The MaxPreps RPI rankings in high school basketball: What does it mean; What needs work
The third release of the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s MaxPreps Rating Percentage Index ratings for boys and girls basketball comes out in two days.
If you don’t fully understand what that is, you're not alone. Some of the Greater Akron/Canton area coaches polled don’t completely get it either.
Don’t worry, The USA Network has you covered.
Here’s what it’s all about:
How the MaxPreps RPI ratings index works in OHSAA basketball
The RPI, which is updated daily, is used to determine seeding in the statewide district tournament draws for girls and boys basketball, which are Feb. 4 for the girls and Feb. 11 for the boys.
The concept of using RPI to determine seeding was proposed by the Ohio Basketball Coaches Association (OHSBCA) and approved by the OHSAA Board of Directors last fall. Previously, coaches in each district voted to determine basketball tournament seeding.
The formula is comprised of 40% winning percentage, 35% opponents' winning percentage, and 25% opponents' opponents' winning percentage. The winning team is required to enter the score into MaxPreps or, for out-of-state opponents, the Ohio school must enter the score if it is not entered by the out-of-state school.
“I like how it takes the ‘I’m going to vote for my buddy,’ system out,” St. Vincent-St. Mary girls coach Carley Whitney said. “There still is some of that in leagues. I hate that it’s the honor system of the coaches putting the scores in. They say strength of schedule comes into play, but I don’t think it does because there’s no benefit playing outside your division.
“Me playing a Division IV school or a Division II school and winning by 30 is the same. There’s no benefit me playing a Magnificat or a Purcell Marian. I don’t think that’s fair. In the old system, they broke it down by Division I, II, III and IV wins. I had the opportunity to explain schedule strength either electronically or face to face. Now, it’s going solely off record, which I understand to an extent, but now everyone is going to play in their division because there’s no benefit to do it.”
The kink in the MaxPreps ratings index
As Whitney stated, the MaxPrep RPI system is based on coaches putting in their own scores. It has gone smoothly so far, but also has a bit of a flaw as it doesn’t give bonus points — or take them away for that matter — for teams playing up and down a division like it does in football.
When the OHSBCA approached the OHSAA it didn’t deem that to be that important.
“If they could do a hybrid system where the coach’s vote would impact it, it would make sense,” Hoban boys coach TK Griffith said. “I trust the coaches. They kind of know who is pretty good. It will also reward a team that typically doesn’t have a good year that is having a good year. But it all works out anyways because it’s all who you beat.”
The advantage of the MaxPreps RPI ratings index in basketball
The school groupings are determined by how each of the OHSAA’s six District Athletic Boards set up the seeding for their specific district. The Central, East, Northeast and Southeast Districts put all the schools together in each division, while the Southwest District divides its schools into North and South groups, and the Northwest District divides its schools into smaller groups.
Like in soccer, the seeds determine which schools go first in determining what district they will fall into.
As an example, Division I basketball in Northeast Ohio seeds into six districts. Two teams per district have the opportunity to put themselves on a line first or pass on their placement to see how the districts brackets shake out.
That means the top 12 teams in Division I have the ability to pass and can jump back in at anytime, which ensures “easier routes” for the better teams.
Unlike in soccer, it’s not voted on by the coaches.
“I’m a fan of the super district,” Barberton coach Chad Hazard said. “You can’t run. You can’t hide. There’s no ducking like you could before. Back then, you couldn’t get out of Akron, now there are more teams from the area in the regional. I love it. I think it’s fair.”
Future of MaxPreps RPI ratings index in OHSAA basketball
The OHSBCA and OHSAA will convene at the end of the season to see what worked and what didn’t, and the state organization will listen to possible amendments of the one-year system.
“This is the first year for the RPI and just like football we will evaluate the system,” OHSAA Director of communications Tim Stried said. “We will certainly evaluate the system after this season for basketball. Nothing is set in stone for years to come, but the basketball coaches association told us what they wanted the formula to be.”
In the end, it still comes down to who is playing the best in March.
“Like I told my guys, the best they can do is just win,” Canton McKinley boys coach Sean Weatherspoon said. “The biggest thing is trusting people to put in the right information. It’s a work in progress.”
Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: OHSAA basketball rankings: Coaches talk MaxPreps RPI ratings system
