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Check out everything you need to know about the college men’s volleyball bracketology so far this season and for the upcoming matches this weekend.
Conference RPI
Non-conference results are what ultimately determine a conference’s RPI ranking. The ranking is based on a conference’s combined winning percentage against NCAA opponents. Every conference match results in one winner and one loser, which in terms of conference winning percentage means it’s always guaranteed to be at .500. As a result, non-conference results are the greatest influence on a conference’s RPI rankings. Teams also benefit in their RPI ranking if they play in a league with a strong conference RPI because during the conference season they have an increased opportunity to play against teams with winning records and high RPI rankings. Below are the non-conference records for each NCAA Division I-II conference against other NCAA members this season.
| Conference | Record | Winning Pct. |
| 1. MPSF | 54-18 | .750 |
| 2. Big West | 44-27 | .620 |
| 3. EIVA | 35-25 | .583 |
| 4. MIVA | 39-31 | .557 |
| 5. NEC | 30-30 | .500 |
| 6. IVA | 20-22 | .476 |
| 7. ConfCarolinas | 14-26 | .350 |
| 8. ECC | 2-26 | .071 |
| 8. SIAC | 1-34 | .029 |
Strength of schedule
Strength of schedule is one of the criteria categories the selection committee uses to determine the NCAA Tournament field. In addition, a team’s strength of schedule is part of the formula used to determine the RPI rankings. Below are the teams projected to have the best strength of schedule at the end of the season. The projections are based on match results so far this season.
Projected end of season strength of schedule (as of Feb. 21)
1. UCLA
2. Stanford
3. UC Irvine
4. UC Santa Barbara
5. Pepperdine
6. USC
7. UC San Diego
8. Concordia
9. Grand Canyon
10. BYU
11. CSUN
12. Ohio State
13. Purdue Fort Wayne
14. Ball State
15. Harvard
16. McKendree
17. Lindenwood
18. Penn State
19. Lewis
20. Hawai’i
KPI rankings
The NCAA men’s volleyball committee this season added the KPI as a selection criteria category. The KPI is a ranking system that evaluates every match result on a scale with the best positive result receiving about a 1.0 score and the worst possible result garnering about a negative-1.0 score. Among the variables used to determine a match result score includes opponent’s winning percentage, opponent strength of schedule, point differential, match location.
KPI rankings (as of Feb. 21)
1. Grand Canyon
2. UCLA
3. UC Irvine
4. Hawai’i
5. Ohio State
6. Long Beach State
7. Penn State
8. Stanford
9. Pepperdine
10. USC
11. BYU
12. Loyola
13. Lincoln Memorial
14. McKendree
15. George Mason
16. North Greenville
17. Purdue Fort Wayne
18. Princeton
19. Ball State
20. UC Santa Barbara
Big bracketology matches this weekend
Below are the matches to watch this weekend that could have big implications on the bracketology at the end of the season.
| Match | Start time | Bracketology significance |
| UCLA at BYU | 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday | UCLA has a chance to pick up two quality road wins, and in the process remove BYU from the at-large bubble. |
| Stanford at Pepperdine | 6 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday | Five straight losses have been a crushing blow to the Cardinal at-large hopes. It’s not completely dashed, but Stanford can’t afford to lose this weekend. |
| Grand Canyon at USC | 7 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday | Grand Canyon can continue to strengthen its brackeology numbers, while a split or a sweep for USC will firmly place the Trojans on the at-large bubble. |