Assessing Oregon State's RPI Halfway Through

In order to obtain a national seed for the second straight season, Oregon State will need to win the Pac-12 title and finish with an RPI rank in the Top 20. The latter will be much more challenging. The Beavers currently sit at 33rd, a lower ranking than usual for a 25-7 team. They can thank the likes of Portland and Northern Illinois, who are at 20 and 15 games under .500, respectively.

What they need to do is win series. The Beavers won all but one Pac-12 series last year, and will need to do the same, or better, in 2014. They also need to avoid any losses against the lower ranked teams like Sacramento State (145), Portland (238), and USC (77). Last night's loss against #88 Washington State hurts, but rebounding with two victories this weekend can make up for it.

Finally, Oregon State needs its non-conference opponents to step up and do well in conference play. Indiana and Nebraska have done a good job at that, currently sitting at first and fourth in the Big Ten. And then there's the WCC, where the three opponents OSU has faced are all in the bottom half of the standings.

Taking a quick look at Oregon State's resume, they have four quality wins against Nebraska, Indiana, Washington, and Arizona State. There will be more chances coming up soon with five games against Oregon, three against UCLA, and three against Washington. Nine of those 11 will be played in Corvallis, giving the Beavs an excellent chance of climbing up the ranks of the national seeds.