Conference USA's Scheduling

[GGGG]

This is pretty cool.

https://deadspin.com/conference-usa-is-completely-revamping-its-conference-s-1826386373

They are going to seed the entire conference after 14 games, then set the final four games according to conference standings.  For instance, teams 1-5 will play one another, 6-10, etc.

This way they can boost up each other's SOS in the process.  Not sure it will work, but it's an interesting idea.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I like it. I didn't realize that your could schedule like that. At very least should increase the amount of quality basketball being played in late February and March

I don't think it would work in the high majors like the author suggests. The 7th and 8th place team in the Big East often have legitimate tournament aspirations late in the season. If they get stuck playing the 9th and 10th place team again it tanks their resume instead of helping it.

[SaveOD238]

I think this is a great idea...but there is one situation where it could be a hiccup.

Let's say a top ConfUSA team, maybe MTSU, is absolutely rolling at 23-4 with no bad losses but no good wins either.  Usually a team with that resume is in good shape, but could go from near-lock to NIT with just one or two losses.  Instead of ending the season with easy wins against middling-to-bad teams like UTEP, Rice, and North Texas, they have to rematch (or face a third time) higher quality opponents like Western Kentucky or Marshall.  All of sudden, 23-4 becomes 24-6.  A conference tourney upset, and that team is now outside looking in.

This plan is good for teams 2-4, but it sucks for team 1, and really sucks for team 5.

[Galway Eagle]

https://deadspin.com/conference-usa-is-completely-revamping-its-conference-s-1826386373

I think this is rather genius and certainly could be enormous for that tier of leagues that only have two legit teams

[brewcity77]

It's an intriguing idea but I'm not sure how it will work in practice. I think it's more likely CUSA teams will knock each other out that boost each other up because the SC is looking for high profile wins and in a 1-bid league (which CUSA has been for 6 straight years and every year since Memphis left) those just aren't there.

Who this could benefit is if leagues like the A10 or WCC that routinely have a few teams around the bubble adopt this. It could solidify leagues like that getting 3-5 bids. But CUSA? Don't see that happening.

[Galway Eagle]

Oops meant to put in superbar my bad!

[GB Warrior]

Relevant since that's where Wojo will be coaching next year.

[DegenerateDish]

If nothing else, I like that it challenges the antiquated method of scheduling. I think they try it out and figure out how to tweak it in time. As a consumer, it gives a far more interesting product, and it makes sense to me what the conference is trying to achieve.

[Oldgym]

Clever maneuver on CUSA's part. 

OD and Brew raise good points about downside.  To that I'd add that the mid- and low-tier CUSA teams will see their attendance plummet during the in-season "tournament", but not knowing CUSA's attendance dynamics, that might not amount to much.  Still worth a try.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

I like it. I didn't realize that your could schedule like that. At very least should increase the amount of quality basketball being played in late February and March

I don't think it would work in the high majors like the author suggests. The 7th and 8th place team in the Big East often have legitimate tournament aspirations late in the season. If they get stuck playing the 9th and 10th place team again it tanks their resume instead of helping it.

Maybe in a conference like the B1G it could work.  Look at Nebraska last year. They might have been good enough to make the tournament if they had more opportunities for quality wins.  The imbalanced schedule gave them a really small margin of error.

I don't think the Big East or Big 12 would ever do this.  The true round robin gives each team a fair shot at the tournament.

[GooooMarquette]

Clever maneuver on CUSA's part. 

OD and Brew raise good points about downside.  To that I'd add that the mid- and low-tier CUSA teams will see their attendance plummet during the in-season "tournament", but not knowing CUSA's attendance dynamics, that might not amount to much.  Still worth a try.

I also wonder about attendance for the top teams in C-USA. If I'm reading this correctly, fans might not even know whether their team will be playing home or away until a couple days ahead of time. And it isn't as though it's a quasi play-in game, because they'll still have the conference tournament a week later anyhow.

I applaud their creativity, but doubt it helps much. In the end, the biggest benefit might be that it has people talking about C-USA in the summer.

[KipsBayEagle]

I think there is a word for this.  Cheating

[Galway Eagle]

I think there is a word for this.  Cheating

Howso?

[GGGG]

I think there is a word for this.  Cheating

Uh...what?

[WarriorDad]

I think there is a word for this.  Cheating

What rules are being broken?  If none, it ain't cheating.


Now, with this new setup is it not possible to play the same team 5 times in a season?

Two times in the first 13 games
One time in the seeded last 5 games
One time in conference tournament
One time in the post season (NIT / NCAA tournament)

[CTWarrior]

This is a good idea for traditional one bid leagues.  Don't think there is merit for the multi-bid leagues, who can control their schedules enough that SOS should not be a problem.  I know Nebraska was an outlier last year, but I get the feeling if they played a tougher schedule they would just have lost a bunch more games.