BATON ROUGE — With just three matches remaining in the regular season, the LSU soccer team is making a strong case for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament as it is ranked No. 21 in the latest Ratings Percentage Index released Tuesday.
The RPI is the primary ratings system used by the NCAA when determining which teams will receive at-large bids into the NCAA Tournament following the regular season.
The Tigers are building a strong resume as they are currently 3-1-3 this season against teams in the top 50 of the RPI. They boast wins over No. 5 Tennessee (3-0), No. 31 Memphis (7-2) and No. 35 Miami (4-1), while they have drawn No. 10 Georgia, No. 19 Texas and No. 37 Ole Miss.
The LSU side has an opportunity to improve its standing as it takes on a pair of teams ranked among the top 30 of the RPI with matches against No. 15 South Carolina at home on Thursday at 7 p.m. CDT and No. 23 Florida on the road on Sunday at 11 a.m. The NCAA will update the RPI once more on Nov. 5 prior to the start of conference tournaments nationwide.
In addition, the Tigers moved up four spots to No. 20 in this week’s Soccer America Top 25 released Monday, while they are receiving votes in two national polls released Tuesday morning.
The squad is ranked No. 33 nationally in both the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top 25 and the Soccer Times Top 25. It also improved its place in the region as it is No. 5 in the Soccer Buzz Central Region Top 15 and No. 6 in the NSCAA Central Region Top 10.