SEC Sits Strong at #3 in Latest RPI Conference Rankings

The Pac-12 and Big Ten maintain the top 2 spots in the latest RPI Conference Rankings, as one might expect, but shortly thereafter, the surprises begin: the SEC ranks 3rd in the country, with their strongest offering of teams in years.

The rankings, compiled based on the average RPI ranking, have the SEC as the 3rd-best conference in the country, with the conference’s average team ranking around 56th in the nation.

That’s as compared to last year, where at year’s end, the average SEC team ranked around 87th in RPI. The difference comes at both the top and the bottom of the conference. With two teams in the top 5 nationally in RPI (Florida and Kentucky), the SEC matches the Big Ten’s count in that metric.

At the bottom end, though, all but 2 (#137 South Carolina, #180 Mississippi St.) are in the top 100. Among the teams that have made big jumps – Georgia, under new coach Tom Black, sit at #76 with a 13-8 record so far this season. Last year, they ended the year at #189, with a 13-18 record. They’ve already matched their 2017 output this season.

See the conference-average RPI rankings below.

The RPI is determined by a computer-driven formula where 1/4 of a team’s rank is based on your Win-Loss %, 1/2 is based on a team’s opponents’ Win-Loss %, 1/4 is based on a team’s opponents’ opponents Win-Loss %, with bonuses being awarded for wins against the top 25 and top 50, as well as for a top-75 non-conference schedule.