#12 Southern Miss continues momentum but major RPI hurdles are ahead
The #12 Golden Eagles (#8 in the RPI according to Warren Nolan) are coming off another solid weekend series win on the road at South Alabama. They will look to continue that as they approach the end off the regular season with the Sun Belt Tournament in Montgomery Alabama in a little over three weeks.
As of Tuesday morning the Golden Eagles are sitting at #8 in the RPI. This writer can’t remember in recent history when the black and gold posted such a high RPI so late in the season. Yes, there was a slight drop in wins for about three weeks, but with a non-conference RPI at #4 and overall strength of schedule at #6 the guys have been able to maintain such a high RPI.
The issue happens to be the RPI of teams remaining. According to Warren Nolan, the Golden Eagles’ next opponents RPI are just not good. Tulane is the highest at 132, ULM is sitting at 142, James Madison is right below at 149, and Grogia Southern has an eye-popping low RPI of 223. With low RPI’s like this even series wins and possibly sweeps could see the Golden Eagles drop down in the RPI.
The main way to avoid any major RPI drops is to just win. Winning the next ten straight in college baseball is tough but the Golden Eagles have shown in years past it can be done. It should also be noted that it’s not only how the Golden Eagles play but their past opponents as well. Fans of the black and gold, as tough as it may be for them, need to pull for Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and the likes of Alabama as the season closes out. Any success they have will only help the RPI of Southern Miss and vice versa. It might be tough to consider, but how those teams finish might have a say in what seed Southern Miss finds themselves in as the regular season closes. The Golden Eagles will have one more chance to bolster their RPI once the SBC Tournament begins. They will have a chance to play the better teams in the conference which usually means higher RPI’s at a neutral site.
It all starts tonight as #12 Southern Miss will travel down to New Orleans and take on Tulane. First pitch is scheduled for 6 P.M. on ESPN Plus.
