UC Irvine keeps moving up in strength of schedule rankings

UC Irvine is continuing to make its case for a possible NCAA Tournament at-large bid, especially in the strength of schedule criteria category.

The Anteaters following another victory versus a top-10 nationally ranked team during the weekend jumped one spot to No. 6 in the latest strength of schedule rankings that the NCAA released earlier this week.

Strength of schedule is one of the many pieces of criteria the selection committee uses to determine the NCAA Tournament field. It also is part of a mathematical formula to establish a team’s RPI ranking, along with winning percentage and opponent strength of schedule.

UC Irvine has the second-best strength of schedule rankings among teams under NCAA Tournament consideration, according to the latest Off the Block bracketology projections.

BYU leads all teams under consideration at No. 3 in the strength of schedule rankings. The Cougars also have the nation’s best opponent strength of schedule rankings.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE (April 3)
1. USC
2. UC San Diego
3. BYU
4. Pepperdine
5. Stanford
6. UC Irvine
7. Ohio State
8. UCLA
9. Penn State
10. Loyola
11. St. Francis
12. Long Beach State
13. Hawai’i
14. Lewis
15. McKendree
16. George Mason
17. CSUN
18. UC Santa Barbara
19. Grand Canyon
20. Lindenwood
21. Fort Wayne
22. Princeton
23. Cal Baptist
24. Quincy
25. Harvard
26. Erskine
27. Ball State
28. NJIT
29. Pfeiffer
30. Concordia-Irvine
31. Aldrson Broaddus
32. Sacred Heart
33. Charleston
34. North Greenville
35. Emmanuel
36. Barton
37. Mount Olive
38. Belmont Abbey
39. Lincoln Memorial
40. Limestone
41. Coker
42. Lees-McRae
43. King

OPPONENTS STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE (April 3)
1. Pepperdine
2. BYU
3. Concordia-Irvine
4. Hawai’i
5. UC Irvine
6. Long Beach State
7. UCLA
8. CSUN
9. USC
10. UC San Diego
11. Stanford
12. Ohio State
13. UC Santa Barbara
14. Loyola
15. Cal Baptist
16. Lewis
17. Grand Canyon
18. Ball State
19. McKendree
20. Fort Wayne
21. Penn State
22. St. Francis
23. Quincy
24. Lindenwood
25. Princeton
26. Harvard
27. Sacred Heart
28. NJIT
29. George Mason
30. Coker
31. Charleston
32. Mount Olive
33. Lees-McRae
34. Limestone
35. King
36. Barton
37. Belmont Abbey
38. North Greenville
39. Erskine
40. Alderson Broaddus
41. Lincoln Memorial
42. Emmanuel
43. Pfeiffer