ESPN Big East Non-Con Schedule Analysis

[ATL MU Warrior]

Rate MU's non-con schedule an 8 (out of 10).  Georgetown, UCONN and Louisville also get an 8. 

Blurb on MU:

MARQUETTE

Toughest: vs. Ohio State (Nov. 9 in Charleston, S.C.), Maui Invitational (Nov. 19-20), at Florida (Nov. 29), Wisconsin (Dec. 8)
Next-toughest: LSU (Dec. 22)
The rest: Colgate (Nov. 11), Southeastern Louisiana (Nov. 13), UMBC (Nov. 26), Savannah State (Dec. 15), at Green Bay (Dec. 19), North Carolina Central (Dec. 29)
Toughness scale: 8 -- Another schedule with a hidden gem -- that would be a potential tango with North Carolina in Maui. But only if the Golden Eagles get past Butler, no easy task. Even without that, though, Buzz Williams has set his team up nicely, with not just some big names but a good mix of contrasting styles -- from uptempo Florida to no-tempo Wisconsin. You can even forgive Marquette for its dose of supposed 'easy' games. There's enough heft here, including that opener against the Buckeyes, to excuse any number of softies.

[Abode4life]

For those who want to look at the rest of the conference, see below.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/65029/nonconference-schedule-analysis-big-east-2

[bilsu]

I might be the only one that realizes that the UW GB game is a tough game. They were very good at home last year and lousy on the road, which is indicative of a young team. They have a very good center. Having gone to some of their games last year, while he was a little small, their freshmen point guard was very good. I can argue that Green Bay, although not significantly, is more talented at starting center and point guard than MU. MU better go in there with their eyes wide open or they will be leaving with a loss.

[Nukem2]

I might be the only one that realizes that the UW GB game is a tough game. They were very good at home last year and lousy on the road, which is indicative of a young team. They have a very good center. Having gone to some of their games last year, while he was a little small, their freshmen point guard was very good. I can argue that Green Bay, although not significantly, is more talented at starting center and point guard than MU. MU better go in there with their eyes wide open or they will be leaving with a loss.

Yep.  That game is no gimme. Need to come out hard.

[Wade for President]

After scrolling through other conferences schedule, I would put our non-conference schedule against any other school in the country. 

When you couple it with our BE schedule, I'll be shocked if our SOS isn't in the Top 10.

[The Lens]

Ohio State (N)
Maui (N)
Maui (N)
Maui (N)
@Florida
UW
@UWGB
LSU

This is probably the best / toughest non conf we have played since 1994.  That year we played:

Wash State (N)
UWGB
Ohio State
Illinois
@UW
@Arizona
South Florida
West Va
@Va Tech

Of course back then we were in the tiny but tough Great Midwest so we had a lot of schedule flexibility.

[CAGASS24]

their freshmen point guard was very good. I can argue that Green Bay, although not significantly, is more talented at starting center and point guard than MU.

Please; argue how their freshman point guard is better than cadougan-

[brewcity77]

I might be the only one that realizes that the UW GB game is a tough game.

You're not alone. Great at PG, will have home court advantage, and some think Alec Brown could develop into a NBA center.

[BrewCity83]

Ohio State (N)
Maui (N)
Maui (N)
Maui (N)
@Florida
UW
@UWGB
LSU

This is probably the best / toughest non conf we have played since 1994.  That year we played:

Wash State (N)
UWGB
Ohio State
Illinois
@UW
@Arizona
South Florida
West Va
@Va Tech

Of course back then we were in the tiny but tough Great Midwest so we had a lot of schedule flexibility.

1994--Sweet Sixteen year.

[Mr. Nielsen]

I might be the only one that realizes that the UW GB game is a tough game.

As a season-ticket holder for Milwaukee as well, I know GB and the HL. Your not the only one. A road game at GB is tougher than a home game versus LSU. That's ESPN drinking the big name drink in LSU.

[Mr. Nielsen]

ESPN gives MU, G'town & L'ville an 8 on toughest, but MU has more games listed than the others is the toughest part. So, how do the others still get an 8? 

[madtownwarrior]

how would you like if your school was referred to as "no tempo" - that's not gonna help the image...

[Husker4MU]

how would you like if your school was referred to as "no tempo" - that's not gonna help the image...

We can talk about image all we want, but UW keeps winning.  I still hope they lose every game.

I really like the non-con this year.  Different philosophy than last year.  Last year was more balanced, this year has more big game heft, but the dregs appear to be really dreggy.

[bilsu]

their freshmen point guard was very good. I can argue that Green Bay, although not significantly, is more talented at starting center and point guard than MU.

Please; argue how their freshman point guard is better than cadougan-

He was a freshmen last year, so he will be a sophomore this year. He is smaller than Cadougan, but quicker.  He can also shoot the ball. He is a tough player. I was at a game last year where he ended up wearing three differnet numbers. He got hit in the head and bled all over the place. It took several minutes to wipe up the floor. He went to locker room and came back weraing someone else's uniform. GB apparantly does not have enough money to have backup uniforms. He later drives to the basket and gets knocked down and starts bleeding again. Goes to locker room and comes out with a different uniform and continues to play. He was good as a freshmen and most players take a big leap from freshmen to sophomore years.

[The Equalizer]

He was a freshmen last year, so he will be a sophomore this year. He is smaller than Cadougan, but quicker.  He can also shoot the ball. He is a tough player. I was at a game last year where he ended up wearing three differnet numbers. He got hit in the head and bled all over the place. It took several minutes to wipe up the floor. He went to locker room and came back weraing someone else's uniform. GB apparantly does not have enough money to have backup uniforms. He later drives to the basket and gets knocked down and starts bleeding again. Goes to locker room and comes out with a different uniform and continues to play. He was good as a freshmen and most players take a big leap from freshmen to sophomore years.

Stat-wise, Sykes seems to compare favorably. 

http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/compare?add=junior-cadougan&p1=keifer-sykes

Of course, GB doesn't play similar competition as MU.  On the other hand, Sykes didn't have a supporting cast anywhere close to Crowder or DJO.

Could be an interesting matchup.

[brewcity77]

At a glance, we could have quite a few NCAA teams on this list, more than most might expect. If we go to the final in Maui, we'd likely play Butler, UNC, and Texas, all of whom should be tourney teams. Florida, Wisconsin, and Ohio State also look like locks.

Of our less well-regarded teams, Savannah State should be favored to win the MEAC, Green Bay could end up in the mix for the Horizon, and the return of Brandon Fortenberry could have Southeastern Louisiana contending for the Southland. On the other hand, Colgate and Baltimore County are pretty much awful, not much to be done about that. NC Central will win some and lose some. Shouldn't be much of a drain, but won't likely help us much either. The most disappointing team is probably LSU, who probably would have been a bubble team had Trent Johnson come back, but now looks like they'll need to overachieve just to reach the NIT.