I will again disagree with you here.
In terms of major conferences, you can draw a line below RPI 49 and if you are above that line you have always been in.
I think that line might blur some with the "American" conference and the new "Big East", etc which muddied the waters some, but from a histrorical perspective, big conference teams don't miss if your top 49. (Top 50 unless your jersey says "Minnesota").
This is another good example of needing to be pessimistic about what you hear or say anywhere, not just on a message. Obviously the poster quoted above had issues spelling histrorical (sic) and he failed in his use of "your" twice -- these are good indicators that what he says may be total nonsense.
If you look back to LAST YEAR.. Missouri was #49 in the RPI on selection sunday.. they did not make the tournament.
This poster "Face The Facts" has made a claim that is patently false and irresponsible.
Now, my sources on the #49 are multiple and include ncaa.org's RPI archive database. It's a good number.
That said, as another example of needing to be careful about what you believe... even the ncaa.org had errors in their RPI rankings published earlier this season. I informed them of the error and they fixed. ESPN last season included teams in their RPI calculations that weren't int he real RPI calculations until there was one week left in the season. No matter who it is - the NCAA, ESPN, or Face The Facts... be careful!
Back to Purdue... I do think it's a very interesting case. I like the usage of Raphael Davis and find it overdue. As stated in the past, Terone Johnson had a low ceiling and held the team back during his time at the school.. the other name that needs to be added to the conversation of this season is freshman Vince Edwards. Enjoyed watching him put up strong numbers in high school and travel, and he's done extremely well as a true frosh this year.
As for their 4 top 50 RPI wins.. Indiana is at risk of dropping below 50.. NC State helped their cause a lot over their past 3 games... but they are not a guaranteed top 50 either.
I think Purdue can be a 12-6 Big Ten regular season team that does not make the tournament (beat Illinois, lose the rest of their games, including first of the BTT).