The NCAA has released its mid-season RPI for NCAA Division I men's teams.

The RPI — Ratings Percentage Index — is the most important of the criteria it uses to determine the 48-team field for the NCAA Division I Men's Tournament. The RPI is a mathematical formula designed to objectively compare results and strength of schedule.

Following the end of the regular season, on Nov. 5, the NCAA will select the 25 at-large teams to go along with the 23 automatic qualifiers, the winners of the 23 conference championships.

Here's a look at the 48 teams that would have made the NCAA Tournament as of the NCAA's mid-season snapshot — based on games through Oct. 10 — the top-ranked team from each of the 23 conferences (in bold) and the 25 next highest-ranked teams.

Seven conferences have three or more teams in this hypothetical 48: ACC (6), Big East (5), Big Ten (5), CAA (5), Big West (3), Conference USA (3) and Pac-10 (3). The Ivy League and WCC with two apiece were the only other other conferences with more than one team in the 48.

Finally, last, at No. 199, in the RPI is UNLV.

RANK TEAM CONFERENCE
1 SMU Conference USA
2 Virginia ACC
3 Maryland ACC
4 Wake Forest ACC
5 UCLA Pac-10
6 West Virginia Big East
7 Duke ACC
8 Indiana Big Ten
9 St. Louis Atlantic 10
10 Brown Ivy
11 Old Dominion CAA
12 Clemson ACC
13 San Francisco WCC
14 Santa Clara WCC
15 North Carolina ACC
16 California Pac-10
17 Connecticut Big East
18 Lehigh Patriot
19 UC Santa Barbara Big West
20 Northwestern Big Ten
21 George Mason CAA
22 Notre Dame Big East
23 South Carolina Conference USA
24 Hofstra CAA
25 Seton Hall Big East
26 Penn Ivy
27 Kentucky Conference USA
28 New Mexico MPSF
29 Cincinnati Big East
30 UIC Horizon
31 James Madison CAA
32 Washington Pac-10
33 Cal St. Northridge Big West
34 Penn St. Big Ten
35 Ohio St. Big Ten
36 Wisconsin Big Ten
37 UC Irvine Big West
38 Towson CAA
39 Elon Southern
40 Fairfield MAAC
45 Fairleigh Dickinson Northeast
48 Creighton Missouri Valley
51 Boston U. America East
53 Northern Ill. Mid-American
80 Hartwick Atlantic Soccer
82 Winthrop Big South
142 Western Ill. Mid-Continent
145 Belmont Atlantic Sun