Arkansas’ unbeaten women’s basketball team debuted at No. 1 in the first release of the NCAA’s Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) rankings on Tuesday.
It is believed to be the Razorbacks’ first time to be ranked No. 1 in the RPI, which measures strength of schedule and how a team performs against the schedule.
Arkansas (6-0) is coming off consecutive victories in Las Vegas, including a 77-67 upset of No. 16 Iowa, which stretched the Razorbacks’ winning streak to 28 consecutive nonconference regular-season games.
“To have the No. 1 RPI after the first month of the season says that you’ve played some hard games away from your building,” said Jimmy Dykes, who is in his first season as Arkansas’ women’s coach. “No one’s going to give us anything, I know that.
“They’ve earned it, and so now the target on our backs gets even bigger.”
The Razorbacks, who are tied at No. 25 with DePaul in The Associated Press poll, host South Dakota State on Thursday and Rutgers on Sunday.
“Obviously we’re honored to be in the Top 25 … but it’s only Dec. 2, and if we look too much into that we’re going to fall to a team that we shouldn’t,” senior guard Calli Berna said. “So we have to be excited about it, but we don’t look at that too much.”
The Razorbacks lead a pack of SEC teams in the top 20 of the RPI rankings, including No. 2 Kentucky, No. 11 Mississippi State, No. 14 Texas A&M and No. 18 South Carolina.