Nova and the Mess the BE has in Rescheduling

[Not A Serious Person]

I just noticed that the BE has two games scheduled for today, Wed Jan 13 (Nova v Xavier and Depaul v Georgetown), and both of these games were postponed.

The BE has no game scheduled for Thursday, Jan 14 and the one game for Friday, Jan 15 (Nova v Uconn) is saying "postponed" on ESPN's website.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/scoreboard/_/group/4/date/20210115

Unbelievably the last BE game scheduled that played was Tuesday, Jan 12, MU v Prov.  The next BE game that is currently expected to play is Saturday which is MU v St. Johns (Georgetown v Prov is scheduled at the same time)

To date, Nova has played three BE games, the least of any team (next is Depaul with four) As noted above, their next scheduled game for Friday has already been postponed.  Seton Hall has played the most, eight. MU and several other teams have played seven.

So Nova is four to six games behind the rest of the conference.  This means the BE has a decision.  Either some of these games do not get rescheduled (like Nova/MU) or Nova, Depaul and others are going to have to "suck it up" and play back-to-back or maybe three games in five days.

And all of this assumes the conference does not get waves of more postponements, which it probably will.

So, how many of these games get canceled, or do we see a bunch of games piled in a short number of days at some point this season? Does the NCAA have a rule about how many games can be played in a week (outside the conference tourney)?

[Not A Serious Person]

Follow-up. 

Nova is 3-0 and shown as being in first place in the conference.  Creighton is 6-1 and shown to be in second place in the conference?  Seton Hall is third at 6-2.

If the BE finishes with unbalanced schedules, how do you seed the BE tourney?  By total wins or winning percentage?  If it is total wins, Nova could wind up as a 3 to 6 seed considering how many games they are behind the rest of the conference.  Currently, they would be fourth by total wins.

[vogue65]

Let A.I. decide. 
That would be a good one.
Take the refs., fans, coaches, players, administrations, networks, NCAA, stadium managers, and travel staffs out of the equation.

[MUMonster03]

Follow-up. 

Nova is 3-0 and shown as being in first place in the conference.  Creighton is 6-1 and shown to be in second place in the conference?  Seton Hall is third at 6-2.

If the BE finishes with unbalanced schedules, how do you seed the BE tourney?  By total wins or winning percentage?  If it is total wins, Nova could wind up as a 3 to 6 seed considering how many games they are behind the rest of the conference.  Currently, they would be fourth by total wins.

I believe before the season started there was a minimum number of games that teams had to play against D1 opponents, I believe it was 13, so they only need a few more to be tournament eligible. I would think that most conferecnes planned for this type of scenario and already have a process in place to seed teams if games played are not equal.

It would be interesting to see a tie breaker for example betwen a 15-5 team and 12-4 one, especially if the 12-4 team swept the other one or won their only matchup. 

[WarriorFan]

Just waiting for a few notable teams to hit their 13 game target and then pack it in for the rest of the regular season.  MU is already at 13, but the record is too poor to consider this... but a strong team in a strong conference with 11-2 or 12-1 record really has no incentive to take risks between now and the tournament.

[Not A Serious Person]

Just waiting for a few notable teams to hit their 13 game target and then pack it in for the rest of the regular season.  MU is already at 13, but the record is too poor to consider this... but a strong team in a strong conference with 11-2 or 12-1 record really has no incentive to take risks between now and the tournament.

What about Fox Sports?  They are paying the conference big bucks for content.  I cannot think they are happy that they are not getting the conference games for programming?  As I noted above, Fox Sports has no BE content this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday!

Do they get a refund from the conference for missed games/content? If so, does this pressure the conference to start rescheduling, and sorry Nova, you might have to play 3 or 4 games in a week?

[GooooMarquette]

Just waiting for a few notable teams to hit their 13 game target and then pack it in for the rest of the regular season.  MU is already at 13, but the record is too poor to consider this... but a strong team in a strong conference with 11-2 or 12-1 record really has no incentive to take risks between now and the tournament.

Maybe...but there is something to be said for maintaining your momentum when things are going well. I know that doesn't last indefinitely, but when you're on a roll, coaches wanna coach, players wanna play and fans wanna watch.

And if some team pulls the plug now and conferences cancel conference tourneys, their next game might be mid-March. Going into the Dance coming off an 8-week layoff? Not so sure that's a good idea.

[CTWarrior]

Follow-up. 

Nova is 3-0 and shown as being in first place in the conference.  Creighton is 6-1 and shown to be in second place in the conference?  Seton Hall is third at 6-2.

If the BE finishes with unbalanced schedules, how do you seed the BE tourney?  By total wins or winning percentage?  If it is total wins, Nova could wind up as a 3 to 6 seed considering how many games they are behind the rest of the conference.  Currently, they would be fourth by total wins.

I've never heard of a league using anything other than winning percentage to determine order, and that makes the most sense.  I expect that is what the Big East would do.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

What about Fox Sports?  They are paying the conference big bucks for content.  I cannot think they are happy that they are not getting the conference games for programming?  As I noted above, Fox Sports has no BE content this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday!

Do they get a refund from the conference for missed games/content? If so, does this pressure the conference to start rescheduling, and sorry Nova, you might have to play 3 or 4 games in a week?

I'm sure they are going to pay the BE less by a prorated amount.  It's likely spelled out in the contract.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I've never heard of a league using anything other than winning percentage to determine order, and that makes the most sense.  I expect that is what the Big East would do.

True....but I don't think there have been any previous examples of conference teams not playing the same number of games.

I wonder if a system where each win counts for +1 and each loss for -1 (with winning% being the tiebreaker) would make sense with such uneven schedules. That would put the current rankings at:

Creighton 6-1
Seton Hall 6-2
Villanova 3-0
UConn 4-1
Xavier 3-2
Marquette 3-4
Providence 3-4
SJU 2-5
Butler 2-5
Georgetown 1-5
DePaul 0-4

Switches up the top 4 and keeps 5-11 the same as of right now.

[GooooMarquette]

I've never heard of a league using anything other than winning percentage to determine order, and that makes the most sense.  I expect that is what the Big East would do.

Yes, but we have also never seen a season where some teams may play several more or fewer conference games than other teams. If ever there was a year for conferences to consider a different methodology, this would be it....

[brewcity77]

My biggest worry is that other Big East teams could really use those games against Nova. Those are valuable resume building opportunities and make a big difference in terms of SOS.

[Not A Serious Person]

Yes, but we have also never seen a season where some teams may play several more or fewer conference games than other teams. If ever there was a year for conferences to consider a different methodology, this would be it....

Exactly, winning percentage or total wins produces exactly the same standings when everyone plays a balanced schedule and the same number of games.

This year to-date ... is a 6 -1 Creighton wrong to argue they have the best conference record over a 3-0 Nova.  It is not clear-cut like a balanced schedule gives you.

[brewcity77]

Exactly, winning percentage or total wins produces exactly the same standings when everyone plays a balanced schedule and the same number of games.

This year to-date ... is a 6 -1 Creighton wrong to argue they have the best conference record over a 3-0 Nova.  It is not clear-cut like a balanced schedule gives you.

All that matters is that the league members agree on the methodology. Winning percentage, fine. Games over .500, fine. Just as long as it's applied evenly, it doesn't really matter much.

[tower912]

This was always inevitable unless there was a bubble the players actually stayed in.

[Billy Hoyle]

Maybe...but there is something to be said for maintaining your momentum when things are going well. I know that doesn't last indefinitely, but when you're on a roll, coaches wanna coach, players wanna play and fans wanna watch.

And if some team pulls the plug now and conferences cancel conference tourneys, their next game might be mid-March. Going into the Dance coming off an 8-week layoff? Not so sure that's a good idea.

The NCAA is strongly encouraging conference tournaments to be canceled and coaches of some conferences are already being informed their tournaments are off. That gives an additional week (or two for some conferences to get in makeup games.

[Hards Alumni]

I get the feeling that these new more highly infectious strains are going to ruin the 2nd half of the basketball season as well as school/university years.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

The NCAA is strongly encouraging conference tournaments to be canceled and coaches of some conferences are already being informed their tournaments are off. That gives an additional week (or two for some conferences to get in makeup games.

It would probably be better for the teams to bubble up during that time and not travel.

[The Big East]

One of the related problems is the cancellation of the cupcakes. A component of NET is the win loss and efficiency. Those cupcakes give a team a chance to build up those two components . I think the 4 bottom teams would be 40-50 points higher if they would have got their cupcake games in.

[GooooMarquette]

I get the feeling that these new more highly infectious strains are going to ruin the 2nd half of the basketball season as well as school/university years.

A very real possibility. We have seen what the UK strain did across the pond, and now it's here. The strain from Ohio quickly overwhelmed hospitals in Columbus. And I don't see anyone rushing to impose new restrictions.

Down the road, it will be interesting to see how many teams get NCAA invites and then have to withdraw because of a positive test. I have a feeling the committee may need to have 'backup teams' on call....

[brewcity77]

A very real possibility. We have seen what the UK strain did across the pond, and now it's here. The strain from Ohio quickly overwhelmed hospitals in Columbus. And I don't see anyone rushing to impose new restrictions.

Down the road, it will be interesting to see how many teams get NCAA invites and then have to withdraw because of a positive test. I have a feeling the committee may need to have 'backup teams' on call....

I think that's almost a given, especially as I can't imagine them running a NIT this year.

[BrewCity83]

Let A.I. decide.
That would be a good one.
Take the refs., fans, coaches, players, administrations, networks, NCAA, stadium managers, and travel staffs out of the equation.

Why would Allen Iverson get to decide?  He'd put Georgetown first.

[GooooMarquette]

Why would Allen Iverson get to decide?  He'd put Georgetown first.

I thought he was talking about Andre Igoudala.

[Not A Serious Person]

All that matters is that the league members agree on the methodology. Winning percentage, fine. Games over .500, fine. Just as long as it's applied evenly, it doesn't really matter much.

Agree

With unbalanced schedules and teams all playing a different amount of conference games, it comes down to a simple question ....

What matters more?

If it is a conference win, then use total wins and Creighton is in first place.
If it is a conference loss, then use the winning % and Nova is in first place.

(again if everyone played a balanced schedule and the same number of games, either method would give the same answer.)

[GooooMarquette]

All that matters is that the league members agree on the methodology. Winning percentage, fine. Games over .500, fine. Just as long as it's applied evenly, it doesn't really matter much.

That would be ideal, but I have to wonder how they would get a consensus right now, since we already have a pretty good idea which teams will have played fewer games. It would have been preferable to develop a methodology before the season started.