Yesterday’s Victory Should Give Harvard Higher Seed

The Harvard women’s basketball team’s 58-42 victory over Dartmouth last night did more than close the regular season on a happy note—it also assured the Crimson of a higher seed in the NCAA tournament.

With the win, Harvard’s Ratings Percentage Index (RPI)—a weighted average of its team’s record, its opponents’ records and its opponents’ opponents’ records—stands at 0.5640, which should translate into a ranking in the low 60s nationally. That should be high enough for a 14th seed in the tourney. With more tournament upsets and some favoritism from the selection committee, the Crimson could even manage a 13th seed. Such a high seed allows Harvard to avoid powerhouses such as UConn, Tennessee, Stanford, Duke and Oklahoma in the first round.

Among the schools that already have an automatic ticket for the dance are several teams that will probably be seeded below the Crimson because of their three-digit RPI rankings—Liberty, Austin Peay and Oakland.

The Flames earned their bid with a 57-33 win over Coastal Carolina in the Big South tournament. Liberty is ranked 101st in the RPI.

Austin Peay, with an RPI ranking of 111, won the Ohio Valley conference to earn a tourney berth in lieu of Eastern Kentucky, whose RPI rivals the Crimson’s.

Oakland, 156th in the RPI as of yesterday morning, won the Mid-Continent conference last night with a 52-40 win over Valparaiso, who likely would have been seeded above the Crimson had it made the tournament.

There are also four conferences whose conference champions are assured of being seeded below the Crimson, because none of their teams have an RPI within 50 spots of the Crimson’s.

In the Atlantic Sun conference, Georgia State, which had an RPI ranking of 133 as of yesterday morning, is the most likely champion. The top Big Sky, MEAC, and Northeast teams had RPI rankings of 109, 114, and 161 respectively.

Harvard’s company in the early-teen seeds will likely include Temple, Wisconsin—Green Bay, and Chattanooga, which all have RPI rankings within 15 spots of the Crimson. More specific seedings are determined by criteria other than the RPI.

With a 13 or 14 seed, Harvard will play some team the tournament selection committee ranks somewhere between ninth and 16th in the country.

In recent days, the chances that the Crimson would play a nearby opponent fell to nearly zero, with neither Boston College nor Notre Dame pulling off sufficiently impressive performances in the Big East tournament. The first two rounds of the tournament are played at the home arena of the minibracket’s highest seed.

The Big 12 remains the most likely conference to produce the Crimson’s first-round opponent. Texas, Baylor, Texas Tech, Kansas St., Iowa St. and Colorado are the possible foes.

Minnesota, sophomore forward Hana Peljto’s preferred destination, is also an outside possibility. The Gophers’ RPI of 17 puts them in the running, but their Big Ten tournament loss greatly injured their chances.

All in all, Harvard has assured that it won’t be a bottom seed, and it will hear on Sunday where the tournament takes it.