I don't think I fully understand how teams are selected and customer service is of no use in explaining things beyond a condescending couple of responses. I feel like my team shouldn't be in the NT, but I don't understand how the last two teams in should be in over my team. I feel like they would be seeded below me in the PI.

Mount Olive:
http://whatifsports.com/hd/TeamProfile/Ratings.aspx?tid=7209

Fairmont St.:
http://whatifsports.com/hd/TeamProfile/Ratings.aspx?tid=7421

Central St.:
http://whatifsports.com/hd/TeamProfile/Ratings.aspx?tid=7463

Customer service told me to look at knowledge base article #352. When I told them that didn't really answer my question, they just quoted exactly what that article says. I'm through talking to them. It's a waste of time. The actual users have a better feel of this anyway so I ask the general populace. All 3 of these teams look like PI teams to me at best. 2 of them made the NT as at large bids. What do you see in their profile that suggests that Fairmont St. and Central St. would be ranked higher than Mount Olive to earn that bid?

On further review, my RPI is just inflated. I have no good wins and a couple of bad losses. I see my profile being no better than those two. I still don't get the logic though. Why would this team not be in? N. Florida:

http://whatifsports.com/hd/TeamProfile/Ratings.aspx?tid=7354

Hopefully someone more tech savvy will clean this up to make it easier to compare.

it's all based on the projection report.

Posted by barretchap on 6/4/2015 11:26:00 PM (view original):
On further review, my RPI is just inflated. I have no good wins and a couple of bad losses. I see my profile being no better than those two. I still don't get the logic though. Why would this team not be in? N. Florida:

http://whatifsports.com/hd/TeamProfile/Ratings.aspx?tid=7354

Hopefully someone more tech savvy will clean this up to make it easier to compare.

probably because their best wins (and only 2 over rpi 100) are rpi 86...

Posted by colonels19 on 6/4/2015 11:29:00 PM (view original):
it's all based on the projection report.

Not enough wins against top 100 RPI or any ranked teams.  I'm just going to post #352 (below).  I think the answer is that RPI factors in to the value assigned to certain victories (so does wins against ranked opponents...even beyond top 25), but it is only a factor.  Colonels is right that the projection report provides the rankings that the game uses and, to some extent, your team's RPI matters more to your opponent's projection.  

National Tournament selection and seeding both rely on the same logic.

The logic for ranking teams for the postseason essentially calculates a score for each game on a team's schedule. This game score is determined by the following components:

• Result (win or loss)
• RPI rank of the opponent
• Top 25 rank of the opponent (this rank is actually calculated and used for all teams, even beyond the top 25)
• Score margin of the game
• Location (home, away, or neutral court)

There is also consideration given to record over the final 10 games as well as conference tournament performance.

 

Once the tournament field has been determined, then the seeding process will begin, using the same evaluation logic. Some teams may be moved slightly in order to avoid same-conference matchups early in the tournament.

Once the National Tournament bids have been handed out, the PostSeason Invitational teams are selected using the same process.

Note: teams must have a minimum of .500 win% to qualify for National Tournament at-large bids and a minimum .425 win% to qualify for the Postseason Invitational.

Barrett, You might be involved in the most unique NT ever produced by HD.
D2 Allen must have had absolutely no-one pull an upset in their conference tourneys. 
There has been one game played in the NT so the numbers have changed slightly, BUT
#1. Fairmont  is the #62 team on the projection report.
#2. Central State is the #63 team.
#3. Your team is the #71 team, you have no chance of making the NT at #71.
There was only one team with 13 wins in the first 64 teams, (unable to qualify for the NT).
I would have to guess this may be the first time in history the first 63 teams all made the NT in any division.
Very strange indeed.
I know this doesn't exactly answer the question of how they are better.... but if they are higher on the projection report, they just are, 
It might be the most accurate part of HD currently, and I doubt you would find many veteran coaches who really understand it that would argue otherwise.
The fact that you have the #62 RPI and they are #81 and #85 really doesn't matter any more. The projection report takes a much more in-depth look at your results of your past games and is not nearly as easy to manipulate as RPI is.

N.Florida was #64 and #63 was the cut-off.
N.Florida "should" be the #2 overall seed in the PIT behind Lake Sup State who was like #54 but only won 13 games.
There must have been 2 upset winners in all of Allen D2 conference tourneys. (teams who won the CT who would not have gotten an at-Large).

I haven't played a lot of D2 and don't really have a "feel" for what is normal on the projection report getting in but since D2 has fewer conferences than the rest, there are more at-large bids available and maybe therefore teams higher on the projection report make it in than other levels. In D1 if your past about 45 or 46... you're probably dancing in the PIT.

Posted by mizzou77 on 6/5/2015 4:27:00 PM (view original):
Barrett, You might be involved in the most unique NT ever produced by HD.
D2 Allen must have had absolutely no-one pull an upset in their conference tourneys. 
There has been one game played in the NT so the numbers have changed slightly, BUT
#1. Fairmont  is the #62 team on the projection report.
#2. Central State is the #63 team.
#3. Your team is the #71 team, you have no chance of making the NT at #71.
There was only one team with 13 wins in the first 64 teams, (unable to qualify for the NT).
I would have to guess this may be the first time in history the first 63 teams all made the NT in any division.
Very strange indeed.
I know this doesn't exactly answer the question of how they are better.... but if they are higher on the projection report, they just are, 
It might be the most accurate part of HD currently, and I doubt you would find many veteran coaches who really understand it that would argue otherwise.
The fact that you have the #62 RPI and they are #81 and #85 really doesn't matter any more. The projection report takes a much more in-depth look at your results of your past games and is not nearly as easy to manipulate as RPI is.

Just to clarify, projection report does not change after the postseason begins. 

But I echo the astonishment in seeing teams that low on the PR make the tourney. I have been snubbed with a sub-50 PR so this stings somewhere deep-down. 


Lastly, I'd like to share my opinion that none of these teams have any business in the national tournament. None of them beat anyone. I'd be happy to make the PIT if I were any one of those teams. Sorry that you missed the cut rather narrowly OP, but you're going to have to schedule a stronger non-conference schedule to get to the NT.