As we near the end of the college basketball’s first month, analyst William Whelan looks at five teams who have done their resumés well thus far.
- Iowa: Sometimes, as in this case, losing the right games is as important as winning the right ones. For the Hawkeyes, their RPI won’t get beat down by losses to Dayton or Notre Dame, and if Wichita State turns it around, that could be a nice RPI win for them. Right now, they may not look ready to contend in the Big Ten, but their resume has been steady, which this season is a win thanks to all of the parity.
- Cincinnati: Two underrated RPI wins over Nebraska and George Washington have the Bearcats ready for success against Butler coming up soon, and then a huge rivalry game with Xavier coming down the line. Again, half of the game is avoiding clunkers, and UC has done that thus far.
- Wake Forest: Not many had the Demon Deacons even being a factor this year, so early season wins over UCLA and Indiana could definitely pay off down the line. Speaking of RPI losses, while Richmond may not be a great look, there’s no shame in losing to Vanderbilt right now.
- Michigan: This is an inconsistent team, this much we know at this point. But part of the excitement that comes with inconsistency is the stretch of good basketball that eventually comes and figuring out what it’s capable of. How about beating Texas and North Carolina State, with the win over the Wolfpack coming in Raleigh? Two wins that will keep UM’s RPI numbers steady as the year goes on.
- Davidson: Again, sometimes you just have to avoid the bad losses. For a team like Davidson, who always faces off with a big boy from the Triangle, keeping a clean sheet
