Apr. 6—MORGANTOWN — Steve Sabins is a baseball coach with several calculations.
He can talk to you about spin rates on a curveball or exit velocity on a double to the gap.
The 25th-ranked Mountaineers just recently opened their 8, 200-square feet Biomechanics and Performance Center, which will use state-of-the-art technology to enhance performance and training capabilities.
When it comes to the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), that's the one calculation Sabins' interest wavers.
"I don't concentrate on it, " Sabins said. "My dad will talk to me about it and I'll tell him to knock it off. I hate it."
WVU (27-4, 7-3 Big 12) finished off its first Big 12 sweep of the season Saturday night after beating Utah in a doubleheader. The Mountaineers won Game 1, 6-4, and then 10-runned the Utes 14-4 in Game 2.
There were plenty of stars. Brodie Kresser combined for six hits in the two games. He hit a three-run home run in the first game and drove in four and then added another RBI in the second game.
Grant Hussey hit a home run in the second game. Jace Rineart went a combined 4 for 8.
Reese Bassinger was the pitching star of the day, going 4 2 /3 innings of relief in Game 1, while allowing three hits and no runs to earn his third win of the season.
Armani Guzman was the star in the field, as he somehow made a leaping grab over the foul-line railing in right field in the ninth inning of Game 1.
These are the numbers and performances Sabins can go on all day about.
They've all played a role in WVU having its best regular season so far since the Mountaineers went 29-1 in 1963.
Yet WVU currently sits at No. 30 in the RPI, a poll that calculates strength of schedule along with wins and losses. The RPI is a major tool used by the NCAA tournament selection committee.
Being in the top 30 is not a bad spot, but the Mountaineers also find themselves much closer to the middle-of-the pack of ACC teams rather than the premiere teams in the ACC or SEC.
They were tied for fourth in the Big 12 standings Sunday morning, just one game back of first-place Kansas State, yet are 18 spots behind Arizona in the RPI.
The major issue could come in May, if WVU were to continue to surge in the win column, but not in the RPI.
It wouldn't be a question of WVU getting placed into the NCAA tournament, but rather if the committee felt the Mountaineers are worthy of being one of the 16 regional hosts, like it was in 2019.
Where WVU gets hurt in the RPI is in its nonconference strength of schedule, which is ranked 252nd in the country. That's out of 307 teams.
"I do look at it, because it matters when you schedule, " Sabins said. "You're trying to get a real good understanding about road vs. neutral vs. home vs. how other teams are playing.
"The teams you played previously, you want them to perform well, so your strength of schedule goes up."
There are still six Big 12 series to be played and WVU still has 22 games remaining in the regular season.
WVU hosts Penn State (21-10) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday inside Kendrick Family Ballpark. The Nittany Lions are ranked 70th in the RPI. WVU will travel to Penn State on April 22, with both games being a solid opportunity for a strength-of-schedule boost.
WVU's biggest opportunity for a boost, according to the RPI, won't come until the end of the regular season, when the Mountaineers play both Kansas State and Kansas.
Why the RPI is not a major concern for Sabins is a story of focusing on what can be controlled.
He can't control how BYU, Oklahoma State or Utah plays the rest of the season. He can't control how many wins Pitt or Ohio State have in the days and weeks to come.
"I'm ...
