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You are here: Home / All The Lingo / Sports Terms That Begin With ‘R’ / Rating Percentage Index (RPI)

Rating Percentage Index (RPI)

rat*ing per*cent*age in*dex

What Is The Definition Of Rating Percentage Index (RPI) In Basketball?

1. A rating percentage index is used to rank teams by wins, losses, and the difficulty or ease of opposing teams, also known as strength of schedule.

What Is Rating Percentage Index (RPI) In Basketball? Definition & Meaning On SportsLingo

Rating percentage index, or RPI, is used in NCAA basketball, baseball, softball, hockey, soccer, lacrosse, and volleyball.

RPI was initially developed for men’s basketball in 1981 to help select and place teams in playoffs and adapted by other sports in 1982.

To calculate an RPI in basketball, the team’s winning percentage is 25%, added to their opponents’ winning percentage, then added to the opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage. Both factors that include the opponents’ winning percentage is what creates the strength of schedule. Team winning percentage is created by dividing the teams’ wins by the number of games played. 

The following is how you calculate an RPI:

RPI= (Winning Percentage X .25) + (Opponents’ Winning Percentage X .50) + (Opponents’ Opponents’ Winning Percentage X .25) 

The opponents’ winning percentage is created by the average winning percentage for each opposing team, with the exception that all the games against the initial team are taken out of the equation. The opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage is created by taking the average of each opposing team’s opponents’ winning percentage.

The NCAA used this system until 2018, where they replaced the selection part with the NCAA Evaluation Tool for Division I men’s basketball tournaments. The new tool is only used during the selection committee. The NCAA releases their RPI calculations in January, and sources such as ESPN and CNN release their RPI calculation more frequently. 

Sport The Term Is Used

1. Basketball

Abbreviated As:

1. RPI

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