams get automatics bids by winning their conference championships. Then the rest of the field is filled using the RPI's, which is how teams like Notre Dame, Indiana, and Purdue got into the NCAA Tournament.
It could be said that teams like Akron and San Diego State got picked based on past season RPI's as well as their current RPI. For the past two seasons both teams have had RPI in the sixties with this year being their lowest since 2006.
Last season, IUPUI was 211 with a 13-15 record and in 2006 were 158 with a 17-10 record. This is the first year for IUPUI to be ranked above 100.
The Jaguars, who went 26-7 during the 2007-2008 season, were ranked in the top five nationally in several shooting percentages and 2008 Summit League Player of the Year George Hill is currently ranked 17th in the nation in scoring.
IUPUI's basketball team is ranked fourth in field goal percentage (50.3 percent), second in 3-point percentage (42.3 percent), and fourth in free throw percentages (77.6 percent).
The team beat Massachusetts and Oral Roberts who are 43rd and 53rd. The Jag held a close game against No. 20 Marquette and lost by ORU by eight points in the first regular season game of the season. However, IUPUI was undefeated at home for the third time in school history.
So why isn't there love for IUPUI?
Coach Hunter said in an article by the Indianapolis Star, "A lot of it has to do with what's written on our chests," Hunter said. "It wasn't about the body of our work."
The ranking percentage index (RPI) for IUPUI according to the NCAA RPI site was 69. However, teams like Akron and San Diego State who RPI is 76 and 82 respectively got invites to the NIT tournament.
The RPI is used as a tool to pick the 64 teams in post-season tournaments. Thirty-one teams get automatics bids by winning their conference championships. Then the rest of the field is filled using the RPI's, which is how teams like Notre Dame, Indiana, and Purdue got into the NCAA Tournament.
It could be said that teams like Akron and San Diego State got picked based on past season RPI's as well as their current RPI. For the past two seasons both teams have had RPI in the sixties with this year being their lowest since 2006.
Last season, IUPUI was 211 with a 13-15 record and in 2006 were 158 with a 17-10 record. This is the first year for IUPUI to be ranked above 100.
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