BleedGopher
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per Shooter:
Entering Saturday night's game at Southern California, the Gophers men's basketball team (9-1) was the 10th-best team in the country, based on RPI (rating percentage index) rankings by Rivals.com and CBSSports.com. Top-rated was Duke (8-0), which handed Minnesota its only defeat.
Gophers director of basketball operations Joe Esposito has much to do with Minnesota's RPI. With final approval by coach Tubby Smith, Esposito decides the Gophers' nonconference schedule.
"There's an art to this," Esposito said. "A lot of people call and ask me what the art is, but I'm not giving up the secret. It's like the special sauce at McDonald's."
RPI is a significant factor for the NCAA men's tournament selection committee. So Esposito tries to schedule teams coming off good seasons the previous year.
"That's because your RPI carries into the next year, so if you were 45 last year, you come into next year at 45," he said. "The better teams those teams play, the better their RPI is going to be. So we're looking for teams that are projected to have a good year, teams that could make the NCAA tournament."
Esposito also tries to schedule the best nonconference tournaments for the Gophers.
"This year we hit the jackpot with a real strong RPI tournament (Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas last month); our only loss was the No. 1 RPI team (Duke) in the country," he said.
Esposito began working four years ago on getting Minnesota into the Bahamas tournament.
"I'm already out four years from now for future tournaments," he said.
Next season, Minnesota will play in the Maui Invitational in Hawaii. Teams will include Syracuse and Gonzaga.
Virtually all teams with a 50 RPI or better earn berths in the NCAA tournament.
Gophers victories this season have included American, Toledo, Tennessee State, Richmond, North Florida and South Dakota State. Some are considered cupcake opponents.
Not to Esposito.
"North Florida shouldn't have been a cupcake -- two of their best players didn't play, and I projected them to win their league or be close when I scheduled them," Esposito said. "Hey, they kept it close for a while."
Minnesota won 87-59 at Williams Arena.
"I went out and got Tennessee State because I think they're loaded with talent," Esposito said. "They played in their (conference) championship game last year against Murray State. They had everybody back. I expect them to be (No.) 1 or 2 in the Ohio Valley this season.
"I went after American because I think they're going to have a good year in their league. Toledo is predicted to win their side of their league. I smile now every time Richmond wins because they're going to have a good RPI."
Esposito, 46, who came to Minnesota with Smith six years ago, said there often are bidding wars for opponents.
"I wanted Lehigh bad this year because they beat Duke in the NCAA tournament (last March) and had a strong RPI, but I couldn't get them," he said. "Everybody wanted to get them.
"I don't think we pay anybody more than $90,000 to come in, but these lower-level teams want to get as much money as they can, so they'll give you a crazy number (fee), then tell another school and it ends up in a bidding war. Everyone's looking for a lot of money, and we've got a budget and have to stay within certain limits.
"I'm constantly emailing, constantly calling, and teams are telling me, 'Well, we got this opportunity to play so and so for this amount of money,' and you're like, 'Great, then go and play them. But this is what I can offer.' People are trying to get hotel rooms thrown in, transportation, food. I mean, they're doing anything they can."
http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_22154102/charley-walters-my-games-taken-off-vikings-qb
Go Gophers!!
Entering Saturday night's game at Southern California, the Gophers men's basketball team (9-1) was the 10th-best team in the country, based on RPI (rating percentage index) rankings by Rivals.com and CBSSports.com. Top-rated was Duke (8-0), which handed Minnesota its only defeat.
Gophers director of basketball operations Joe Esposito has much to do with Minnesota's RPI. With final approval by coach Tubby Smith, Esposito decides the Gophers' nonconference schedule.
"There's an art to this," Esposito said. "A lot of people call and ask me what the art is, but I'm not giving up the secret. It's like the special sauce at McDonald's."
RPI is a significant factor for the NCAA men's tournament selection committee. So Esposito tries to schedule teams coming off good seasons the previous year.
"That's because your RPI carries into the next year, so if you were 45 last year, you come into next year at 45," he said. "The better teams those teams play, the better their RPI is going to be. So we're looking for teams that are projected to have a good year, teams that could make the NCAA tournament."
Esposito also tries to schedule the best nonconference tournaments for the Gophers.
"This year we hit the jackpot with a real strong RPI tournament (Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas last month); our only loss was the No. 1 RPI team (Duke) in the country," he said.
Esposito began working four years ago on getting Minnesota into the Bahamas tournament.
"I'm already out four years from now for future tournaments," he said.
Next season, Minnesota will play in the Maui Invitational in Hawaii. Teams will include Syracuse and Gonzaga.
Virtually all teams with a 50 RPI or better earn berths in the NCAA tournament.
Gophers victories this season have included American, Toledo, Tennessee State, Richmond, North Florida and South Dakota State. Some are considered cupcake opponents.
Not to Esposito.
"North Florida shouldn't have been a cupcake -- two of their best players didn't play, and I projected them to win their league or be close when I scheduled them," Esposito said. "Hey, they kept it close for a while."
Minnesota won 87-59 at Williams Arena.
"I went out and got Tennessee State because I think they're loaded with talent," Esposito said. "They played in their (conference) championship game last year against Murray State. They had everybody back. I expect them to be (No.) 1 or 2 in the Ohio Valley this season.
"I went after American because I think they're going to have a good year in their league. Toledo is predicted to win their side of their league. I smile now every time Richmond wins because they're going to have a good RPI."
Esposito, 46, who came to Minnesota with Smith six years ago, said there often are bidding wars for opponents.
"I wanted Lehigh bad this year because they beat Duke in the NCAA tournament (last March) and had a strong RPI, but I couldn't get them," he said. "Everybody wanted to get them.
"I don't think we pay anybody more than $90,000 to come in, but these lower-level teams want to get as much money as they can, so they'll give you a crazy number (fee), then tell another school and it ends up in a bidding war. Everyone's looking for a lot of money, and we've got a budget and have to stay within certain limits.
"I'm constantly emailing, constantly calling, and teams are telling me, 'Well, we got this opportunity to play so and so for this amount of money,' and you're like, 'Great, then go and play them. But this is what I can offer.' People are trying to get hotel rooms thrown in, transportation, food. I mean, they're doing anything they can."
http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_22154102/charley-walters-my-games-taken-off-vikings-qb
Go Gophers!!
