Future Home & Home Wish

[GooooMarquette]

Not possible to play in Chicago as it would have to be approved by depaul

Is this really a rule?  Does SJU need to approve every nonconference game a BE team plays in the Garden or Barclays?

[CTWarrior]

Well hell, if we're going that route, I'd vote for Cleveland State, Akron or Kent.  Or all three - one MU game in NE Ohio in odd years; two in even years.

Otherwise, ND.

That would be Fairfield or Sacred Heart for me (Florida Gulf Coast over the holidays since I will be with my in-laws near Fort Myers).  Many years back MU played at Hartford for some reason, and there was an Anne Murray concert immediately after the game. 

For original topic, Notre Dame (tradition), Cincinnati (tradition), West Virginia (Huggy) and Louisville (tradition) would be my top choices, and would take Big 12 from options listed.

[Herman Cain]

That would be Fairfield or Sacred Heart for me (Florida Gulf Coast over the holidays since I will be with my in-laws near Fort Myers).  Many years back MU played at Hartford for some reason, and there was an Anne Murray concert immediately after the game. 

For original topic, Notre Dame (tradition), Cincinnati (tradition), West Virginia (Huggy) and Louisville (tradition) would be my top choices, and would take Big 12 from options listed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG-deTZcwYc

[Warrior Code]

I said ACC for the former Big East teams. Getting back to playing ND, Louisville, Syracuse, Pitt (although they've been bad) would be fun.

[mu-rara]

Notre Dame, ND and UND, in that order.

I cannot believe how many Scoopers put something besides ND.  Embarrassing.

[JoeSmith1721]

ND, Louisville, Cincy and Pitt if they get their crap together.

[StillAWarrior]

I guess I figure that if coaches can schedule games based on where players are from, why not for random out of town fans like me? Worth a shot, I'm hoping. Or, at least no harm in asking.

I'm totally with you on this.  So, we'll have one in Mass for you every other year, and 1-2 in NE Ohio for me every year.  If they want to make it a more consistent two per year in NE Ohio, I wouldn't object to Youngstown State, and I'd be willing to make that drive every other year.  In even-numbered years, Cleveland State and Kent, and in odd-numbered years, Akron and Youngstown State.

Make it happen, Wojo.  I promise I'll attend every single one.

[Litehouse]

Notre Dame - anything else is a distant second

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

That would be Fairfield or Sacred Heart for me (Florida Gulf Coast over the holidays since I will be with my in-laws near Fort Myers).  Many years back MU played at Hartford for some reason, and there was an Anne Murray concert immediately after the game. 

For original topic, Notre Dame (tradition), Cincinnati (tradition), West Virginia (Huggy) and Louisville (tradition) would be my top choices, and would take Big 12 from options listed.

I'd be into the above mentioned for the same selfish reasons.  Add Yale to the mix.

West Virigina (Huggy) - Over Christmas my cousin (from California) visited from Morgantown.  Her husband is working on his doctorate at WVU.  He said everyone on campus loves Huggy.  He's very nice and friendly is apparently nothing like his on court personality.  Huggy even regularly shows up for staff meetings (even though he doesn't need to attend) and never turns down a request for fund raising or alumni relations.   The WVU football coach on the other hand is apparently the complete opposite of Huggy.

[LloydsLegs]

Notre Dame.

[skianth16]

For one selfish reason, I'd go for a home and home with a non-rival, UMass. (I live 10 min from the Amherst campus.)

Otherwise, ND, with games only in Milwaukee and South Bend. None of this Chicago stuff.

I spent 6 (rather dull) months of my life in Sunderland, and had every intention of checking out some UMass hoops or hockey but never did make it. Maybe if we end up with your dream home and home I could finally have a chance to get to a game there!

[mug644]

I spent 6 (rather dull) months of my life in Sunderland, and had every intention of checking out some UMass hoops or hockey but never did make it. Maybe if we end up with your dream home and home I could finally have a chance to get to a game there!

It's a great area. Happy to call it home. Was made better by MU joining the Big East (games within a ~3 hour drive!), and would be even better if they played UMass.

[brewcity77]

is MU's rpi at the end of the year based upon the the "ranking" of the team when you play them or the ranking of the team at the end of the year?  i always feel like there are a number of teams that traditionally start out slow (often have a young team) and finish strong.  wondering how that works for their opponents early in the year vs late in the year?

RPI is based on neither. It is based on your record (25%), your opponents' records (50%), and their opponents' records (25%).

What a team's rank is has nothing to do with your RPI. That's why it's great to play teams like Vermont that run roughshod through their conference. The opponents' records is the most important factor, so playing (and beating) teams that win a lot of games is important.

That's also why playing bottom feeders like Grambling is so harmful to the RPI. Their bad record drags you down, but because they play in an awful conference, all their conference foes drag you down too.

[Dawson Rental]

No American, best to leave ties cut there.  I was surprised Big10 wasn't the biggest.  I'm guessing Notre Dame was the reason the ACC won out.  I don't think that ND's interested, though.  And then there's the Ex-Dukies not playing each other thing.

I went with the Big12.

[brewcity77]

Thought more about this. Have thoughts. Here are my guidelines for a good home-and-home:

1. Potential to win 1.5 games: You want to get at least one & hope you have a chance at two. This is why SEC programs like Georgia and LSU are nice. They are competitive but not so good that we expect two lose twice.
2. Resume builder: This means either high-major opponents or quality mid-majors that expect to win 20+ games every year and schedule tough.
3. Advance recruiting goals: This works in two ways. Either set it up so you can build a recruiting visit in (even if it's just getting tickets to local recruits) or have a potential "homecoming" game that recruits know about in advance.
4. National exposure: Ideally these games should be on someone's cable flagship. ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, NBC Sports, CBS Sports are all worthwhile targets. I'd rather play on those than ABC/NBC/CBS because the teams we'd have to play to get there would likely violate the first guideline.
5. Entertainment value: Definitely the last guideline, but teams that play a fun style are going to make for more entertaining games for the fans. Virginia might look great on the resume, but the only non-Virginia fans that actually enjoy watching them are Bo Ryan and Jon Rothstein.

With those guidelines in mind, here are ten teams I would think Marquette should consider for a home-and-home:

• Arizona State: This ticks every box. Open the new arena with them. The 2019 trip would be homecoming for Howard & a chance to recruit Nico Mannion. This would be my unquestioned number one.
  
• Minnesota: Similar to ASU, these are winnable games, good for the resume as even in a down year, only one Big 10 program is currently sub-.500 (UW-Madison), great for recruiting, would get good exposure & be a fun game to watch.
  
• Michigan: I'd be hoping for 1 win, but otherwise they are ideal. Builds the resume, in one of our main recruiting regions, & a big enough name to get on any network.
  
• Iowa: It's another Big 10 program, and they did spank us a few years back, but it's close to DJ Carton and would potentially give him a freshman year homecoming game if we go on the road in 2019.
  
• SMU: I know some don't want AAC programs, but they win 25+ games every year. Further, we are recruiting Texas (Grimes, Jaedon LaDee, De'vion Harmon, & Jalen Wilson) so let's actually play there. TCU, Texas Tech, Baylor, TAMU, UT are all other viable options, but I think SMU makes the most sense for starters.
  
• Missouri: Another one that ticks all the boxes. Only down this far because the only regional recruit we are really in on is Mario McKinney.
  
• Clemson: Decent HM program that will tick all the boxes. We are only recruiting 1 kid from there now (Calvin Felder) but South Carolina is loaded in 2019 so maybe try to make some inroads.
  
• Stanford: Usually have a winning record in a HM conference, but not so good they're making the NCAA (1 appearance in last 10 years). I feel like it'd be good to get into California. Cal & San Diego State are others that wouldn't be bad.
  
• UNLV: I know they're down a bit, but they still have name recognition and Stan Johnson seems to have a relationship with nearby Findlay Prep.
  
• Grand Canyon: I know, they seem like a mid-major at best, but if we can't get ASU, I'd rather GCU than an Arizona team that we'd expect at best 0.5 wins against. They have won 20+ the past two seasons (and likely this year again), have hosted teams like Louisville & St. John's, and provide similar recruiting benefits to playing ASU without being a high-major.

[GoldenWarrior11]

Notre Dame, Louisville, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, and Syracuse would all be great old Big East matchups.  Frankly, if Nova/UConn, Georgetown/Syracuse and Pitt/WVU can all be resumed, there is no reason why Marquette/Louisville can't be either.  They have had history dating back decades.  That would be an incredible opening game at the new arena next year. 

I think BC would be another intriguing option (Jesuit connection).  From the B1G, Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois and Maryland would be good ones.  No one from the PAC, other than Arizona or UCLA interests me.  Big 12 would be a great partner for the Big East, considering the equal memberships.  100% no on anyone from the American.  There is nothing to benefit playing someone from their conference. 

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Nice list brew. I'd add Maryland because Wojo added a pair of 2019 targets from the   Terrapin state during the the 9 day break.

[LAZER]

Is this really a rule?  Does SJU need to approve every nonconference game a BE team plays in the Garden or Barclays?

Good question, but are those teams playing in MSG/Barclays hosting home & homes or are they there for tournaments?

[brewcity77]

Notre Dame, Louisville, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, and Syracuse would all be great old Big East matchups.  Frankly, if Nova/UConn, Georgetown/Syracuse and Pitt/WVU can all be resumed, there is no reason why Marquette/Louisville can't be either.  They have had history dating back decades.  That would be an incredible opening game at the new arena next year. 

I think BC would be another intriguing option (Jesuit connection).  From the B1G, Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois and Maryland would be good ones.  No one from the PAC, other than Arizona or UCLA interests me.  Big 12 would be a great partner for the Big East, considering the equal memberships.  100% no on anyone from the American.  There is nothing to benefit playing someone from their conference.

These games have to be more than just playing big teams, the location has to matter. I would never want to waste time with Syracuse when we already play at MSG every year. Same for BC when we play in Providence, or Pitt when we play in Philly. Honestly, I even wonder if some Big 10 programs I listed (Iowa, Minnesota specifically) would be worth it because are they really THAT far from Milwaukee?

Notre Dame and Louisville (even though we play in Indy every year) are two exceptions that might be worth it for historical value. Otherwise, one of the main factors has to be maintaining a presence in uncommon territories. That means getting to Arizona, Texas, California, South Carolina, and other states where leagues like the PAC-12, American, Big 12, SEC, and ACC are dominant.

Nice list brew. I'd add Maryland because Wojo added a pair of 2019 targets from the   Terrapin state during the the 9 day break.

Thanks. It would make a nice homecoming for Wojo too, though we do play in nearby DC every year, so I do think there are better options.