The only reason Saint Joseph's went through the season unbeaten is because of a lightweight schedule and a watered-down Atlantic 10 Conference. Imagine this team of diminutive guards going up against the Big East giants or the Pacific 10 trees. Thankfully, the NCAA Tournament is almost here to put Saint Joseph's in its rightful place - watching the Big Boys play for the NCAA championship.

That's a paraphrased version of what Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli has heard and read the last few weeks as his team approached an undefeated regular season (27-0) - a feat it would share with Stanford should the Cardinal win today at Washington.

ESPN's Digger Phelps, CBS's Billy Packer and San Jose Mercury News columnist Skip Bayless each recently said a weak schedule should preclude the Hawks from being recognized as Final Four-worthy.

But statistically speaking, Saint Joseph's is the best team in the nation. The Hawks are No. 1 in the Ratings Percentage Index, according to CollegeRPI.com, using a formula that is 75 percent based on schedule strength and 25 percent based on record. Sure, Saint Joseph's schedule strength is 43rd, but that is 54 spots better than Stanford's, which checks in at No. 97.

Big East co-leader Pittsburgh is lining up for a top-two seed, but the Panthers, rated No. 6 in the RPI, have the 54th-best schedule. Pittsburgh played its 10th road game Tuesday; Saint Joseph's left home seven times before January.

Officially, the NCAA requires Saint Joseph's and Stanford to win their conference tournaments to qualify for a perfect regular season. If Saint Joseph's should slip up on Dayton's home court next week, there's no doubt the "overrated" shouts will come from all directions. That's nothing new for Martelli, who is dismissing the naysayers as skeptical at best, uninformed at worst.

"When it first started, I was taking it like I had to defend everything," Martelli said. "Then I said: 'Hold on here. This amount of energy that I spend on this isn't worth it. Just let them do what they want to do.' "

Critics are right in saying Saint Joseph's is average inside, and poor free throw shooting by big men could be a postseason downfall. So much reliance on the 3-pointer could spell an early defeat for the Hawks. But only someone who hasn't seen the way All-America-to-be guards Jameer Nelson and Delonte West control a game would insinuate that Saint Joseph's is anything less than a title contender.

Too close to call

One week before Selection Sunday, the Atlantic Coast Conference looks to receive at least six NCAA Tournament bids. The question is, which team will get that final bid?

Maryland, Florida State and - get this - Virginia are in a dead heat for sixth place in the league.

What was it, about two weeks ago, when it was rumored that coach Pete Gillen would be fired? Now, after winning four of their last six games, the Cavaliers will play at Maryland Sunday for what could be the league's final NCAA Tournament spot.

Maryland has four RPI Top-25 wins but will have a hard time overcoming a 6-10 ACC record if it loses to Virginia. Florida State probably can count itself out if the Seminoles lose at Georgia Tech today; FSU hasn't won an ACC road game all season.

One bid for Pac-10?

It's not likely, but Stanford might be the only Pac-10 team worthy of an NCAA bid. Arizona has lost two of its last three games but at 18-8 and No. 35 in the RPI, the Wildcats are still in decent position for a 20th straight NCAA appearance.

Arizona's best win came Dec. 9 against Texas, rated No. 7 in the RPI. The Wildcats' next-best win came against No. 71 Saint Louis.

Arizona has a few bad losses, however, the worst being a six-point loss to No. 157 Oregon State Feb. 21.

Washington has won six of its last seven games. But unless the Huskies upset Stanford today, their RPI, which is hovering in the upper 90s, won't be good enough to warrant an at-large bid.

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E-mail ddow@enquirer.com