Week 8 College Hoops Report

Please note, my next "Field of 68" projection will be Monday, Jan. 10. In early February we'll start taking a closer look at the bubble.

**The Gophers have fallen to 6th among Big Ten schools in the RPI rankings. After Tuesday's game vs. Indiana, it's time to start adding to the "QW" list that has remained stagnant since the UNC & West Virginia conquests.

All RPI references are courtesy of Jerry Palm @ CollegeRPI.com.

RPI Sweet 16
1. Georgetown (12-2)
2. Syracuse (15-0)
3. Kansas (13-0)
4. BYU (13-1)
5. Kentucky (11-2)
6. UConn (11-1)
7. Duke (13-0)
8. Pitt (13-1)
9. San Diego State (13-0)
10. St. John's (9-3)
11. Purdue (13-1)
12. West Virginia (8-4)
13. Notre Dame (12-2)
14. Vandy (11-2)
15. Temple (9-3)
16. Florida (10-3)

Big Ten in the RPI
11. Purdue (13-1)
20. Ohio State (14-0)
28. Illinois (12-3)
34. Wisconsin (11-3)
35. Northwestern (9-2)
39. Minnesota (11-3)
50. Michigan State (8-4)
67. Michigan (10-3)
68. Penn State (8-5)
179. Iowa (7-6)
195. Indiana (9-6)

Top-50 Wins by Big Ten Teams (11)
Illinois (3): NORTH CAROLINA (29), WISCONSIN (34), vs. Gonzaga (45)
Minnesota (2): vs. West Virginia (12), vs. North Carolina (29)
Michigan State (2): vs. Washington (23), MINNESOTA (39)
Wisconsin (2): vs. Boston College (25), MINNESOTA (39)
Ohio State (1): @ Florida (16)
Purdue (1): NORTHWESTERN (35)

Gopher Nonconference Opponents in the RPI
12. West Virginia (8-4, 0-2)
29. North Carolina (10-4)
96. Akron (7-5)
123. Virginia (9-5, 1-0)
139. Saint Joseph's (5-8)
141. Western Kentucky (5-8, 0-1)
144. Siena (4-8, 1-1)
150. South Dakota State (8-4, 2-1)
168. Wofford (5-8, 2-0)
196. North Dakota State (5-6, 1-2)
229. Cornell (3-9)
299. Eastern Kentucky (4-8, 1-3)

Big Ten Road Wins (4)
Purdue (1): Michigan (67)
Illinois (1): Iowa (179)
Ohio State (1): Indiana (195)
Penn State (1): Indiana (195)

Non-BCS Wins over BCS by School (cumulative)
4: Gonzaga, Richmond, Temple

3: Butler, Central Florida, New Mexico, St. Mary's, UNLV, Xavier

2: BYU, Charlotte, Dayton, Florida Atlantic, Jacksonville, Memphis, Montana, North Texas, Northern Iowa, Presbyterian, Seattle, Southern Miss, TCU, UTEP, VCU, Wichita State

1: Ball State, Bradley, Cal State-Northridge, Campbell, Charleston, Cleveland State, Coastal Carolina, Colorado State, Davidson, Drexel, East Tennessee State, Fordham, Furman, George Washington, Harvard, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois-Chicago, Indiana State, James Madison, Kennesaw State, Kent State, LaSalle, Long Beach State, Maine, Murray State, Nicholls State, North Carolina-Asheville, North Carolina-Wilmington, Oakland, Old Dominion, Princeton, Rhode Island, Rice, Rider, St. Bonaventure, Saint Joseph's, St. Peter's, Samford, San Diego State, San Francisco, San Jose State, Siena, South Dakota State, Stetson, Texas Southern, Tulsa, UAB, Utah Valley State, Western Carolina, Winthrop, Yale

Non-BCS Wins over BCS by Conference -- 114 (cumulative)
21: Atlantic 10
12: Conference USA, Mountain West
8: WCC
6: Atlantic Sun, Colonial, Missouri Valley
5: Big South, Horizon, Southern
4: Sun Belt
3: Ivy, Metro Atlantic, WAC
2: Big Sky, Big West, Independents, MAC, Summit
1: America East, Great West, Ohio Valley, Southland, SWAC

BCS Conferences Head-to-Head (116 games played)
1. Big East (24-15, 61.5%)
2. Big 12 (22-19, 53.7%)
3. ACC (24-24, 50%)
4. Big Ten (17-18, 48.6%)
5. SEC (18-22, 45%)
6. Pac 10 (11-18, 37.9%)

The Undefeateds (7)
Central Florida, Cincinnati, Duke, Kansas, Ohio State, San Diego State, Syracuse

Hard to believe OSU's that low in the RPI. But with conference play starting, I'm sure that ranking will rise in no time flat.

Agreed with you - it's time for the Gophs to get some more of those QWs.

The Buckeyes have easily been the Big Ten's most impressive team, but the truth is their schedule has been pretty weak. Among Big Ten teams only Indiana has played a weaker schedule (according to CollegeRPI.com) to this point.