Eight games into the season the USC men’s basketball team is 6-2. Anyone expect better? Perhaps. Most would have predicted USC would have beaten UC-Irvine and lost to Southern Cal on its west coast swing.
Where does USC stand as it takes a break for exams? Again, it’s early, but here’s some thoughts based on the RPI thanks to www.collegerpi.com:
—USC ranks sixth out of 12 SEC teams in RPI and is 59th overall in the nation. Arkansas (7), Alabama (28), Tennessee (38), Mississippi State (49) and Kentucky (58) are ahead of USC.
—Of USC’s wins, the victory at Southern Cal (RPI 78) is the strongest, although the win at Baylor (191) could be important down the road if the Bears make some noise in the Big 12. Lipscomb (149) has the next highest RPI of the teams USC has beaten.
—“Good” losses – UC-Irvine, on the road and sporting a 135 RPI. The Clemson loss will no doubt hurt because it was at home but the Tigers have an RPI of 17 right now.
And what of the near future? USC’s next four foes aren’t going to help its RPI: Princeton (188), UNC-Asheville (304), Jacksonville (254) and Western Carolina (159). Then comes Kansas, which at this point has the nation’s 60th RPI. But a victory over the Jayhawks on Jan. 7 would certainly help USC’s chances of making a trip to the NCAA and give it a boost going into its SEC schedule, which starts with a trip to Georgia three days later.
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