2011 Puerto Rico Tip-off

[WuShock Reaper]

2011 Puerto Rico Tip-off teams and their respective RPI's from last year and if they made post-season play:

Alabama – RPI of 60 and NIT Runner-up
Colorado – RPI of 64 and NIT Final Four
Iona – RPI of 68 and CIT - Runner-up
Maryland – RPI of 97 and Busted - No Tourney
Purdue – RPI of 14 and NCAA - 2nd Rd
Temple – RPI of 27 and NCAA - 2nd Rd
Wichita State – RPI of 35 and NIT Champions – OH YEAH!!!
Western Michigan – RPI of 178 and CIT - 2nd Rd

[WuDrWu]

Western Michigan won't be 178 at the end of the year. I'd make it 50-50 that the entire field is top 100 RPI at the end of the year, especially if WMU finds a way to win a game or 2. There could be as many as 6 top 50 RPI teams.

Don't sleep on the Broncos.

[WuShock Reaper]

This is how each field did as a whole, let's hope the trend continues:

2007 prior year RPI 98.0, finished current season at 81.6 (16.4% improvement)

2008 prior year RPI 83.9, finished current season at 64.1 (19.8% improvement)

2009 prior year RPI 94.9, finished current season at 79.9 (15.0% improvement)

2010 prior year RPI 97.6, finished current season at 85.6 (12.0% improvement)

2011 prior year RPI 67.9, finished current season at TBD (to-be-determined)


Also, and as you can see, the potential for this year's field starts off a lot better then previous year fields.

[WuShock Reaper]

Agree WuDrWu,

Last year, Kent State won the Mid-American conference and finished with a 64 RPI. This year, Western Michigan is the league favorite. In addition, they play Temple, Purdue, Gonzaga, Duke, South Dakota State (picked second in the Summit League) and Detroit (picked second in the Horizon League) . That is a lot better than Kent State’s last year. Even if they lose a bunch of these games, they won’t finish with a RPI of 178.

So Saith, “the WuShock Reaper”

[EB 22]

Less than a month away now, I can't wait to be there in some warmer weather!

[fairbanksfan]

Anxiously awaiting the start of the season here in Las Vegas. Not sure I'm digging the new site, that's probably because I am not familiar with it yet. Expecting very good seasons from Stutz (Im a fan of the guy), Murry(a helluva versatile player), Kyles (ready to break loose), Ragland (great intensity with a year to focus it). Williams, Hall, Smith, and the rest of the bunch (play large Orukpe), will do just fine. I forgot the Minnesota kid............cant believe his name is escaping me, I just hope he can contribute Rob Kampman style x 2 and think he will. Enough rattling for now, Go Shocks!!!!

[SubGod22]

The Minnesota kid would be White.

[WuDrWu]

Speaking of Jake White........ it is good.

[SubGod22]

I'm really excited to see him play. We may lose a lot after this season, but that doesn't mean we'll lack talent. The experience will come and White should be a factor!

[shocker heights]

I'm absolutely sure someone posted this somewhere else, but seniors can get all session tickets for $40.00 - half price. The catch is that you MUST pick up the tickets at the arena.

[tropicalshox]

This is similar to last year in Maui. We must win the first game but thankfully, Colorado this year isn't anything like playing UCONN. Three potential top 25 teams, Alabama, Purdue and Temple should be possibilities after beating the Buffs.

[im4wsu]

Who's gooing to Puerto Rico?

My wife and are are expecting to enjoy six days, three wins, five golf games and mucho pina coladas.

We're flying down independently, but joining the WSU group on the 15th.

[Shox21]

Eamonn Brennan of ESPN posted this in response to a question posted by a Shocker fan:

Question: Who wins the Puerto Rico Tip Off?

"Brennan: We've talked a lot about how good the Maui Invitational is this year, but I'm not sure the Puerto Rico Tip-Off is all that far behind. Here's the bracket. Given those prospective matchups, I think Wichita State has a legitimate chance to win the whole deal. (Is that the answer you were looking for?) It may require a little bit of help along the way; I'm not sure the Shockers have the horses to hang with JaMychal Green and the rest of Alabama's brutally tough defense (even though they sure did in the NIT final). That would be a bear of a rematch. I'd list my favorites in this order:

1. Alabama
2. Temple
3. Wichita State
4. Iona
5. Purdue
6. Maryland
7. Colorado
8. Western Michigan

Eh? "

[_kai_]

Haha that was me that asked that question. Booyah.

Eamonn is a great blogger. You can tell he loves his job and likes interacting with people who tweet him.

I can completely agree with his evaluation. If we get by Colorado which I think we do, Alabama might be the and probably is the toughest opponent in the entire tournament aside from Purdue.

[Kung Wu]

This is similar to last year in Maui. We must win the first game but thankfully, Colorado this year isn't anything like playing UCONN. Three potential top 25 teams, Alabama, Purdue and Temple should be possibilities after beating the Buffs.

I think it's quite a bit different than last year. When you looked at our schedule last year the only quality games we could really show at the end of the season would be if we made it through UConn (and NOBODY thought UConn itself would be enough at the beginning of the season but that's another point altogether). This year if we flop in the tournament all is not lost as we have enough of a decent non-con schedule to make up for it. On the other hand, kicking butt in this tournament could make the rest of the non-con a lot less do-or-die.