MU Has To Change Its Scheduling...

[mu03eng]

SJS/84----every team is different on how they handle road games----UCONN was a HOME game. We have struggled early on on the road over the years------IMO need a quality road game just before the BE season starts!

Murff I will ask you again, are you saying that our players have forgotten at least one year of tough road game conference games experience as well as the road Madison game at the beginning of Madison???  Are you actually saying if we played a tough road game on December 22nd instead of December 8th we would have won at WVU???

Plus what does that do to us from a late season swoon you always complain about??

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Actually prn, iused the schedule and ncaa tourney excuse (which leads to money).

We have a great formula that is proven, a formula used by almost all the top schools that results ib post season bids and money to fund the department.

We can't be like ohio state (I'm here in vegas wathcing the game)....$105MM budget so we'll have to go with what we know works and has treated mu well for decades.

This isn't hard

Chicos -- How can you say that when we're spending $41K for a breathing chamber and bringing in assistants (probably two of them) who make at least $200K per year? This is not to mention wasteful spending like renting a limousine to take Crean to visit recruits in the middle of the night?

I understand we have budget issues, but it seems to me that a) we're not as poor as we claim; b) there isn't nearly enough oversight in the athletic department as there should be and c)we're using these cupcake games not as part of some magic formula, but to line the athletic department coffers for more wasteful spending!

When you were at MU, was the program spending like they are now? I highly doubt it. My point is...why don't we try spending a little less on crap and, instead, give the fans a decent non-conference home game once every other year (and a road one on alternate years).

For the sake of argument, I'll say I agree with you that MU is wasteful in it's spending and that's why they have to schedule so many "buy games".

The flip side of the argument is that YOU THE CONSUMER keep buying the product, so why are you complaining? MU is a private institution. They can schedule and/or charge whatever they like. If you don't like it, don't buy tickets.

I can't say I blame you for not liking the weak non-conf. schedule (it's not as entertaining)... but I can blame you for continuing to buy tickets to something you seem to dislike so much.

It's like buying a Corvette and then complaining about how it isn't good in the snow. Corvettes have never been good in the snow, so why do you expect it to change?

[AlumKCof93]

84,
My premise is that the cupcakes coupled with the easy win over Providence led this team to think they could turn it on when they wanted to.  It made them believe that they were better than they were and they were humbled by the loss to WV.  Had they played one road game in December against a quality opponent, perhaps they realized sooner how much it takes to win on the road against a quality opponent.  Perhaps it affects their mental approach as they face WVU and if it does, it saves us from losing a BE game.
I don't think playing #2 UCONN at home is a good comparison to this game.  MU is always ready to play a highly-ranked opponent either at home or away.  My problem with the loss on Saturday is that I think MU is a better team than WV but we lost b/c we didn't give a full 40 minutes because we became overconfident after feasting on cupcakes and then blowing Providence out.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

[I can't say I blame you for not liking the weak non-conf. schedule (it's not as entertaining)... but I can blame you for continuing to buy tickets to something you seem to dislike so much.

There is nothing I enjoy more than going to Marquette games...the pathetic non-conference home schedule, judged by at least one national publication as the worst of any ranked team, is reason to not attend.

Anybody who has attended one of these buy games can attest the Bradley Center is a morgue and the lower bowl is generally about 65 percent full (despite the announced attendance).

I may be alone in my stated opinions on this board, but the fans dressed as empty seats seem to agree with me.

I repeat...I do not believe our schedule is to blame for our loss to West Virginia. We simply got outplayed in a tough venue. My point is that the non-conference HOME schedule this year is a complete screw job.

Incidentally, I would never buy a Corvette. Those kind of cars are for guys who take karate lessons, wear jewelry and have fake tans.

[Marquette84]

[I can't say I blame you for not liking the weak non-conf. schedule (it's not as entertaining)... but I can blame you for continuing to buy tickets to something you seem to dislike so much.

There is nothing I enjoy more than going to Marquette games...the pathetic non-conference home schedule, judged by at least one national publication as the worst of any ranked team, is reason to not attend.

Anybody who has attended one of these buy games can attest the Bradley Center is a morgue and the lower bowl is generally about 65 percent full (despite the announced attendance).

I may be alone in my stated opinions on this board, but the fans dressed as empty seats seem to agree with me.

Maybe it was just too cold for them.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

A ha!! Another personal attack by SJS! I love it!

[Coobeys Oil Depot]

A ha!! Another personal attack by SJS! I love it!

So you're not going to the game tonight.

[ChicosBailBonds]

[I can't say I blame you for not liking the weak non-conf. schedule (it's not as entertaining)... but I can blame you for continuing to buy tickets to something you seem to dislike so much.

There is nothing I enjoy more than going to Marquette games...the pathetic non-conference home schedule, judged by at least one national publication as the worst of any ranked team, is reason to not attend.

Anybody who has attended one of these buy games can attest the Bradley Center is a morgue and the lower bowl is generally about 65 percent full (despite the announced attendance).

I may be alone in my stated opinions on this board, but the fans dressed as empty seats seem to agree with me.

I repeat...I do not believe our schedule is to blame for our loss to West Virginia. We simply got outplayed in a tough venue. My point is that the non-conference HOME schedule this year is a complete screw job.

Incidentally, I would never buy a Corvette. Those kind of cars are for guys who take karate lessons, wear jewelry and have fake tans.

Wow...that's taking a reach.  One guy at SI said it was a bad non-conference schedule, but the magazine did not do some kind of rating nor did that guy say it was the WORST of any ranked team, only that of a handful of teams he talked about he decided to comment.

The fact that he wouldn't say Washington State's isn't the worst is proof enough....their OOC schedule is in the 280's.

[Marquette84]

84,
My premise is that the cupcakes coupled with the easy win over Providence led this team to think they could turn it on when they wanted to. 

And my premise is that Providence alone caused that effect.

Providence was a preseason pick to finish in the top 8 and make the NCAA, WVU was picked 10th.  So the experts all told us that Providence was better than WVU.  So if you beat Providence by 29, a player might get the impression that they can even ease up against West Virginia and still win by 10.

Pretending that Providence didn't mean a whole lot more than beating the cupcakes requires one to suspend all common sense.

***Had they played one road game in December against a quality opponent, perhaps they realized sooner how much it takes to win on the road against a quality opponent.

And of course, our players have such limited mental capacity that the completely forgot that they played Wisconsin on December 8th!   And they forgot how tough that game was.  I'm sure they thought it was a walk in the park.

*** I don't think playing #2 UCONN at home is a good comparison to this game.  MU is always ready to play a highly-ranked opponent either at home or away.

Now you say that playing cupcakes has no influence!  

Plus, you miss 2/3 of the comparison--I wasn't comparing UConn to WVU.  I was comparing a six game sequence in 2006 to a similar six games in 2008

Here's the heart of the comparison:  
2006:  Play 4 cupcakes, easily beat UConn, lose the next game to Cincy.
2008:  Play 4 cupcakes, easily beat Providence, lose the next game to WVU

My argument is that UConn and Providence provided nearly all the influence on our players for the following game.

**** My problem with the loss on Saturday is that I think MU is a better team than WV but we lost b/c we didn't give a full 40 minutes because we became overconfident after feasting on cupcakes and then blowing Providence out.

I love how you continue to treat Providence just another cupcake.   They were considered a solid NCAA team before the MU game.  Our board was filled with concern about how tough they were inside.  They have a first-team all-conference player in McDermott.  They were picked to finish ahead of WVU in the standings.

And yet, you continue to imply that our players are seemingly unable to understand the difference between Providence and a cupcake.

[Marquette84]

A ha!! Another personal attack by SJS! I love it!

I'm merely pointing out that some people find it hard to get to the games when it's cold out.

Wouldn't you agree?

[Marquette84]

A ha!! Another personal attack by SJS! I love it!

BTW, Georgetown's non-conference schedule is worse than ours as well.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Here are some of the current out of conference ratings for teams ranked (out of conference schedules only)

Georgetown  241
Marquette 182
Washington State 285
UCLA 146
Indiana 229
Texas A&M 144
Duke 113
Miami 260
Mississippi 187
Stanford 232


Sure there are some teams ranked in the top 50 Schedule strength just as there are plenty around us or much much worse.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

[I can't say I blame you for not liking the weak non-conf. schedule (it's not as entertaining)... but I can blame you for continuing to buy tickets to something you seem to dislike so much.

 My point is that the non-conference HOME schedule this year is a complete screw job.

This is my point, if you feel you are getting screwed, don't buy the tickets. Nothing personal.

Honest. It. Is. That. Simple.

If enough consumers stop buying tickets, MU will be forced to make changes to the schedule to attract consumers.

It's simple economics.

I don't think bitching on this message board is going to make MU change.

Money talks and BS walks.

[mu_hilltopper]

Anybody who has attended one of these buy games can attest the Bradley Center is a morgue and the lower bowl is generally about 65 percent full (despite the announced attendance).

Couple things .. first, your 65% full estimate is way off.  I go to nearly every cupcake game, and keep close watch on the attendance.  4-5 yearss ago, I'd agree with you.  But the past 3 seasons, something is different.  The lower bowl is 80-90% full, easy.  Now, a crapload of those people aren't the actual buyers of the seats, as they're given away like water, lots of non-fans and children.  But the games far far FAR more attended than they used to be.

.. Also .. I gotta say, the $42,000 spent on an oxygen chamber doesn't bother me in the least.  Jesus, the Al Center cost $31m.  Should we not have built that because it cost too much?  The chamber is a piece of equipment that'll last a decade for a top 25 team (and women's team, and soccer team, etc).  $42k is close to what it'd cost for one extra secretary in the building for one year.  It's a pittance.  Spread over 10+ years?  No brainer, if it gives your guys 5% more endurance.  That's like one victory.  I'd pay $5k/year for +1 game.  We all would.

As for the $200k assistants .. first, I believe you're grabbing those figures out of the sky, as they've never been published.   But I'd say one guy at 200k, one at 100k, and the rest are probably making $50k.   So maybe we're $100k thick on assistants.  I'll pay that if they're quality and they stick around.

Bottom line .. we should remain a top 25 team for years to come.  Not so much Crean, but the entire University has decided not to cheap out on basketball nor any of their sports.  And I buy that argument.  First class recruiting and training gets you in the same room with 4 and 5 star guys, a place we haven't been in decades.

That all being said, I think the revenue streams for MU trend upward.  BE money, NCAA money, ESPN money, all are going up.   Not to mention attendance and the willingness of STHs to improve their seats by donations. -- SO.  I'd say the pressure (and funds) to get a H&H with a quality team is also going up.   And we were closer this year than ever, as the reports said, we were in talks with 3 decent teams, all who unfortunately needed us at their home court first. 

Of course, I do strongly desire at least one more quality team on our OOC schedule.  Last year's OOC slate may have been the worst.  This year, it was a couple pegs better.

[The Lens]

That all being said, I think the revenue streams for MU trend upward.  BE money, NCAA money, ESPN money, all are going up.   Not to mention attendance and the willingness of STHs to improve their seats by donations. -- SO.  I'd say the pressure (and funds) to get a H&H with a quality team is also going up.   And we were closer this year than ever, as the reports said, we were in talks with 3 decent teams, all who unfortunately needed us at their home court first. 

Of course, I do strongly desire at least one more quality team on our OOC schedule.  Last year's OOC slate may have been the worst.  This year, it was a couple pegs better.

I think the only reason we're hearing about these "near" misses is to placate the consumers.  I do not believe any serious efforts were made.  Isn't it strange that for the 1st time ever Coach Crean talked about something that normally he regarded as national security?

[HarveysWallbangers]

Here are some of the current out of conference ratings for teams ranked (out of conference schedules only)

Georgetown  241
Marquette 182
Washington State 285
UCLA 146
Indiana 229
Texas A&M 144
Duke 113
Miami 260
Mississippi 187
Stanford 232


Sure there are some teams ranked in the top 50 Schedule strength just as there are plenty around us or much much worse.

Aren't we talking about the games Marquette schedules in Milwaukee?

[ChicosBailBonds]

Here are some of the current out of conference ratings for teams ranked (out of conference schedules only)

Georgetown  241
Marquette 182
Washington State 285
UCLA 146
Indiana 229
Texas A&M 144
Duke 113
Miami 260
Mississippi 187
Stanford 232


Sure there are some teams ranked in the top 50 Schedule strength just as there are plenty around us or much much worse.

Aren't we talking about the games Marquette schedules in Milwaukee?

Yup, but you pretty much aren't going to have an SOS in the 200's unless you're scheduling the same kind of teams those other schools are.

[4everwarriors]

[I can't say I blame you for not liking the weak non-conf. schedule (it's not as entertaining)... but I can blame you for continuing to buy tickets to something you seem to dislike so much.

There is nothing I enjoy more than going to Marquette games...the pathetic non-conference home schedule, judged by at least one national publication as the worst of any ranked team, is reason to not attend.

Anybody who has attended one of these buy games can attest the Bradley Center is a morgue and the lower bowl is generally about 65 percent full (despite the announced attendance).

I may be alone in my stated opinions on this board, but the fans dressed as empty seats seem to agree with me.

I repeat...I do not believe our schedule is to blame for our loss to West Virginia. We simply got outplayed in a tough venue. My point is that the non-conference HOME schedule this year is a complete screw job.

Incidentally, I would never buy a Corvette. Those kind of cars are for guys who take karate lessons, wear jewelry and have fake tans.

I thought Crean drove a Lexus.

[ecompt]

the way the team is playing tonight, had we scheduled a tougher OOC schedule we might be looking at an NIT bid.

[ernie]

[I can't say I blame you for not liking the weak non-conf. schedule (it's not as entertaining)... but I can blame you for continuing to buy tickets to something you seem to dislike so much.

There is nothing I enjoy more than going to Marquette games...the pathetic non-conference home schedule, judged by at least one national publication as the worst of any ranked team, is reason to not attend.

Anybody who has attended one of these buy games can attest the Bradley Center is a morgue and the lower bowl is generally about 65 percent full (despite the announced attendance).

I may be alone in my stated opinions on this board, but the fans dressed as empty seats seem to agree with me.

I repeat...I do not believe our schedule is to blame for our loss to West Virginia. We simply got outplayed in a tough venue. My point is that the non-conference HOME schedule this year is a complete screw job.

Incidentally, I would never buy a Corvette. Those kind of cars are for guys who take karate lessons, wear jewelry and have fake tans.

I thought Crean drove a Lexus.

I don't get it. "I thought Crean drove a Lexus." ?????? Honestly, is that the best you have? You already got the attention you wanted by making the first post. You are in your 50's and you get off on irratating people on a messsage board?

[chapman]

[I can't say I blame you for not liking the weak non-conf. schedule (it's not as entertaining)... but I can blame you for continuing to buy tickets to something you seem to dislike so much.

There is nothing I enjoy more than going to Marquette games...the pathetic non-conference home schedule, judged by at least one national publication as the worst of any ranked team, is reason to not attend.

Anybody who has attended one of these buy games can attest the Bradley Center is a morgue and the lower bowl is generally about 65 percent full (despite the announced attendance).

I may be alone in my stated opinions on this board, but the fans dressed as empty seats seem to agree with me.

I repeat...I do not believe our schedule is to blame for our loss to West Virginia. We simply got outplayed in a tough venue. My point is that the non-conference HOME schedule this year is a complete screw job.

Incidentally, I would never buy a Corvette. Those kind of cars are for guys who take karate lessons, wear jewelry and have fake tans.

I thought Crean drove a Lexus.

I don't get it. "I thought Crean drove a Lexus." ?????? Honestly, is that the best you have? You already got the attention you wanted by making the first post. You are in your 50's and you get off on irratating people on a messsage board?

Come on now...you didn't get a laugh out of that?

[muwarrior87]

[I can't say I blame you for not liking the weak non-conf. schedule (it's not as entertaining)... but I can blame you for continuing to buy tickets to something you seem to dislike so much.

There is nothing I enjoy more than going to Marquette games...the pathetic non-conference home schedule, judged by at least one national publication as the worst of any ranked team, is reason to not attend.

Anybody who has attended one of these buy games can attest the Bradley Center is a morgue and the lower bowl is generally about 65 percent full (despite the announced attendance).

I may be alone in my stated opinions on this board, but the fans dressed as empty seats seem to agree with me.

I repeat...I do not believe our schedule is to blame for our loss to West Virginia. We simply got outplayed in a tough venue. My point is that the non-conference HOME schedule this year is a complete screw job.

Incidentally, I would never buy a Corvette. Those kind of cars are for guys who take karate lessons, wear jewelry and have fake tans.

I thought Crean drove a Lexus.

I don't get it. "I thought Crean drove a Lexus." ?????? Honestly, is that the best you have? You already got the attention you wanted by making the first post. You are in your 50's and you get off on irratating people on a messsage board?

he actually drives an Escalade...white one

[ernie]

No.

1. I don't get the "joke".

2. It seems clear his intent is to annoy as opposed to inform / discus.

3. Is anything he posts compelling / insightful / thoughtful OR is it meant just to irritate?

If the moderators are serious about their mission statement thy would take action.

[spiral97]

If the moderators are serious about their mission statement thy would take action.

Agreed.. and so I will.. Ernie - chill out.. it was a joke.  You're the one making it out to be anything beyond that really.  Don't make me start deleting your posts.

[mu_hilltopper]

Mission statement?  We have a mission statement?     I'm thinking our mission statement centers around having discussions people read.  This one, for example, has been read 1145 times.  That's a hell of a lot.  

Debate the guy.  Tell him you your reasons for thinking he's an idiot.  Don't go crying for censorship when you think someone has committed the sin of irritation.