RPI Rankings of the Big 12 & CU opponents

[CarolinaBuff]

i think the issue of not being able to get home-homes with top teams is a straw-man argument that "appears" to succeed by virtue of overstatement. we should be willing to go on the road at this point or go 2 away; 1 at home. no reason why a quality (most of the time) regional team like New Mexico or UNLV shouldn't be on our schedule. pre Pac 10, same with Utah, BYU or even Utah State. Gonzaga plays everybody under the sun the last few years OOC (because they have to). sign a 4 year deal, 2 here, 2 there. schools do that all the time. we don't have the bargaining position to request equal status with the Dukes or Kentuckys (which makes the staw-man argument appear to succeed)....much like it's very rare for a team like Texas to travel to Wyoming in football. we are the lesser team in that comparison but there are far more schools like CU out there who need to fill a 12-13 game OOC. no reason we can't approach Creighton (good mid major) instead of Maryland-Eastern Shore. Put together a Sat-Mon trip to the East Coast...lotta teams out there. kids dig the trip, schedule St. Johns...play in the Garden. use it in recruiting. lot of CU alums on the East Coast. almost nothing is gained by playing Stetson at the CEC 2 days after finals in front of 4200 people in terms of building a program. and we have decades of that kind of game on the books.

i think the mindset in the AD has been to salvage a "respectable" OOC W-L as the appearance of a successful program rather than doing what it takes to actually HAVE a successful program. Ricardo backed away from signing incentive laced contracts in the 90's....I think the schedule was part of the same psychology....get some wins, don't get fired, don't get held to a higher standard thereby...

Well said. If we're getting any satisfaction out of beating the MD-Eastern Shore's and TX-Pan American's of the world then I guess that's a big part of our problem, which is that there's pretty close to no expectations around this program. Consider this: of all the schools in the 6 major conferences, there are a grand total of 4 teams that have a longer Sweet 16 drought than us. One (Northwestern) has never made the tournament. Two (Nebraska and USF) have never won a tournament game. The other is Virginia Tech. And the USF basketball program didn't even start until 1971.

However I do have a bit of hope for the program going forward with the new basketball facility and some new-found enthusiasm this year.

 

[GoBuffs!!]

Well said. If we're getting any satisfaction out of beating the MD-Eastern Shore's and TX-Pan American's of the world then I guess that's a big part of our problem, which is that there's pretty close to no expectations around this program. Consider this: of all the schools in the 6 major conferences, there are a grand total of 4 teams that have a longer Sweet 16 drought than us. One (Northwestern) has never made the tournament. Two (Nebraska and USF) have never won a tournament game. The other is Virginia Tech. And the USF basketball program didn't even start until 1971.

However I do have a bit of hope for the program going forward with the new basketball facility and some new-found enthusiasm this year.

Wow, that is sad

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

We were sub-mediocre for most of the last 2-3 decades. One of the few ways to gain confidence (and wins) is to play cupcakes (see also, kJsu model). The objective, of course, is to have enough wins to play in a post season tourney (read, NIT), and keep building until you're a regular dancer. Once at this point, better players commit, and you set your sights higher. Rinse. Spit. Repeat.

The opposite model is to schedule tougher ooc games and gain exposure. Play well, represent well, and then recruit well. The objective is to skip the lower tourneys. Once you're a regular at the dance, recruiting, etc., becomes better/easier.

This team was dealt the first hand. They gotta play it as is. Bottom line -- win, and all the numbers and analysis will take care of itself.

Before the season, I thought a trip to the NIT would be a reachable goal for this team and the new staff. I still think that's where they are headed, but the goal should change -- win a couple of games in the lower tourney. Send to upperclassmen out right and give the young guns that extra practice time. One NIT game just isn't good enough.