Terriers Just Miss Out on WNIT Bid
March 14, 2006 | Women's Basketball
BOSTON - The Boston University women's basketball season came to an official end on Monday when the Terriers were not among the 40 teams selected to play in the Women's National Invitational Tournament. BU finishes the year with an 18-12 record after falling to Hartford on Sunday in its fourth straight appearance in the America East Conference title game.
Ranked 76 among the 332 Division I teams in the latest Rating Percentage Index (RPI) from the Collegiate Basketball News, BU is the highest ranked team in the country to not be invited to play in a postseason tournament. Texas has an RPI of 52, but did not qualify for the WNIT due to its sub-.500 record (13-15). Texas Tech is ranked 63, but declined an invitation to the WNIT after not making the NCAA field.
RPI is derived from three component factors: Div. I winning percentage, schedule strength, and opponent's schedule strength.
Nineteen schools with RPIs lower than BU were selected to play in the WNIT, but seven of those earned automatic bids thanks to winning the regular-season title in their respective conferences. The Terriers had a higher strength of schedule rating than 30 of the WNIT invitees.
