It's been a rough couple days for the Hokies' RPI. They gave away the game at the end against Miami (not only "what is Justin Robinson doing trying to poke away the ball from behind in that situation?" but also "Why is Chris Clarke launching a 60-foot three-pointer with more than two seconds still on the clock?"), and a lot of other results have gone against them Friday and yesterday.
It's not catastrophic - they should be a tournament lock regardless at this point - but with an RPI of 51, there's still some danger (and certainly a likelihood of a much lower seed than they'd want) without a bit of help going forward.
Radford v. Liberty (1 p.m. ESPN)
The Highlanders need to do anything they can to boost Virginia Tech's RPI, and also earning the Big South championship gives VT a win over a tournament team, still an important criterion in the eyes of the committee. This is a much-needed result, and Radford is a slight favorite here.
Wichita State v. Cincinnati (Noon CBS)
You need Wichita State here, though it's not a hugely important game. They're a non-conference team for Notre Dame, and the Irish could drop out of Quadrant I if a bunch of results don't go well for them in the next couple days (thanks to beating a Pitt team that will likely drag the RPI down slightly and then (hopefully) a loss to the Hokies on Wednesday). You want that risk to be mitigated as much as possible.
Delaware v. Northeastern (6:00 p.m.)
For the same Irish-related reasons as above, you want the Blue Hens to win this one.
Illinois State v. Loyola-Chicago (2:05 p.m. CBS)
Same reasoning, different Hokies common opponent. Ole Miss is on the verge of dropping from Quadrant I to Quadrant II, and you want to avoid that happening by seeing their non-conference opponents do well.
At this point, Iowa is almost certain to drop back into Quadrant IV (but results next week might pop them back up into III), but Ole Miss and Notre Dame are still salvageable, and of course a Radford win has a bit more direct an effect on the Hokies' RPI, which could use some help.
It's not catastrophic - they should be a tournament lock regardless at this point - but with an RPI of 51, there's still some danger (and certainly a likelihood of a much lower seed than they'd want) without a bit of help going forward.
Radford v. Liberty (1 p.m. ESPN)
The Highlanders need to do anything they can to boost Virginia Tech's RPI, and also earning the Big South championship gives VT a win over a tournament team, still an important criterion in the eyes of the committee. This is a much-needed result, and Radford is a slight favorite here.
Wichita State v. Cincinnati (Noon CBS)
You need Wichita State here, though it's not a hugely important game. They're a non-conference team for Notre Dame, and the Irish could drop out of Quadrant I if a bunch of results don't go well for them in the next couple days (thanks to beating a Pitt team that will likely drag the RPI down slightly and then (hopefully) a loss to the Hokies on Wednesday). You want that risk to be mitigated as much as possible.
Delaware v. Northeastern (6:00 p.m.)
For the same Irish-related reasons as above, you want the Blue Hens to win this one.
Illinois State v. Loyola-Chicago (2:05 p.m. CBS)
Same reasoning, different Hokies common opponent. Ole Miss is on the verge of dropping from Quadrant I to Quadrant II, and you want to avoid that happening by seeing their non-conference opponents do well.
At this point, Iowa is almost certain to drop back into Quadrant IV (but results next week might pop them back up into III), but Ole Miss and Notre Dame are still salvageable, and of course a Radford win has a bit more direct an effect on the Hokies' RPI, which could use some help.
