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Plenty of chances to beef up sched

Boiler said:
Check this out: http://bti.sportshd.com/mens_schedule_board
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Well Bradley, take your pick. Kansas, Louisville, Mississippi St., Pittsburgh? How about Oklahoma St. looking for a top 125 team, or a top 50 neutral/neutral series. Even Old Dominion is looking for a guarantee game.

The point is that we should be willing to play anyone, anywhere, anytime. I'm not saying make the schedule so hideous that we can't win games, but we need a few of these high RPI games to beef up our schedule and to prepare for the rigors of postseason play. Even if an expanded tournament makes a tough schedule obsolete, we still need to challange ourselves early to prepare for the conference season.

A couple of home games against high RPI teams would be big as well to help sell out the place a couple of times during the OOC portion of the schedule.
 
I read through the whole list...
the vast majority are low-mid-majors who want someone to come play there or they involve guarantee games...

All of the examples you cite Bravesfan, are only looking for a guarantee opponent, and quite frankly I bet they'd decline even if we wanted to come,
because we will be stronger next season than they wanna take any chance on losing on their own home court!!

I have talked with some of those in the athletic department about scheduling and they caution against believing this is easy...
if we have a solid group of seniors coming back next year, then you can be sure almost NONE of those big boys want us until they're desperately sitting on open dates...
 
tornado said:
I read through the whole list...
the vast majority are low-mid-majors who want someone to come play there or they involve guarantee games...

All of the examples you cite Bravesfan, are only looking for a guarantee opponent, and quite frankly I bet they'd decline even if we wanted to come,
because we will be stronger next season than they wanna take any chance on losing on their own home court!!

I have talked with some of those in the athletic department about scheduling and they caution against believing this is easy...
if we have a solid group of seniors coming back next year, then you can be sure almost NONE of those big boys want us until they're desperately sitting on open dates...
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Not true at all, BUT most were looking for BCS home/home's OR Top 50 opponents, which we don't qualify for either.
 
what about my statement is NOT true??
..of those on that long list seeking opponents, and of the ones who would accept a mid-major...the vast majority were wanting guarantee games or they were low majors like Georgia Southern or Fullerton wanting a home game next year...
so my point is very, very true....it is hard to schedule from the standpoint BU is in, being a solid mid-major that wouldn't be an easy win even as a guarantee opponent at a BCS.
thus not even one in 10 of those "games wanted" notices would be a realistic option, and even those 1 in 10 that are reasonable want us to come there next season..
 
tornado said:
I read through the whole list...
the vast majority are low-mid-majors who want someone to come play there or they involve guarantee games...

All of the examples you cite Bravesfan, are only looking for a guarantee opponent, and quite frankly I bet they'd decline even if we wanted to come,
because we will be stronger next season than they wanna take any chance on losing on their own home court!!

I have talked with some of those in the athletic department about scheduling and they caution against believing this is easy...
if we have a solid group of seniors coming back next year, then you can be sure almost NONE of those big boys want us until they're desperately sitting on open dates...
Click to expand...

Agreed on all points, but I wouldn't mind going on the road against one or two of those teams (if the accept us), even if it means that we probably lose these games. The more experience we get against the great teams on the road, the more we will be prepared for our conference season and postseason. And it definitely is not easy to schedule these teams, but the best mid-majors outside of Gonzaga and Butler have done it.

Old Dominion and Siena have had great schedules over the last few years, even if they had to go on the road to get these games. Siena has done very poorly against these teams, but they turned around and ran away with the MAAC, and they can credit that to playing against these teams in hostile environments. So I see it as a win, win situation for us, even if it isn't under the more ideal home and home type of series.

Probably the best scenerio for us is a preseason tournament, but a couple of roadies wouldn't hurt either.
 
tornado said:
what about my statement is NOT true??
..of those on that long list seeking opponents, and of the ones who would accept a mid-major...the vast majority were wanting guarantee games or they were low majors like Georgia Southern or Fullerton wanting a home game next year...
so my point is very, very true....it is hard to schedule from the standpoint BU is in, being a solid mid-major that wouldn't be an easy win even as a guarantee opponent at a BCS.
thus not even one in 10 of those "games wanted" notices would be a realistic option, and even those 1 in 10 that are reasonable want us to come there next season..
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Your statement about the big schools...

I choose not to even look at the tiny schools as why should we play those?
 
I have always said that if the right choice comes along, we should still consider
going to a top school (Michigan State, Pitt, ACC) for a road game only (guarantee game).
However, I am aware that most top non-BCS AD's abhor the idea of "selling out"...
 
tornado said:
I have always said that if the right choice comes along, we should still consider
going to a top school (Michigan State, Pitt, ACC) for a road game only (guarantee game).
Click to expand...

This I can agree w/ you on as this is how Gonzaga got started...


Go out and beat teams and you will build the resume to get better games.
 
tornado said:
I have always said that if the right choice comes along, we should still consider
going to a top school (Michigan State, Pitt, ACC) for a road game only (guarantee game).
However, I am aware that most top non-BCS AD's abhor the idea of "selling out"...
Click to expand...

That's pretty much what I meant too. If we can get these top teams on the road, great! That's why Kansas and Louisville stood out to me on that website.

I know that playing in Kansas is a pipe dream considering what we did to them in 2006! :D

Louisville on the other hand could be a possibility, but not likely either.
 
but still...as I said...in the years when we appear to have a good bunch of returnees, then those BCS guys often do not want us at all even for a negotiated decent guarantee sum...
they do not want to risk a loss to "a Bradley" at home...

Here -- check the non-con opponents Kansas has hosted last couple years...
http://kenpom.com/team.php?team=Kansas
and it's little different for just about any of the better BCS schools...

No decent mid-majors...none...only top BCS opponents, games that guarantee a nice TV package and a chance to rise in the rankings
or an absolute gimme game against the likes of Tennessee Tech, Central Arkansas, Coppin State, etc...

This is precisely why it is so hard to schedule...
if you think it is easy because there's a bunch of teams on that "Games Wanted" list, then you haven't actually tried calling those teams and telling them you're calling from Bradley.......
I can tell you, those BCS guys immediately say that's not what they're interested in...
 
Kansas is starting to fall into the Duke philosophy of scheduling the preseason favorites out of the bottom 15 conferences. Let them pile up wins to beef yourself up. And when you're Kansas, there's no need to risk a team in the MWC-MVC-WAC range because it provides relatively little benefit to the profile.

The ultimate key to getting a better schedule is to convince your opponent you can help their profile by playing the game. The problem is, for Valley teams in general, is that the profile benefit they provide are small in comparison to the marquee non-conference TV games and the conference schedule benefits.
 
tornado said:
but still...as I said...in the years when we appear to have a good bunch of returnees, then those BCS guys often do not want us at all even for a negotiated decent guarantee sum...
they do not want to risk a loss to "a Bradley" at home...

Here -- check the non-con opponents Kansas has hosted last couple years...
http://kenpom.com/team.php?team=Kansas
and it's little different for just about any of the better BCS schools...

No decent mid-majors...none...only top BCS opponents, games that guarantee a nice TV package and a chance to rise in the rankings
or an absolute gimme game against the likes of Tennessee Tech, Central Arkansas, Coppin State, etc...

This is precisely why it is so hard to schedule...
if you think it is easy because there's a bunch of teams on that "Games Wanted" list, then you haven't actually tried calling those teams and telling them you're calling from Bradley.......
I can tell you, those BCS guys immediately say that's not what they're interested in...
Click to expand...

Well Siena did get games at Georgia Tech and an average St. John's, while ODU had that game at Georgetown. Both had a game at an A-10 school, Siena at Temple and ODU at Dayton. ODU also had Missouri and Mississippi St. on a neutral court preseason tourney. Bradley had the equivalent of that with games at Iowa St. and a neutral game against Illinois.

And I agree 100% with your points tornado. Just curious as to how those two teams were able to snag those road games against those teams. Just luck, or did they have player and/or coaching connections?
 
personal contacts between AD's and coaches who are friends might just be the reasons for the few exceptions...but they are the exceptions..

and...MOST of your examples are not actually examples at all...

ODU played Missouri & Mississippi State at a neutral site in a tournament and they weren't at responsible for scheduling those games...
Same for BU playing Illinois, and some of the others...

..and the ODU game at Georgetown is part of a long running deal where ODU also plays at Georgetown in 2007 and again this year...but actually got a home game from Georgetown in 2007-2008...so it's a 2 for 3 like we did with Iowa State and Michigan State.

And Siena's game at Georgia Tech is kinda exactly what I am saying....as Siena although strong, are NOT from a solid mid-major conference...
I'd buy that it's an example if it's UNI getting to Georgia Tech...

But even if you search hard and find a couple of exceptions, then you've made my point in spades...
such examples of a top BCS wanting under any circumstances to play a Bradley or a Wichita State are very few and far between...
and when it happens, even like when BU beats Illinois in Las Vegas...
then YOU CAN BET it isn't going to happen again soon....as there are plenty of people still grumbling over in Champaign about that one!!
 
SaintLouBrave22 said:
This I can agree w/ you on as this is how Gonzaga got started...


Go out and beat teams and you will build the resume to get better games.
Click to expand...

I subscribe to this philosophy generally.

However, with a 96-team tournament, Valley teams are going to be forced to make a decision: Adopt the BCS cupcake mentality or maintain their generally balanced, tough-leaning practices.

Part of the reason Valley teams schedules have weakened is the flooding of DI with new programs. The more DI teams there are, the more the fat cats can feast at home. Valley teams will also have the luxury of doing this.

What will ultimately be more important in a 96-team tournament environment: Winning more, or better schedules? I tend to think winning more will be more important, honestly. But I don't claim that is the answer, the answer may not be clear for a couple years.

If there is a 96-team tourney, I really don't think Bradley ever needs to play a road game unless its a can't-miss opportunity.
 
squirrelgotdead said:
I subscribe to this philosophy generally.

However, with a 96-team tournament, Valley teams are going to be forced to make a decision: Adopt the BCS cupcake mentality or maintain their generally balanced, tough-leaning practices.

Part of the reason Valley teams schedules have weakened is the flooding of DI with new programs. The more DI teams there are, the more the fat cats can feast at home. Valley teams will also have the luxury of doing this.

What will ultimately be more important in a 96-team tournament environment: Winning more, or better schedules? I tend to think winning more will be more important, honestly. But I don't claim that is the answer, the answer may not be clear for a couple years.

If there is a 96-team tourney, I really don't think Bradley ever needs to play a road game unless its a can't-miss opportunity.
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Then why not go with the BB philosophy through your entire schedule, and schedule games vs power mids like Colonial, A10, and Conf. USA schools?
 
SaintLouBrave22 said:
Then why not go with the BB philosophy through your entire schedule, and schedule games vs power mids like Colonial, A10, and Conf. USA schools?
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Well, I think that may be a key part of what needs to happen. I would hope if there is ultimately going to be a split of DI, the Valley may need to be involved in some kind of exclusivity arrangement schedule-wise with a league like CUSA or A-10 so that they still do get some names on the schedule and still go on the road and get quality home teams.
 
I love this one...

H/H against the quality powerhouse of Davidson College. Play in the same gym as Wildcat great Stephen Curry. 09-10 RPI of 200 or worse. Serious offers only.
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We should try and schedule like minded mid-majors who usually are around the RPI 100 range or better. We tried to schedule St. Mary's this year but it did not work out. That would have been a great game for us. Let's schedule the the ODU's, Temple, Dayton and any other mid-major that has pride in their program because chances are they will have decent teams that will not hurt our RPI and resume. If we can by luck get another Mich St team to come to Carver fantastic but if there is something we learned from this year's NCAA is that there are some great teams that play at the mid-major level and we all have to take advantage of this fact, because true NCAA basketball fans know this, and if someone puts some PR and marketing money behind it I believe the revenue and notoriety will follow.

Temple in the 80s and 90s did this and Gonzaga also to some extent did the same.
 
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