Best Week Ever: February 11-18
Reduce, reuse, recycle. This week we feature teams that have have been in previous versions of Best Week Ever. As usual, all data is through Sunday's games.
Up
Oklahoma - (was out; now #8 seed)
After losing three straight and making the list on the way down, the Sooners reappear in the field. The latest CTD change helped; their sub-.500/even records against RPI Top 50 and Top 100 teams hurt, but only 14 teams have more wins against RPI Top 50 teams than Oklahoma's 4.
Miami (was out; now #10 seed)
Adding conference RPI and games +/- .500 hurt the Hurricanes last week, but including several new attributes boosted them back in much like it did for Oklahoma. Only 18 teams have more wins over RPI Top 100 teams than Miami's 7.
Syracuse (was out; now #11 seed)
Unlike the other two teams on this list, the Orange did something meaningful on the court to strengthen their profile. Despite losing at South Florida, the win over Georgetown put them back on the right side of the bubble. Their 6 wins over RPI Top 100 and 16-9 record against RPI Top 200 help for now, but as I wrote last week, they have every opportunity to put themselves squarely in the field with their upcoming schedule and no basis for complaint if they don't.
Wake Forest (was not even close; now second team left out)
Though not yet in the field, the Deacs made quite the leap this week. With wins at Florida State and at home over Duke, they sit just outside the bubble. Before starting their current 3 game winning streak, they were barely inside the top 100 in RPI. They now sit at #61 and a week of rest before heading into Chapel Hill. A win there, giving them two top 5 RPI wins, should put them into a good position down the stretch. Quite a season by an inspired team, and they should be even better next year.
Down
Florida (was #9; now out)
I wrote several weeks ago that Florida's 5-1 conference start could show that the first two months of their season was more than smoke and mirrors. I also pointed out that if they stayed near the top of the SEC, the committee would likely overlook their weak non-conference profile. Well, after four losses in their last five games, including one last week to an LSU team that had just fired its coach, they are no longer near the top of the SEC and are now on the wrong side of the CTD bubble. But fret not for the three-peat: the Gators still have several opportunities to right their ship, but can they flip on the switch as last year's team could?
Texas A&M (was #5; now #7)
The Aggies situation is not nearly as dire as Florida's, but they dropped a few seed lines with a loss in their only game last week to Oklahoma State. Their lack of consistency I mentioned several weeks ago hasn't improved (still ranked 278th in consistency), and if they can't take care of business the next few weeks their profile could hinge on a final week showdown against Kansas.