18 wins from 18 games, and the Akron Zips are the top-ranked team no matter where you look in the collegiate ranks. NSCAA and Soccer America both have the Zips on top, and the latest RPI released this week concurs. Having answered every question asked of them during the regular season, Akron now has a chance to run the table all the way to a NCAA championship.
The relatively weak MAC wasn't enough to punish Akron in the RPI, though it is still holding back other powers like UConn and Louisville. St. John's unranked in other polls, finds itself at 21 despite a rather lackluster 8-2-8 record. Connecticut and Louisville, both in the NSCAA top 10, sit at 32 and 34 in the RPI.
Once again, the ACC leads the way, with six teams sitting in the top 25. The Ivy League again represents well, and a highly-regarded Harvard team will have to back that come tournament time. Some of the surprising spots include Northwestern at the third spot — how they are ranked ahead of the Tar Heels seems impossible to explain — and the previously mentioned ranking of St. John's.
Here's a look at the top 25 from the latest RPI:
- Akron, Mid-American (18-0-0)
- Wake Forest, ACC (13-3-2)
- Northwestern, Big Ten (10-3-4)
- North Carolina, ACC (13-2-2)
- UCLA, Pac-10 (10-3-3)
- Indiana, Big Ten (9-8-1)
- Virginia, ACC (12-3-2)
- Harvard, Ivy League (12-3-1)
- San Diego, West Coast (12-4-1)
- Tulsa, C-USA (11-4-2)
- Ohio St, Big Ten (10-4-4)
- Duke, ACC (12-5-0)
- Penn St, Big Ten (10-6-2)
- Princeton, Ivy (8-5-3)
- Loyola Marymount, West Coast (9-8-1)
- Maryland, ACC (12-4-2)
- Michigan St, Big Ten (10-6-2)
- Stanford, Pac-10 (10-4-2)
- Butler, Horizon (13-2-1)
- Monmouth, Northeast (16-1-1)
- St. John's, Big East (8-2-8)
- San Diego St, Pac-10 (6-6-5)
- Charlotte, Atlantic 10 (11-3-4)
- Boston College, ACC (11-7-0)
- North Carolina St, ACC (12-5-1)
What do you think of the latest rankings? Glad to see Akron holding the top spot? Can they extend their unbeaten run deep into the tournament?
Share your thoughts below.
Computer numbers are always a bit off. Polls by observant members of the community are usually a better gauge.
Why is IU #6? Look at their schedule- how about *non-conference* games against St. John’s, Wake Forest, Akron, Kentucky, Butler, then throw in Notre Dame, Louisville, New Mexico and yes , even UCSB.
That’s 5 top 25 non-conference games, and 9 total in the top 32. And that’s still not counting the Big Ten foes. Did your team schedule 9 top 32 teams? If so, kudos- but then you’d have to also play in the Big ten to get this schedule- which computers love. But this is how computer rankings work.
Now, I am a die-hard Indiana fan, and I am quite sure that a UCSB-IU rematch would just end up in another Hoosier loss. It’s why the games are played, folks.
Akron looks to deserve the top slot (for now!) but the rankings look a bit silly otherwise.
UCSB will play for the Big West Championship Saturday but they are ranked 32nd (off the bottom of your top 25 list). After Wednesday’s victory I believe their record is 15-3-2, far better than most of the “top 25” teams listed.
UCSB 32nd 15-3-2
Indiana 6th 9-8-1
Hmmm…
If you watch UCSB play, you can see it’s no fluke.
Go Penn State!
Interesting note: Ohio boasts the #1 high school soccer team, #1 college team, and the Crew was the #1 MLS team this year…
The fact that UCSB is top 5 (4 in 4 polls) in all polls and not high up in the RPI is BS. They focused their OOC schedule on playing solid team from big conferences AND beating them. To be a 30 anything is rubbish.
The Big Ten is well represented too…
1 in the top 3
2 in the top 6
3 in the top 11
4 in the top 13
5 in the top 17
and if you count Akron… the honorary Big Ten champ at 5-0-0… bump all of those numbers up 1.
Go Zips!
maybe because they play a strong strength of schedule in and out of conference.. human rankings aren’t always very objective
Did the Big 10 make this RPI table?… Honestly, ridiculous.
UCSB No. 3 in nation in many rankings… not even ranked? This is worse than BCS
Having three other Big 10 teams in the top 13 helps.
Indiana is one game above .500 and is in the top ten…I don’t get it.
Glad to see NC State back on the national map after a decade of sucking. The school that gave us Tab Ramos, Roy Lassiter, and Pablo Mastroeni shouldn’t be *that* bad.
Go Zips!