MU Has To Change Its Scheduling...

[4everwarriors]

philosophy. I know all about the need for buy games. But, there are just way too many pansies on the schedule. A glorified home "practice" game will never get a team tough enough to compete on the road in a rough conference like the BE. As good as Memphis appears right now, I don't think their schedule will help in any way in March.And, since the Warriors lack talent in key areas and have now been exposed, can we stop the Final Four discussions at least until Crean proves he is more than one and done in the Tournament.

[ChicosBailBonds]

philosophy. I know all about the need for buy games. But, there are just way too many pansies on the schedule. A glorified home "practice" game will never get a team tough enough to compete on the road in a rough conference like the BE. As good as Memphis appears right now, I don't think their schedule will help in any way in March.And, since the Warriors lack talent in key areas and have now been exposed, can we stop the Final Four discussions at least until Crean proves he is more than one and done in the Tournament.

I'm curious, why didn't you post this after our win at Wisconsin where they had won 38 straight games.   

[New Era Warriors]

first off, there hasn't been many final four discussions this year.
secondly, i think Crean proved he is more than one and done in the tournament. Was someone else coaching the Final Four team in 2003?

[21Jumpstreet]

I agree that tougher pre-conference games or road games would help.  How is it that every weekend there are a handful of games that are great matchups.  It seems like Gonzaga, Tennessee, Memphis, Mich. State, Kansas, etc. are always playing top tier competition.  Not all teams do, I understand, but how about a couple more.  I like playing Duke, UW, and OK State.  That is a good start.

Also, I have read that Huggins knows Crean and MU so well, so the loss is understandable.  Crean knows just as much.  No?

[Marquette84]

philosophy. I know all about the need for buy games. But, there are just way too many pansies on the schedule. A glorified home "practice" game will never get a team tough enough to compete on the road in a rough conference like the BE. As good as Memphis appears right now, I don't think their schedule will help in any way in March.And, since the Warriors lack talent in key areas and have now been exposed, can we stop the Final Four discussions at least until Crean proves he is more than one and done in the Tournament.

Just curious--are you predicting that Providence will finish ahead of Georgetown in the standings?

[CTWarrior]

I'm curious, why didn't you post this after our win at Wisconsin where they had won 38 straight games.   

I think the Wisconsin game kinda proves the point about the schedule.  We didn't play them after 6 straight 40 point wins and we had a finer edge then.  I thought we were awful against Savannah State and we still won by 40.  Those games do more harm than good.  I know they're a necessary evil, so I'm not sure what the answer is, but I'm sure our players get a better run in practice than against the likes of Savannah State and IPFW.

[Marquette84]

*** I know they're a necessary evil, so I'm not sure what the answer is, but I'm sure our players get a better run in practice than against the likes of Savannah State and IPFW.

You can't have it both ways on this.  If playing cupcakes affects how you play against better teams, there is no way in hell we beat UConn in 2006 after beating up on the likes of San Francisco (185 RPI) Oakland (285) Delaware State (123) and Lewis (D2). 

Somehow, that year we were perfectly prepared to take on and blow out the #2 team in the land.


Plus, you're overlooking the fact that we had Providence in between--the same Providence team that played DePaul to a 5 point game, and almost tied it with 9 seconds to go.

[chapman]

I don't know about the cupcakes were as big of a deal as the fact that this was a road game.  If this is at home the outcome is probably different.  I wouldn't have objected to playing another road game earlier, because as hard as it is to play in Madison, it has a different effect being an in-state rivalry game, and we played it in our backyard, so the team slept in their own beds the night before.

[Niv Berkowitz]

Here we go again. More MU schedule nonsense.

Take away the top say, 5-10 traditional programs in the country, MU plays just as tough a non-conference schedule as anyone. And, in case people forget, men's hoops is the athletic department's bread and butter. They can't afford going on the road for a number of games when they rely on the revenue they can get from a home game vs. Savannah State and the like.

Everyone wants more tougher games. But if they did schedule two more tougher games and they lost them continuously, people would be bitching even more. At least we have Wisconsin every year and usually one premier pre-season tournament that gets us national exposure. That's really all you ask for this day and age unfortunately.

[Marquette_g]

I can certainly appreciate the need for home games.  However, having two home & home agreements where we play one other high profile game away from the BC every year would mean the loss of only one home game.

I don't think it is fair to blame the loss on not playing a road game, but I certainly think that it wouldn't hurt. 

[MU Avenue]

Not 38.

Let's get our facts straight.

[Mayor McCheese]

I agree that tougher pre-conference games or road games would help.  How is it that every weekend there are a handful of games that are great matchups.  It seems like Gonzaga, Tennessee, Memphis, Mich. State, Kansas, etc. are always playing top tier competition.  Not all teams do, I understand, but how about a couple more.  I like playing Duke, UW, and OK State.  That is a good start.

Also, I have read that Huggins knows Crean and MU so well, so the loss is understandable.  Crean knows just as much.  No?

Everyone talks about Memphis and Gonzaga's schedule... well if you want, we can have these tough non-conference matchups.. and then play 16 games against mediocre teams in conference... do we really want to go back to Conf USA in order to have one or two big matchups in November/December... or do you want to be in the Big East and have the tough matchups in February/March?

[bilsu]

We need to have four home and home schedules with quality teams, which would result in two non-conference road games. This could result in more TV money and more ticket sales for an opponent that would excite the fans such as Arizona did a few years ago. Besides that MU could raise the ticket prices to offset the loss. 11 non-conference home games at $30 a ticket is $330. 10 non-conference home games at $33 a ticket is $330, which equates in no lossed revenue. It will take a few more teams like Syracuse being left out the tournament, because of weak non-conference schedules before coaches wake up about this. I believe the Big East is only going to end up with 5 bids and in the long run this will be a good thing. However, the first thing we will hear is that the 18 game conference schedule is to blame.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Not 38.

Let's get our facts straight.

Sorry, I fat fingered it....if I recall it was the LONGEST STREAK IN THE COUNTRY, yet by some miracle we won despite not playing more games on the road.   

[ChicosBailBonds]

We need to have four home and home schedules with quality teams, which would result in two non-conference road games. This could result in more TV money and more ticket sales for an opponent that would excite the fans such as Arizona did a few years ago. Besides that MU could raise the ticket prices to offset the loss. 11 non-conference home games at $30 a ticket is $330. 10 non-conference home games at $33 a ticket is $330, which equates in no lossed revenue. It will take a few more teams like Syracuse being left out the tournament, because of weak non-conference schedules before coaches wake up about this. I believe the Big East is only going to end up with 5 bids and in the long run this will be a good thing. However, the first thing we will hear is that the 18 game conference schedule is to blame.

Can we get this bet going...the on about 5 bids...please...I'm begging for the $$$   

There is NO WAY this league is going to only get 5 bids...NO WAY

Marquette
Uconn
Notre Dame
Villanova
Georgetown
Pittsburgh
West Virginia

They are all going to the tournament.  Syracuse and/or Louisville will likely go as well.


This athletic department spent $22 million dollars last year on athletics.  We've gone through this time and time again, it ain't happening for many reasons and those are tied to finances and going to the NCAA Tournament. 

Syracuse's problem last year is who they lost to, not their schedule....their RPI wasn't very good, they lost to too many teams they shouldn't have and that killed them.

[Marquette84]

It will take a few more teams like Syracuse being left out the tournament, because of weak non-conference schedules before coaches wake up about this. I believe the Big East is only going to end up with 5 bids and in the long run this will be a good thing. However, the first thing we will hear is that the 18 game conference schedule is to blame.

A good thing?  You WANT the Big East to break up so that we can join an A-10 like conference? 

You are misplacing the blame here.  The blame will lie with the teams who DID create tough schedules but then didn't win. 

In case you missed it, Syracuse played several of those tough mid majors last year--they were left out of the NCAA tournament because they LOST those games!  Syracuse lost to Wichita State, Drexel and Oklahoma State. 

And instead of learning their lesson, they did it again THIS year, losing to URI, UMass and Ohio State. 

DePaul is a textbook example of how one team can screw the league.  With a 4-7 non-conference record, they have already played their way out of the NCAA tournament.   Second, by beating teams like Villanova and Providence, they can only prove that those teams aren't deserving of an NCAA bid either.  Finally, every team in the league is going to get the "benefit" of the 4-7 non-conference record that DePaul brings to the table.

[BuzzSucksSucks]

There was an article a couple months ago about the relationship between OOC SOS and post season success.  It was on ESPN.com or SI.com, I forget where, and I just spent about 30 minutes trying to find the darn thing but couldn't track it down.  But I remember the facts proved to be counterintuitive, in that final four teams historically have weaker OOC schedules. Tough early season schedules don't translate to success in March, and possibly hurt. Bubble teams (like Syracuse last year) might be another story, but the evidence for final four teams in this arena was solid: Cupcakes are good for you.

[Eye]

I'd say there's a better chance the Big East gets 8 bids rather than just five. I'd say Syracuse, Pitt, nova, MU, Gtown, UConn, WV, ND are all in if they draw the bracket tonight, and Prov and UL could certainly do enough to get there in the next two months.

[Murffieus]

We need a tough road game involving a large travel distance late in December prior to the BE season. Road games are tough----travel fatique plus unfamiliar daily routine/schedule puts the visitor at a distinct disadvantage (everything else being equal)!

[NavinRJohnson]

Yeah, that trip to Hawaii is like crossing the street.

You people are funny. No doubt road games present a different test, but many of you act as if losing at WVU is unheard of. Guess what...everyone loses at WVU. Playing some non-conference raod game is not going to change that. Good teams win at home. I can only assume those of you saying this is somehow the result of the schedule were expecting MU to go 18-0 in the BE.

[Coobeys Oil Depot]

philosophy. I know all about the need for buy games. But, there are just way too many pansies on the schedule. A glorified home "practice" game will never get a team tough enough to compete on the road in a rough conference like the BE. As good as Memphis appears right now, I don't think their schedule will help in any way in March.And, since the Warriors lack talent in key areas and have now been exposed, can we stop the Final Four discussions at least until Crean proves he is more than one and done in the Tournament.

Gross overreaction after a road loss but you got your desired attention.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

philosophy. I know all about the need for buy games. But, there are just way too many pansies on the schedule. A glorified home "practice" game will never get a team tough enough to compete on the road in a rough conference like the BE. As good as Memphis appears right now, I don't think their schedule will help in any way in March.And, since the Warriors lack talent in key areas and have now been exposed, can we stop the Final Four discussions at least until Crean proves he is more than one and done in the Tournament.

This is a fresh topic and profound insight, especially coming off of a road conference loss.

[IAmMarquette]

philosophy. I know all about the need for buy games. But, there are just way too many pansies on the schedule. A glorified home "practice" game will never get a team tough enough to compete on the road in a rough conference like the BE. As good as Memphis appears right now, I don't think their schedule will help in any way in March.And, since the Warriors lack talent in key areas and have now been exposed, can we stop the Final Four discussions at least until Crean proves he is more than one and done in the Tournament.

This is a fresh topic and profound insight, especially coming off of a road conference loss.

Perfect use of the sarcasm font. Well played.

[rocky_warrior]

Like spiral, I'd vote for a different convention.  Teal makes me want to click as if it's a link 

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Like spiral, I'd vote for a different convention.  Teal makes me want to click as if it's a link 

hahah... I know, I know. I guess I just laugh because I do the same thing (clicky clicky) and then I realize the sarcasm.

I guess I think it's funnier if people try to click and then realize what I was really getting at.

Either way, my statement stands that a comment like this rings EXTREMELY hollow coming off a road loss. I don't post how great the schedule is when MU gets a road win, so why do people post how bad it is coming off of a road loss.

The team and players aren't perfect... weather they played an easy or tough non-conf. schedule... MU will lose more games this year (I'm projecting 4 more times in conf. play).