The Schwach Indicator: March 3

This is the eighth week of the Schwach Indicator standings. For those of you who missed the explanation of this new evaluation tool, here's a quick recap.

As the NCAA tournament approaches every March, one starts hearing college basketball experts talk a lot about top 50 and top 100 wins when discussing a team's possible seed or whether or not a school deserves to be in the Big Dance at all.

I think these two criteria are important as well, but they're not perfect. Why? Because not all top 100 wins are created equal. 

So I set out to create a more precise evaluation system in which teams aren't grouped by 50 or 100, but individually according to their RPI.

I enlisted the help of two friends: Brad Wachtel, director of operations at Hoop Group, a New Jersey-based company that organizes basketball camps and runs an NCAA preseason tournament; and Mike Sverdlov, a computer programmer for New York Life.

We came up with the following formula.

For each victory, a team receives the number of points equal to their opponent's RPI rank subtracted from 344. So if you beat the RPI's 144th-ranked team, you receive 200 points. Beat them at a neutral site, and you multiply that number by 1.25. Beat them on the road and multiply the number by 1.5.

For each loss, a team receives a deduction of the exact number of points equal to their opponent's RPI rank. So you better not lose to the RPI's 300th-ranked team, or you'll lose 300 points. Lose to the top team in the country? No sweat, you drop only one point. But lose at home, and that number is multiplied by 1.5.

This way teams are rewarded for beating better teams (especially on the road) and punished for losing to worse teams (especially at home). 

Check out Mosang Miles's latest slideshow article grouping teams by conferences and ranking the leagues based on the Schwach Indicator.

Without further ado, let's get to the rankings through action on Monday, March 2.

1    Connecticut    8037.25
2    Pittsburgh    7226.00
3    North Carolina    7043.25
4    Memphis    6975.25
5    Duke    6956.00
6    Oklahoma    6914.75
7    Michigan State    6747.00
8    Louisville    6225.00
9    Villanova    6062.50
10    Xavier    5776.00
11    Kansas    5735.00
12    Wake Forest    5472.00
13    Clemson    5468.50
14    Florida State    5466.25
15    Illinois    5387.75
16    Marquette    5308.00
17    Washington    5280.00
18    Butler    5256.50
19    LSU    5222.50
20    UCLA    5206.00
21    Creighton    5129.00
22    West Virginia    5068.50
23    Missouri    5019.75
24    Purdue    4993.00
25    Arizona State    4983.50
26    Syracuse    4910.00
27    Gonzaga    4827.00
28    Brigham Young    4724.00
29    Utah    4719.50
30    Siena    4685.50
31    California    4662.50
32    Dayton    4652.75
33    Texas    4503.75
34    Tennessee    4333.75
35    Boston College    4255.75
36    Niagara    4126.75
37    Wisconsin    4107.75
38    Saint Mary's    4018.75
39    Minnesota    4005.75
40    Utah State    4004.00
41    Texas A&M    3993.75
42    Ohio State    3968.00
43    Rhode Island    3956.75
44    Oklahoma State    3948.25
45    UNLV    3868.00
46    Penn State    3796.00
47    UAB    3774.00
48    Maryland    3601.75
49    Georgetown    3595.25
50    South Carolina    3559.00
51    Virginia Tech    3536.25
52    Arizona    3492.75
53    Illinois State    3473.75
54    Cincinnati    3432.50
55    Providence    3379.25
56    Florida    3367.75
57    Davidson    3365.25
58    Temple    3342.25
59    Kentucky    3339.75
60    Northern Iowa    3334.25
61    New Mexico    3282.00
62    Kansas State    3266.00
63    Michigan    3252.75
64    Tulsa    3215.50
65    Miami (FL)    3147.25
66    Virginia Commonwealth    3091.75
67    USC    3070.00
68    San Diego State    2969.50
69    Washington State    2866.25
70    Wisconsin-Green Bay    2854.75
71    Vermont    2799.50
72    George Mason    2749.50
73    Northeastern    2731.00
74    Western Kentucky    2730.25
75    Notre Dame    2642.50
76    Auburn    2629.00
77    Northwestern    2561.00
78    Cleveland State    2468.50
79    Mississippi State    2464.75
80    Baylor    2397.00
81    Old Dominion    2370.00
82    Hofstra    2359.00
83    Vanderbilt    2343.50
84    UTEP    2317.00
85    Houston    2258.25
86    Duquesne    2258.00
87    Arkansas-Little Rock    2238.00
88    Stanford    2231.50
89    Nebraska    2153.00
90    Wright State    2046.50
91    La Salle    1999.50
92    Saint Joseph's    1979.75
93    Bradley    1937.00
94    Evansville    1931.50
95    Mississippi    1914.25
96    Buffalo    1899.50
97    North Carolina State    1875.50
98    Seton Hall    1826.75
99    Wyoming    1815.25
100    American University    1782.50
101    Iowa    1780.50
102    Binghamton    1776.50
103    Nevada    1660.00
104    Charleston    1613.75
105    Drake    1554.75
106    Miami (OH)    1545.75
107    Saint Louis    1516.50
108    Alabama    1514.25
109    Fairfield    1498.00
110    Rider    1497.50
111    Drexel    1495.50
112    Boise State    1387.00
113    St. John's    1328.00
114    North Dakota State    1326.75
115    Weber State    1289.75
116    Arkansas    1223.50
117    James Madison    1131.50
118    UCF    1069.25
119    Portland    1043.25
120    Milwaukee    1028.50
121    Stephen F. Austin    1021.50
122    Troy    997.00
123    TCU    994.75
124    Oregon State    958.50
125    Virginia Military    931.00
126    Akron    917.00
127    Virginia    890.00
128    Manhattan    859.00
129    North Texas    823.00
130    Wichita State    818.75
131    Iowa State    816.50
132    Oakland    798.50
133    Southern Miss    793.00
134    Texas Tech    769.00
135    Robert Morris    750.50
136    San Diego    737.00
137    Portland State    726.75
138    Richmond    695.50
139    Cornell    652.00
140    Southern Illinois    648.50
141    New Mexico State    611.00
142    Liberty    554.25
143    Boston University    524.00
144    Bowling Green    502.00
145    Illinois-Chicago    491.00
146    Charlotte    444.00
147    Georgia Tech    372.50
148    Idaho    354.00
149    Tennessee-Martin    351.75
150    Citadel    343.00
151    Oral Roberts    308.00
152    St. Bonaventure    283.50
153    South Alabama    272.25
154    South Florida    254.50
155    Kent State    234.50
156    Marshall    217.50
157    Radford    146.50
158    Oregon    138.25
159    Mount St. Mary's    119.00
160    Massachusetts    113.50
161    Morgan State    36.75
162    Pacific    2.00
163    Ohio    -5.50
164    Middle Tennessee State    -5.75
165    Long Beach State    -28.00
166    Navy    -40.00
167    Wofford    -123.00
168    Texas A&M-CC    -171.00
169    George Washington    -172.50
170    Murray State    -176.00
171    Sam Houston State    -176.00
172    East Tennessee State    -177.00
173    Tulane    -194.00
174    Belmont    -223.00
175    Georgia    -229.00
176    Rutgers    -234.50
177    Louisiana Tech    -295.50
178    East Carolina    -313.50
179    Texas-San Antonio    -331.50
180    Iona    -335.50
181    Santa Clara    -339.00
182    Albany    -404.00
183    Missouri State    -426.00
184    Montana    -431.50
185    Loyola (MD)    -444.00
186    Loyola (IL)    -466.75
187    Texas-Arlington    -495.50
188    Eastern Kentucky    -519.00
189    DePaul    -527.25
190    Colorado State    -536.00
191    Holy Cross    -549.50
192    Cal State Northridge    -558.50
193    UC Riverside    -570.50
194    Stony Brook    -586.50
195    Jacksonville    -602.00
196    Nicholls State    -611.50
197    Chattanooga    -679.00
198    Western Carolina    -681.50
199    UC Santa Barbara    -722.00
200    Morehead State    -789.75
201    Alabama State    -816.75
202    UMBC    -839.75
203    Indiana    -847.00
204    Indiana State    -849.50
205    Delaware    -900.00
206    Austin Peay    -945.00
207    Hawaii    -948.00
208    San Jose State    -959.50
209    Lamar    -972.25
210    New Hampshire    -1091.00
211    Idaho State    -1098.00
212    North Carolina-Asheville    -1129.00
213    Canisius    -1135.50
214    Colorado    -1138.50
215    Sacred Heart    -1164.50
216    St. Peter's    -1212.00
217    Cal State Fullerton    -1214.25
218    Mercer    -1215.25
219    IUPUI    -1242.50
220    San Francisco    -1284.00
221    Denver    -1364.75
222    Fresno State    -1377.75
223    Ball State    -1393.50
224    Florida International    -1415.00
225    Presbyterian    -1426.50
226    Montana State    -1428.00
227    Rice    -1453.75
228    Youngstown State    -1463.00
229    Long Island    -1464.00
230    Arkansas State    -1476.50
231    Lipscomb    -1527.50
232    Jackson State    -1594.25
233    Utah Valley    -1647.50
234    Valparaiso    -1660.50
235    Samford    -1662.50
236    Lehigh    -1688.50
237    Yale    -1690.50
238    UC Davis    -1698.00
239    Georgia State    -1737.00
240    Air Force    -1755.00
241    Towson    -1784.00
242    Eastern Washington    -1795.50
243    Harvard    -1807.00
244    William & Mary    -1816.50
245    IPFW    -1829.00
246    Gardner-Webb    -1907.00
247    Chicago State    -1919.50
248    Marist    -1941.00
249    Louisiana-Lafayette    -1989.00
250    UC Irvine    -2004.50
251    Coppin State    -2011.25
252    Texas State    -2014.50
253    Southern Methodist    -2032.50
254    Northern Colorado    -2052.25
255    Appalachian State    -2067.00
256    Winthrop    -2138.00
257    Campbell    -2166.50
258    North Carolina A&T    -2238.00
259    Wagner    -2253.50
260    New Orleans    -2262.00
261    Princeton    -2282.00
262    Stetson    -2290.00
263    Central Connecticut State    -2323.50
264    Longwood    -2340.25
265    McNeese State    -2357.50
266    Savannah State    -2397.00
267    Tennessee State    -2438.00
268    Columbia    -2463.75
269    South Carolina State    -2544.50
270    Hampton    -2544.75
271    Quinnipiac    -2546.50
272    Western Michigan    -2548.00
273    South Dakota State    -2568.50
274    Pennsylvania    -2593.00
275    Elon    -2603.00
276    Southern Utah    -2610.50
277    North Carolina-Wilmington    -2631.25
278    Georgia Southern    -2655.75
279    Detroit    -2668.00
280    Maine    -2792.75
281    Louisiana-Monroe    -2806.50
282    Eastern Illinois    -2826.50
283    Jacksonville State    -2857.50
284    Pepperdine    -2860.00
285    Cal State Bakersfield    -2883.00
286    Arkansas-Pine Bluff    -2884.00
287    Bethune-Cookman    -2903.25
288    Southeastern Louisiana    -2933.00
289    Prairie View A&M    -2993.50
290    Northern Illinois    -2997.50
291    Coastal Carolina    -3108.00
292    Northwestern State    -3139.50
293    Centenary    -3153.00
294    USC Upstate    -3182.25
295    Fordham    -3209.00
296    Northern Arizona    -3222.00
297    Tennessee Tech    -3267.50
298    Cal Poly    -3269.75
299    St. Francis (NY)    -3339.50
300    Central Arkansas    -3388.75
301    Florida A&M    -3456.75
302    Central Michigan    -3470.50
303    Texas-Pan American    -3494.25
304    Toledo    -3518.50
305    Brown    -3540.00
306    Bucknell    -3589.00
307    Army    -3593.00
308    Norfolk State    -3618.00
309    Florida Atlantic    -3703.00
310    Hartford    -3709.25
311    Dartmouth    -3711.00
312    Charleston Southern    -3733.50
313    Lafayette    -3785.50
314    Colgate    -3828.00
315    Alabama A&M    -3846.00
316    Howard    -3917.00
317    Florida Gulf Coast    -4004.00
318    UMKC    -4005.75
319    Loyola Marymount    -4043.50
320    Bryant University    -4132.25
321    Western Illinois    -4135.50
322    Delaware State    -4235.00
323    Houston Baptist    -4240.50
324    Furman    -4263.00
325    High Point    -4276.50
326    Southern University    -4369.50
327    Eastern Michigan    -4400.00
328    Mississippi Valley State    -4555.00
329    North Florida    -4607.00
330    UNC Greensboro    -4652.50
331    Fairleigh Dickinson    -4762.50
332    Monmouth    -4765.25
333    St. Francis (PA)    -4776.00
334    Grambling State    -5014.25
335    Winston-Salem    -5107.00
336    Texas Southern    -5415.00
337    Maryland-Eastern Shore    -5471.00
338    Alcorn State    -5546.50
339    Kennesaw State    -5653.50
340    North Carolina Central    -6001.50
341    Sacramento State    -6533.00
342    Southeast Missouri State    -6595.00
343    N.J.I.T.    -7796.00

Jordan Schwartz is Bleacher Report's New York Yankees Community Leader. His book "Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man" is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at [e-mail]