Loyola is 6-2 and RPI 40!

[tornado]

They are right behind Butler - whose RPI is currently 38 - in the Horizon League!

Who'd have thunk it earlier this season, that Loyola coming into Carver Arena, would be a FAR, FAR higher rated team RPI-wise than
any non-conference team on the schedules of ISU, UNI, Indiana State, Drake, or Wichita...
In fact, Loyola is now the 3rd TOP-40 opponent BU has faced, while nobody else in the Valley has faced more than ONE!

I know we're gonna get the knee jerk critiques that you can't use the RPI, but I think it does carry some significance here...
showing that BU's schedule is clearly one of the top non-conference schedules in the Valley, despite all the complaints we heard last fall.

Just when you thought it couldn't get worse and that playing Niagara would help...
Pomeroy now ranks ISU's schedule at #345....out of 347 teams, only two spots from the absolute worst schedule in all of Division I.
http://kenpom.com/team.php?team=Illinois%20St.

[Guinness]

And they won by 3 points against San Fransisco AT HOME, who is currently hanging at 251 with a 2-7 record.

[Braves4Life]

Loyola is Loyola. This NEEDS to be a BU win. Preferably by 10+ points just to let any and all potential recruits know that the premier program in the state is NOT in Chicago, Champaign, Carbondale, or B-N.

[bigdaddystuck]

Good to see that the scheduling is giving us some quality opponents...now we have to beat them, to really get the full benefit.

[Braveman]

Wrong BDS- We just have to recruit local kids, and play a better schedule than ISU... lol

[shaunguth]

Wrong BDS- We just have to recruit local kids, and play a better schedule than ISU... lol

That doesn't seem to be terribly hard these days!

[georgethedog]

good to see that the scheduling is giving us some quality opponents...now we have to beat them, to really get the full benefit.

lol...

[TheAsianSensation]

I think the relevant news out of this is that Loyola is giving us good computer numbers for our own SoS and RPI.

If I had to guess, they'll probably hover around RPI 100 in March. And for a game that looked like the 6th toughest non-con game or so heading into the season, that RPI is a bonus for us.

If there's one thing Les is good at, it's at scheduling for the profile.

[BradleyBrave]

Well, I hope everyone doesn't say it's OK to lose this one at home too.

[Bravesfan]

They are right behind Butler - whose RPI is currently 38 - in the Horizon League!

Who'd have thunk it earlier this season, that Loyola coming into Carver Arena, would be a FAR, FAR higher rated team RPI-wise than
any non-conference team on the schedules of ISU, UNI, Indiana State, Drake, or Wichita...
In fact, Loyola is now the 3rd TOP-40 opponent BU has faced, while nobody else in the Valley has faced more than ONE!

I know we're gonna get the knee jerk critiques that you can't use the RPI, but I think it does carry some significance here...
showing that BU's schedule is clearly one of the top non-conference schedules in the Valley, despite all the complaints we heard last fall.

Just when you thought it couldn't get worse and that playing Niagara would help...
Pomeroy now ranks ISU's schedule at #345....out of 347 teams, only two spots from the absolute worst schedule in all of Division I.
http://kenpom.com/team.php?team=Illinois%20St.

Well top 40 RPI or not, this team is not half as good as Western Carolina. Therefore this is a team we MUST beat. Which I'm very confident they will.

[Bravesfan]

Well, I hope everyone doesn't say it's OK to lose this one at home too.

I don't think it's okay. W. Carolina is a much stronger team than Loyola is. We can maybe get away with one home loss, but certainly not two! I hope we are as dominant over them as we were earlier this year on their home court.

[Bravesfan]

Loyola is Loyola. This NEEDS to be a BU win. Preferably by 10+ points just to let any and all potential recruits know that the premier program in the state is NOT in Chicago, Champaign, Carbondale, or B-N.

Oh I don't think anyone is mistaking that team in B-N as the premier program in the state!

[PTownHawkeye]

I don't think it's okay. W. Carolina is a much stronger team than Loyola is. We can maybe get away with one home loss, but certainly not two! I hope we are as dominant over them as we were earlier this year on their home court.

Just saw that W. Carolina now has the #10 RPI. Regardless of the team's name, if you were to tell me that BU lost at home to the team ranked #10 in the RPI, there is no way I could possibly consider calling that a bad loss.

They are a much stronger team than Loyola.

[BradleyBrave]

I don't think it's okay. W. Carolina is a much stronger team than Loyola is. We can maybe get away with one home loss, but certainly not two! I hope we are as dominant over them as we were earlier this year on their home court.

Western Carolina wasn't OK either. Going undefeated at home the rest of the way is the only way to even come close to making up for it as far as our performance at home is concerned.

[ER3]

This is comical...Loyola is absolutely horrible...and their RPI of 40 means absolutely nothing...
They are picked to finish dead last in the Horizon League this year...
They have played one decent team thus far, and that team, K-State, beat them by 38 points...

Their RPI will be closer to 200 than 100 when all is said and done...so no, this won't be a quality win for BU, this won't help our precious SoS, it's just a game we have to win to avoid being embarrassed...