Jerry Palm includes Xavier and Kentucky — but not UC — in his first projection of the NCAA Tournament field on his CollegeRPI.com Web site.
LOCAL RPI's
A look at Jerry Palm's predictions for teams of local interest: School (RPI): Prediction
• Kentucky (23): NCAA, 5th seed
• Indiana (28): NCAA, 10th seed • Cincinnati (30): NIT • Xavier (33): NCAA, 7th seed • Ohio State (52): NIT • Dayton (73): NIT • Miami (129): None
The Musketeers (33 RPI) are predicted to be a seventh seed as one of only two teams from the Atlantic 10 Conference in the NCAA field; St. Joseph's is the other. XU is 2-1 against top-50 teams and 5-2 against those in the top 100. The Musketeers have six remaining games against top-100 opponents: Temple (25), St. Joseph's (44), St. Bonaventure (64), Dayton twice (73) and Massachusetts (78).
The Wildcats (23 RPI) are predicted to be a fifth seed as one of seven Southeastern Conference teams in the NCAA field. UK is 5-7 against top-50 teams and 6-7 against those in the top 100. All 11 remaining regular-season games are against top-100 teams, including five games against the top 50: Tennessee (2), Georgia (8), Vanderbilt twice (29) and Mississippi State (32).
'RPI Guy' likes Xavier, Kentucky for NCAA
