NEW WESTMINSTER – With the 2016-17 Canada West season at its midway point, the conference released its initial Rating Percentage Index (RPI) rankings for men's and women's basketball Tuesday.
The 2016-17 season marks the first time RPI will be used by Canada West to determine playoff seeding, as the top 12 men's and women's teams based on winning percentage will earn post-season berths, with RPI then used to account for the various strengths of regular season schedule.
The top four teams based on RPI will receive a bye in the first week of the playoffs, which will feature four best-of-three series. The following week will consist of four best-of-three quarter-finals, leading to the Final Four hosted by the highest remaining seed.
RPI will be calculated following the conclusion of each weekend's games and made public every Monday on the Canada West men's and women's basketball standings pages.
The RPI formula used for both men's and women's basketball is: RPI = 25% team winning percentage (WP) x 1.2 away win + 0.8 home win, 50% opponents' average winning percentage (OWP), and 25% opponents' opponent's average winning percentage (OOWP).
Topping the initial rankings are the Manitoba Bisons on the men's side and the Regina Cougars in women's play.
Manitoba earned the top spot on the men's side despite a 4-6 record at the break. The Bisons earned first in the rankings after playing the conference's toughest schedule during the first half, with their opponent's sporting a combined .833 winning percentage (OWP). The Bisons had far and away the toughest schedule in Canada West, after playing games against Calgary (7-1), Thompson Rivers (5-5), UBC (8-0), and first-place Alberta (10-0).
On the women's side, Regina topped the RPI rankings after a 6-2 start to the regular season. The defending Canada West runners-up lost to the defending national champion Huskies (4-4) and the MacEwan Griffins (4-6).
You can watch every game on the road to the Canada West Final Fours on Canada West TV with a basketball season pass.
To buy your basketball season pass, visit CanadaWest.tv.
CW men's basketball RPI rankings (As of December 13, 2016)
1. Manitoba 0.6398
2. Alberta 0.6388
3. Calgary 0.6334
4. UBC 0.6017
5. TRU 0.5493
6. Winnipeg 0.5257
7. Lethbridge 0.5231
8. Victoria 0.5137
9. Saskatchewan 0.5076
10. MacEwan 0.4862
11. UNBC 0.4660
12. MRU 0.4657
13. Regina 0.4435
14. Brandon 0.4237
15. UFV 0.3554
16. UBCO 0.3132
17. TWU 0.3088
CW women's basketball RPI rankings (As of December 13, 2016)
1. Regina 0.6233
2. Victoria 0.6194
3. Saskatchewan 0.6080
4. Winnipeg 0.5896
5. Alberta 0.5651
6. UBC 0.5438
7. UFV 0.5228
8. Brandon 0.5103
9. UNBC 0.5028
10. MacEwan 0.4910
11. Manitoba 0.4777
12. TWU 0.4747
13. Calgary 0.4658
14. Lethbridge 0.4121
15. TRU 0.3836
16. UBCO 0.3348
17. MRU 0.3018
