The Owls didn’t envision being 7-8 at this point in the season. That’s been well-documented.

But if there’s any sort of solace to take from that rough start, one game into the Atlantic 10 Conference season it’s this. Temple had one of the most ridiculous RPI’s in the nation, and certainly the toughest in the conference.

RPIRatings.com has two different sets of numbers, one on their main page, and another by Jeff Sagarin. The numbers differ a bit but the general consensus is the same.

Temple played one of the toughest schedule in the A-10 thus far. According to Sagarin’s numbers, the Owls had the 13th toughest schedule as of Jan. 13. The next closes was St. Joe’s who came in at 39th in the nation.

According to RPIRatings.com, the Hawks came in at 22nd while the Owls sat at 33rd.

What does this mean?

Well, for starters the Owls are clearly more battle-tested as the conference schedule starts. The tough part of the season should be over, although coach Tonya Cardoza would beg to differ.

Secondly, while teams like Dayton, St. Joe’s and Duquesne may have a better record to date than the Owls it seems like a good predictor that the Owls should be able to leapfrog some of these squads if the ratings are any indication.

Maybe all hope is not lost on the season.

-Jake Adams