No love on Christmas

On Monday the RPI rankings (according to collegerpi.com) placed Philadelphia schools Drexel and Villanova in the top 10, at 7th and 9th, respectively. However, neither the Coaches or the AP top-25 polls that came out that day included either squad. Drexel was the 40th highest vote-getter, while Villanova garnered none in the AP poll. Neither team got any top-25 votes in the Coaches poll. So far this year, Drexel (17th toughest strength of schedule) has beaten then No. 23 Syracuse, as well as Villanova and Temple on the road in its last three games. Villanova (9th toughest SOS) has beaten Navy, as well as Penn, Iowa and Oklahoma all on the road.

A team like Louisiana State (7-3, 71 RPI) has beaten no one in the RPI top-50 (and lost to the two teams from there it faced - Wichita State and Washington) but is still ranked AP No. 17. The rankings, especially in the early-mid season, mean little, and LSU will have to get some quality wins to keep its lofty rank. Drexel and Villanova's high RPIs are most likely due to their quality road wins, as unlike in the AP and Coaches polls, road wins have over double the weight of home triumphs.

As of Sunday, Penn was ranked as 123rd in the RPI, though different sources vary the Quakers' position a few spots in each of their ratings systems. Penn is clearly hurt by the road weighting system, as they play far more games at home than away.

Not mentioning Penn's clash with No. 2 North Carolina, here are some notable upcoming City six matchups over the break. RPI is in parenthesis.

Dec. 28: George Mason (103) @ Drexel (7)

Dec. 30: Temple (108) @ Villanova (9)

Jan. 2: Temple (108) @ No. 5 Duke (3)

Jan. 6: DePaul (50) @ Villanova (9)

Jan. 6: Mass. (91) @ La Salle (239)

Jan. 7: St. Joe's (150) @ Charlotte (129)

Jan. 8: Villanova (9) @ Georgetown (67)