The latest RPI poll is out with not much time remaining in the regular season. That adds to the importance, as the RPI is heavily leaned on by the committee in determining seeding for the NCAA Tournament as well as which two schools will be awarded an at-large bid. That second part is likely the most important, with a tight race emerging between whoever doesn’t win the MPSF, MIVA and Big West. Realistically that includes about seven or eight schools with still time for things to separate out.
A big noteworthy ranking is that UCLA is second, despite being two matches back of BYU in the MPSF. That equates well for their potential at-large bid should the Cougars take the conference crown. Their positioning would only be strengthened with a win over BYU this week, even if they didn’t win the regular season league title and were later ousted in the MPSF tournament. Loyola Chicago also sits at third despite a loss at Ohio State this past week. It also seems that the Buckeyes only chance of making the NCAA Tournament is if they win the MIVA, unlike Loyola Chicago, as they sit at seventh – good enough where they could move up but likely not into a top two at-large spot without winning the league anyway.
In total, the Big West owns the top portion of the RPI, with five of the top 11 and the #1 team. The MIVA and MPSF are littered throughout as well, with George Mason the top choice in the EIVA and Barton from Conference Carolinas. Big weeks lie ahead for both of those leagues in helping determine regular season champions in the league, though it seems destined that both earn the six and seven seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
A link to the full update RPI poll can be seen here. The full list can also be seen below:
| RANK | SCHOOL | CONFERENCE | RECORD | ROAD | NEUTRAL | HOME | NON DIV I |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Long Beach St. | Big West | 21-0 | 9-0 | 3-0 | 9-0 | 0-0 |
| 2 | UCLA | MPSF | 20-6 | 6-5 | 0-0 | 14-1 | 0-0 |
| 3 | Loyola Chicago | MIVA | 20-5 | 5-3 | 0-1 | 14-1 | 1-0 |
| 4 | BYU | MPSF | 19-5 | 8-2 | 2-0 | 9-3 | 0-0 |
| 5 | UC Irvine | Big West | 17-7 | 7-3 | 3-0 | 7-4 | 0-0 |
| 6 | Pepperdine | MPSF | 14-6 | 6-3 | 1-0 | 6-3 | 1-0 |
| 7 | Ohio St. | MIVA | 19-4 | 8-3 | 1-0 | 10-1 | 0-0 |
| 8 | Lewis | MIVA | 16-10 | 1-6 | 1-2 | 13-2 | 1-0 |
| 9 | Hawaii | Big West | 15-6 | 0-3 | 3-0 | 10-3 | 2-0 |
| 10 | UC Santa Barbara | Big West | 10-9 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 6-3 | 0-0 |
| 11 | CSUN | Big West | 13-8 | 1-6 | 3-0 | 6-2 | 3-0 |
| 12 | George Mason | EIVA | 14-10 | 8-5 | 0-0 | 6-5 | 0-0 |
| 13 | Grand Canyon | MPSF | 16-10 | 6-5 | 2-1 | 6-4 | 2-0 |
| 14 | Concordia (CA) | MPSF | 12-14 | 3-8 | 0-0 | 6-6 | 3-0 |
| 15 | Barton | Conference Carolinas | 17-6 | 8-3 | 0-2 | 9-1 | 0-0 |
| 16 | Penn St. | EIVA | 12-9 | 3-5 | 1-2 | 8-2 | 0-0 |
| 17 | Ball St. | MIVA | 15-11 | 6-8 | 0-1 | 9-2 | 0-0 |
| 18 | McKendree | MIVA | 11-12 | 2-4 | 2-2 | 7-6 | 0-0 |
| 19 | King (TN) | Conference Carolinas | 16-5 | 7-4 | 1-1 | 7-0 | 1-0 |
| 20 | Fort Wayne | MIVA | 17-9 | 8-6 | 0-0 | 7-3 | 2-0 |
| 21 | Southern California | MPSF | 7-17 | 1-9 | 0-2 | 4-6 | 2-0 |
| 22 | Stanford | MPSF | 6-17 | 3-8 | 0-2 | 3-7 | 0-0 |
| 23 | Harvard | Ivy League | 9-11 | 3-7 | 0-0 | 6-1 | 0-3 |
| 24 | Mount Olive | Conference Carolinas | 14-10 | 5-7 | 0-0 | 8-2 | 1-1 |
| 25 | Charleston (WV) | EIVA | 12-8 | 4-5 | 2-0 | 6-3 | 0-0 |
| 26 | UC San Diego | Big West | 9-14 | 1-8 | 2-0 | 3-6 | 3-0 |
| 27 | Princeton | EIVA | 9-13 | 3-8 | 1-2 | 5-3 | 0-0 |
| 28 | NJIT | EIVA | 6-14 | 0-5 | 0-3 | 6-6 | 0-0 |
| 29 | Saint Francis (PA) | EIVA | 8-17 | 2-9 | 1-2 | 5-6 | 0-0 |
| 30 | Lindenwood (MO) | MIVA | 8-14 | 2-7 | 3-0 | 3-7 | 0-0 |
| 31 | North Greenville | Conference Carolinas | 10-14 | 3-8 | 0-2 | 7-4 | 0-0 |
| 32 | Quincy | MIVA | 12-16 | 0-7 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 11-4 |
| 33 | Coker | DI Independent | 12-8 | 5-5 | 0-0 | 3-2 | 4-1 |
| 34 | Lincoln Memorial | DI Independent | 11-12 | 2-9 | 0-2 | 7-1 | 2-0 |
| 35 | Belmont Abbey | Conference Carolinas | 10-14 | 3-9 | 0-0 | 6-4 | 1-1 |
| 36 | Limestone | Conference Carolinas | 8-16 | 3-6 | 0-3 | 5-6 | 0-1 |
| 37 | Emmanuel (GA) | Conference Carolinas | 9-14 | 1-8 | 0-0 | 6-6 | 2-0 |
| 38 | Sacred Heart | EIVA | 5-12 | 0-7 | 0-0 | 4-5 | 1-0 |
| 39 | Erskine | Conference Carolinas | 6-17 | 1-8 | 0-2 | 4-7 | 1-0 |
| 40 | Queens (NC) | DI Independent | 6-18 | 2-11 | 0-0 | 3-5 | 1-2 |
| 41 | Alderson Broaddus | DI Independent | 3-17 | 2-14 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-1 |
| 42 | Lees-McRae | Conference Carolinas | 2-19 | 0-13 | 0-0 | 1-6 | 1-0 |
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