2016-17 Schedule Discussion

[Bill Koch]

This is in fact what it says. If you can show me another version, I will give you $100 on press row opening night against Dartmouth.

"A first meeting with Belmont on Nov. 25 – a seven-time NCAA qualifier since 2006 – comes before URI’s first true road game of the season, as the Rams travel to Indiana to take on NIT runner-up Valparaiso.'

[RF1]

P5 home and home I like it !!

It would be great if it were to happen. The tweet however indicated that Rhody WAS LOOKING for a P5 H&H. Given how late in the scheduling process we are, my thinking is it is not likely for this year. If not, perhaps URI can follow the lead of UMass and set such a thing up for later seasons.

It looks like no big name opponent for the home schedule to increase interest and ticket sales. Best OOC games are up the road in Uncasville and Providence.

While there are several good 2nd tier programs (Houston, Belmont, Valpo, and ODU) there is not a whole lot of sizzle for the most part (other than Mohegan Sun games and PC). Scheduling at a school such as Rhody is a tough job. Not good enough for many name programs and scary enough to avoid. Seems like the same story each season with the schedule.

[RF1]

Hi everyone - hope you've had a great summer so far.

We are very excited to release our non-conference schedule for the 2016-17 season and, like last year, I'd like to open it up to any questions you might have about the process, the strategy, the teams, or scheduling in college basketball in general.

I'll answer everything as best I can - fire away.

-ML

Could you elaborate more on the contract details with Belmont, Holy Cross, and W&M. Are these games part of series and if so, what are the details? I would assume Dartmouth is a one time buy game, right?

Many series end this season (Valpo, ODU, Houston). Are there any opponents being lined up for next season?

[ramster]

http://www.providencejournal.com/sports ... e-schedule

'URI has one open date remaining on its schedule, one that could be filled as late as mid-September. That’s when Iona was added last season, a game that turned out to be an overtime thriller against the MAAC’s automatic NCAA qualifier.'

Guys, I know some of you aren't in the habit of reading the Journal or checking the website. I know you have your reasons. But a lot of your questions would be answered if you followed closely, and there are plenty of posters here who can vouch for my work covering this team over the past several seasons. Thanks.

Bill,
Might be that numerous posters live out of state and don't receive the Projo. There are also several who don't like the paper very much.
I think the Projo provides significant info on the URI program and when compared to the schools in Boston like BC, BU, Harvard, Northeastern.... the coverage of URI is huge with the Projo. Very little coverage in the Globe or Herald for those beantown teams, except for hockey.

Complaints are frequent that PC gets more coverage than Rhody but PC is a bigger story for most Rhode Islanders, truth be known. But this promises to be a huge year for URI and a rebuilding year for the Friars.

My favorite column week after week, year after year is Bill Reynolds on Saturday mornings!! Never get tired of that column and dread the day I stops.

Thanks for your in depth coverage of URI and also enjoy your following of RI high school sports of all kinds.

[RF1]

From the Projo article:
"URI will not play a true road game on November 29 when they visit NIT finalist Valparasio."
What does this mean? Where are they playing? Maybe a typo?

Looks to have been changed by Projo as it now at 10pm reads:

A first meeting with Belmont on Nov. 25 – a seven-time NCAA qualifier since 2006 – comes before URI’s first true road game of the season, as the Rams travel to Indiana to take on NIT runner-up Valparaiso.


The URI press release reads:

URI heads to Valparaiso on Nov. 29 to close out the series that began last year in Kingston.

[TruePoint]

From the Projo article:
"URI will not play a true road game on November 29 when they visit NIT finalist Valparasio."
What does this mean? Where are they playing? Maybe a typo?

Looks to have been changed by Projo as it now at 10pm reads:

A first meeting with Belmont on Nov. 25 – a seven-time NCAA qualifier since 2006 – comes before URI’s first true road game of the season, as the Rams travel to Indiana to take on NIT runner-up Valparaiso.


The URI press release reads:

URI heads to Valparaiso on Nov. 29 to close out the series that began last year in Kingston.

It seems as if Bill is saying it always said that and our poster misread and misquoted him here. I tend to believe Bill.

[860_rhody]

From the Projo article:
"URI will not play a true road game on November 29 when they visit NIT finalist Valparasio."
What does this mean? Where are they playing? Maybe a typo?

Looks to have been changed by Projo as it now at 10pm reads:

A first meeting with Belmont on Nov. 25 – a seven-time NCAA qualifier since 2006 – comes before URI’s first true road game of the season, as the Rams travel to Indiana to take on NIT runner-up Valparaiso.


The URI press release reads:

URI heads to Valparaiso on Nov. 29 to close out the series that began last year in Kingston.

It seems as if Bill is saying it always said that and our poster misread and misquoted him here. I tend to believe Bill.

I copied and pasted that line, that's why it's in quotes. But Bill changed it. Good for him.

[CT Rhody]

Bill works harder then anybody out there and his credibility is also second to none. I'd always go with Bill's version until proven otherwise. Who cares about this point of reference anyway. I'd rather discuss more of the details of the schedule here and how it was made etc. We are an extremely lucky fan base to have both the program in MLaprey and their number #1 beat writer BKoch posting on this board to provide further insights for us fans.

[Ramulous]

Thanks to Mike and Bill for coming here to post info for us......they don't have to do it.....and most of us appreciate it.....

[RhowdyRam02]

Mike, does playing Brown in the Tip Off tournament change the yearly rotation of where we play them? Next year would normally be on the road, but do we face them at home next year now?

[SmartyBarrett]

From the Projo article:
"URI will not play a true road game on November 29 when they visit NIT finalist Valparasio."
What does this mean? Where are they playing? Maybe a typo?

This quote is from the GoLocalProv article, not the ProJo one.

http://www.golocalprov.com/sports/uri-b ... e-schedule

[RhowdyRam02]

Bill Koch for the win!

[TruePoint]

Looks to have been changed by Projo as it now at 10pm reads:

A first meeting with Belmont on Nov. 25 – a seven-time NCAA qualifier since 2006 – comes before URI’s first true road game of the season, as the Rams travel to Indiana to take on NIT runner-up Valparaiso.


The URI press release reads:

URI heads to Valparaiso on Nov. 29 to close out the series that began last year in Kingston.

It seems as if Bill is saying it always said that and our poster misread and misquoted him here. I tend to believe Bill.

I copied and pasted that line, that's why it's in quotes. But Bill changed it. Good for him.

I think Smarty solved the mystery here, but just to put this to bed: you posted at 9:40 last night; Bill's article went live on the projo site at 12:08 yesterday afternoon according to the byline. If it had been edited at all, it would note that in the byline. That is journalism 101 - you have to announce your edits, not sneak them through. Accusing him of editing his story and not declaring that is a pretty serious accusation, whether you realize it or not.

As I said, I tend to believe Bill. And in this case I was right.

[SmartyBarrett]

Minor edits (spelling, grammar, typos) usually are not noted in the byline, and do not need to be. Any sort of significant corrections, however, are marked with something like a "Last Update: Aug. 16, 3:27 p.m." In any event, this was pretty easily solved using a site called Google. It's pretty neat - I hope it catches on.

[TruePoint]

Minor edits (spelling, grammar, typos) usually are not noted in the byline, and do not need to be. Any sort of significant corrections, however, are marked with something like a "Last Update: Aug. 16, 3:27 p.m." In any event, this was pretty easily solved using a site called Google. It's pretty neat - I hope it catches on.

If you substantively change the article you need to note it. In other words, a typo can be fixed without a notation, but if the typo materially changes the meaning of information presented in the article it should be noted.

[Rhodymob05]

Side note: Clicked on the Koch article to the Projo and saw the article about John Dennis "Done at WEEI" I'm shocked.

[ATPTourFan]

Let this serve as the latest reminder of the lower quality product GoLocalProv supplies.

[RhowdyRam02]

Side note: Clicked on the Koch article to the Projo and saw the article about John Dennis "Done at WEEI" I'm shocked.

I knew his contract was up sometime next year and it was going to be his last contract, is he leaving even sooner?

[TruePoint]

Him and Minnehane have been warring. It hasn't exactly been a well kept secret he was out. Minnehane has been "conducting tryouts" with guest hosts doing fill-ins. I already consider Gerry Callahan to be maybe the worst human being in media, so if they add freaking Gary Tanguay to the show I am out. That guy is as bright as a box of rocks. I find Kirk entertaining but I can't deal with a shitty human and a dumb human both on the same show. And I'm 90% sure that's where they are going.

[ace]

The breakdown from gorhody.com discussing our nonconference schedule

http://static.psbin.com/3/o/bdzzfsshswk ... akdown.pdf

That's a really great reference.

Opponents by conference: American (2), Ivy (2), MAAC, Big 10/ACC, Ohio Valley, Horizon, Big East, Conference USA, Patriot, Colonial

I like the three games easing into the tournament: Dartmouth (hopefully we'll be celebrating EC's 1000th point by about 7:15 on 11/11); Marist (was almost Dan's first college head coaching job); and Brown (I expect that no stools will be harmed in getting the win this year).

It's easy to look past Cincinnati to Duke, but that's a really, really good game. Cronin's in his second year back after the forced break, and his teams play tough and physical (precautionary face masks for everyone?). I haven't rooted against Duke since March of 1992, but I can do that again, if it gets to that point.

The Belmont through Houston games is a nice stretch with three tough road games (Valparaiso, Providence, and Houston). Gray for Houston will be a nice test for the defense, as will Valpo's Peters, who was already mentioned.

As it stands now, finish up with Holy Cross and William and Mary, fine tune the rotation, and get ready for conference play.

[mlaprey]

Hi everyone - hope you've had a great summer so far.

We are very excited to release our non-conference schedule for the 2016-17 season and, like last year, I'd like to open it up to any questions you might have about the process, the strategy, the teams, or scheduling in college basketball in general.

I'll answer everything as best I can - fire away.

-ML

Is this the final schedule, Mike? Or is there a chance another game might be added?

@Billyboy78: We do have the ability to add another game and are trying to fill that date. But it has to be the right fit - a top 100 RPI opponent or a series that we feel works out well for us for this season and next. Open dates are a problem - they have been throughout the entire scheduling process. We'll fill the game as long it's the right game.

[ramster]

Mike,
Is it a strategy you and the organization have adopted to keep 1 game available at a later time like this? Does this enable us to be able to land a home and home with a Top 100 rip team or P5 team such as Houston, Nebraska that also might be looking to fill out their schedule as well?
How do you feel about this year's schedule as as far as what you set out to accomplish?

Any news about possibilities for a Tournament for the 2017-2018 season or 2018-2019? Should we be excited?

[mlaprey]

Hi everyone - hope you've had a great summer so far.

We are very excited to release our non-conference schedule for the 2016-17 season and, like last year, I'd like to open it up to any questions you might have about the process, the strategy, the teams, or scheduling in college basketball in general.

I'll answer everything as best I can - fire away.

-ML

Mike - I think it's so awesome that the program "gets it" by you posting on this board. That outreach is incredibly important and much appreciated. Couple of questions for you, what games are buy games vs home for homes and what's the strategy behind that for the program at this time?

There are five guarantee games on the schedule this season: Dartmouth, Belmont, William & Mary, and the two games from the HOF tournament (Marist, Brown). We are also beginning a three-year deal with Holy Cross this season, returning to the DCU Center in 17-18, and then back to the Ryan Center in 18-19.

Our strategy was to add as many quality teams as we could. We know Dartmouth is very well coached, Marist returns a veteran team, and we have all the respect in the world for Mike Martin and Brown - they are always prepared and our matchups are always tough. Then you add challenging matchups with Belmont and W&M - two teams that have consistently challenged for the postseason. Belmont has made six NCAA tournaments in the last decade or so and William & Mary has been in the CAA final two of the last three years.

We close out our H/H series with ODU and Houston this year, opening up a relatively wide-open slate in 17-18 - which I'm excited about.

[mlaprey]

Hi everyone - hope you've had a great summer so far.

We are very excited to release our non-conference schedule for the 2016-17 season and, like last year, I'd like to open it up to any questions you might have about the process, the strategy, the teams, or scheduling in college basketball in general.

I'll answer everything as best I can - fire away.

-ML

Mike, Thanks for taking the time out to answer our questions.

I'm sure there was much effort in trying to get a P5 school to come to The Ryan Center this year, as if I remember correctly, you stated before last season that discussions were already taken place in trying to schedule a P5 for this year at home.

How close were were to getting a P5 school in this year as part of a H&H or multi year series, and what reasons were provided by the schools as to why they did not agree to play us?

You are correct - there was a considerable amount of effort made in filling out our schedule and adding a marquee series to this year's home slate. Jim Carr and I collaborate on scheduling. We wrote down the top 150 teams in the RPI on the white board in his office and reached out to every single one of them. Every. Single. One. Answers ranged from "no," "hell no," "how much are you paying," and then "did Matthews leave?" and then "no."

There are a multitude of reasons why we could not fulfill our goal of a P5 series at home. I won't speculate on why some schools may have declined, but there were other teams that had interest but not the available dates. There were opportunities that we had to decline due to final exam dates. But the good news is we are talking with them right now about 17-18.

One positive I took out of this particular round of scheduling was a comment made by an assistant coach of a marquee team that had interest but no dates. He said he thought we were one of the most aggressive scheduling teams in the country and that most of his respective team's scheduling meetings had us as a topic of conversation. I hope that continues.

[mlaprey]

Hi everyone - hope you've had a great summer so far.

We are very excited to release our non-conference schedule for the 2016-17 season and, like last year, I'd like to open it up to any questions you might have about the process, the strategy, the teams, or scheduling in college basketball in general.

I'll answer everything as best I can - fire away.

-ML

Could you elaborate more on the contract details with Belmont, Holy Cross, and W&M. Are these games part of series and if so, what are the details? I would assume Dartmouth is a one time buy game, right?

Many series end this season (Valpo, ODU, Houston). Are there any opponents being lined up for next season?

Yes, our single-game contracts for the year are with Dartmouth, Belmont and W&M. Marist and Brown are part of the HOF tourney.\

While we still have our eye on the last 16-17 date, we're onto 17-18.

[mlaprey]

Mike, does playing Brown in the Tip Off tournament change the yearly rotation of where we play them? Next year would normally be on the road, but do we face them at home next year now?

Great question - our annual H/H series with Brown resumes in 17-18. So in 18-19, we'll have two games in the Capital City.

[mlaprey]

Mike,
Is it a strategy you and the organization have adopted to keep 1 game available at a later time like this? Does this enable us to be able to land a home and home with a Top 100 rip team or P5 team such as Houston, Nebraska that also might be looking to fill out their schedule as well?
How do you feel about this year's schedule as as far as what you set out to accomplish?

Any news about possibilities for a Tournament for the 2017-2018 season or 2018-2019? Should we be excited?

No, I'd much rather have the non-conference slate done by late May/early June. But this year more than ever, it seems as though there are still quite a high number of teams still actively seeking dates. (several within our league...) Tough sledding sometimes.

As for MTE's, my goal is to have them scheduled out five years out if possible. We're in a great position for 17-18 and will be talking 18-19 in the fall.

[ramster]

Mike,
Is it a strategy you and the organization have adopted to keep 1 game available at a later time like this? Does this enable us to be able to land a home and home with a Top 100 rip team or P5 team such as Houston, Nebraska that also might be looking to fill out their schedule as well?
How do you feel about this year's schedule as as far as what you set out to accomplish?

Any news about possibilities for a Tournament for the 2017-2018 season or 2018-2019? Should we be excited?

No, I'd much rather have the non-conference slate done by late May/early June. But this year more than ever, it seems as though there are still quite a high number of teams still actively seeking dates. (several within our league...) Tough sledding sometimes.

As for MTE's, my goal is to have them scheduled out five years out if possible. We're in a great position for 17-18 and will be talking 18-19 in the fall.

Thanks,
Follow up, when do you expect to announce details of the "great position for 17-18"? Any hints as to location?

[CT Rhody]

Hi everyone - hope you've had a great summer so far.

We are very excited to release our non-conference schedule for the 2016-17 season and, like last year, I'd like to open it up to any questions you might have about the process, the strategy, the teams, or scheduling in college basketball in general.

I'll answer everything as best I can - fire away.

-ML

Mike - I think it's so awesome that the program "gets it" by you posting on this board. That outreach is incredibly important and much appreciated. Couple of questions for you, what games are buy games vs home for homes and what's the strategy behind that for the program at this time?

There are five guarantee games on the schedule this season: Dartmouth, Belmont, William & Mary, and the two games from the HOF tournament (Marist, Brown). We are also beginning a three-year deal with Holy Cross this season, returning to the DCU Center in 17-18, and then back to the Ryan Center in 18-19.

Our strategy was to add as many quality teams as we could. We know Dartmouth is very well coached, Marist returns a veteran team, and we have all the respect in the world for Mike Martin and Brown - they are always prepared and our matchups are always tough. Then you add challenging matchups with Belmont and W&M - two teams that have consistently challenged for the postseason. Belmont has made six NCAA tournaments in the last decade or so and William & Mary has been in the CAA final two of the last three years.

We close out our H/H series with ODU and Houston this year, opening up a relatively wide-open slate in 17-18 - which I'm excited about.

Thanks for the details Mike! I do have a follow up question or two. First, can you elaborate on what boxes need to be checked to meet the criteria for a home and home series, buy game, 2-1 arrangements going either way? I like the Holy Cross 2-1 deal by the way, seems strategically and financially a great deal for both parties. Second follow up question, at what point in the upward trajectory does schedule become easier with P5 home and homes and better all around deals for the program in your assessment? One NCAA berth, a couple, what will move the needle?

[Rhody15]

Thanks a bunch, Mike. Very in-depth answers to our questions.

Can't wait for the season!

[STC]

Thats it?

Just ONE P5 opponent that might end up being Penn State? Where are the OOC resume building wins going to come from exactly? How is URI going to get into the Dance as an at-large?

Cincinnati game looms large early on, drop that one and URI's margin for an at-large is razor thin.

PC will be down this year, Valpo will take a step back without Bryce Drew. Belmont and Old Dominion are fine but home wins that won't do much on selection sunday.

Nothing really needs to be said about Dartmouth, Marist, Brown, Holy Cross and W&M except that if you drop one then URI can really start sweating on selection Sunday.

Houston could be a real wild card game and a nice win.

Of course, if Hurley's coaching catches up with his hype and URI takes care of business early on against Cincy and Duke then this soft OOC slate is a moot point. I just have zero to suggest that will actually happen.

Ahh man, this is going to be a fun year!! Either URI dances or this board will meltdown over another year of hype and unrealized expectations.

[mlaprey]

Mike,
Is it a strategy you and the organization have adopted to keep 1 game available at a later time like this? Does this enable us to be able to land a home and home with a Top 100 rip team or P5 team such as Houston, Nebraska that also might be looking to fill out their schedule as well?
How do you feel about this year's schedule as as far as what you set out to accomplish?

Any news about possibilities for a Tournament for the 2017-2018 season or 2018-2019? Should we be excited?

No, I'd much rather have the non-conference slate done by late May/early June. But this year more than ever, it seems as though there are still quite a high number of teams still actively seeking dates. (several within our league...) Tough sledding sometimes.

As for MTE's, my goal is to have them scheduled out five years out if possible. We're in a great position for 17-18 and will be talking 18-19 in the fall.

Thanks,
Follow up, when do you expect to announce details of the "great position for 17-18"? Any hints as to location?

We have to take our cues from the organizer - traditionally, they announce the following year's field right around the time of the current year's tournament. So stay tuned...

[TruePoint]

Thats it?

Just ONE P5 opponent that might end up being Penn State? Where are the OOC resume building wins going to come from exactly? How is URI going to get into the Dance as an at-large?

Cincinnati game looms large early on, drop that one and URI's margin for an at-large is razor thin.

PC will be down this year, Valpo will take a step back without Bryce Drew. Belmont and Old Dominion are fine but home wins that won't do much on selection sunday.

Nothing really needs to be said about Dartmouth, Marist, Brown, Holy Cross and W&M except that if you drop one then URI can really start sweating on selection Sunday.

Houston could be a real wild card game and a nice win.

Of course, if Hurley's coaching catches up with his hype and URI takes care of business early on against Cincy and Duke then this soft OOC slate is a moot point. I just have zero to suggest that will actually happen.

Ahh man, this is going to be a fun year!! Either URI dances or this board will meltdown over another year of hype and unrealized expectations.

Good that some of us are not waiting!

[mlaprey]

Mike - I think it's so awesome that the program "gets it" by you posting on this board. That outreach is incredibly important and much appreciated. Couple of questions for you, what games are buy games vs home for homes and what's the strategy behind that for the program at this time?

There are five guarantee games on the schedule this season: Dartmouth, Belmont, William & Mary, and the two games from the HOF tournament (Marist, Brown). We are also beginning a three-year deal with Holy Cross this season, returning to the DCU Center in 17-18, and then back to the Ryan Center in 18-19.

Our strategy was to add as many quality teams as we could. We know Dartmouth is very well coached, Marist returns a veteran team, and we have all the respect in the world for Mike Martin and Brown - they are always prepared and our matchups are always tough. Then you add challenging matchups with Belmont and W&M - two teams that have consistently challenged for the postseason. Belmont has made six NCAA tournaments in the last decade or so and William & Mary has been in the CAA final two of the last three years.

We close out our H/H series with ODU and Houston this year, opening up a relatively wide-open slate in 17-18 - which I'm excited about.[/quote]

Thanks for the details Mike! I do have a follow up question or two. First, can you elaborate on what boxes need to be checked to meet the criteria for a home and home series, buy game, 2-1 arrangements going either way? I like the Holy Cross 2-1 deal by the way, seems strategically and financially a great deal for both parties. Second follow up question, at what point in the upward trajectory does schedule become easier with P5 home and homes and better all around deals for the program in your assessment? One NCAA berth, a couple, what will move the needle?[/quote]

Another great question: so many factors come into play with scheduling a H/H series.
* First the obvious stuff - mutual interest and available dates.
* Then you look for teams that fit into the framework of your scheduling philosophy and needs for your particular years. For the last two years - and for the foreseeable future - we are targeting teams in the top 100-125 range for the RPI.
* Style of play is a factor - are you playing a team in the non-conference that can prepare you for conference play?
* Marquee opponents - ticket sales are always important.
* Return games - a return game to a player's hometown is always an added bonus with a H/H series. We got to Detroit for E.C. and I know we'd like to get to the Milwaukee area for Jarvis.
* TV - thanks to ESPN, we were able to start a series with Valpo. Not sure we'd have scheduled that series without the opportunity to play in the Tipoff Marathon. TV opens doors for some great matchups.

It seems that 3-year deals are becoming less common, but I'm very excited for the series with Holy Cross. They're coming off an exciting run to the NCAA and it's always great to renew a local rivalry. Plus, as we project out & predict how we think teams will be, Cross looks to be a team on the rise. They've been aggressive in scheduling as well and it will be a terrific opportunity to play in the DCU Center in 17-18.

As for P5 matchups, having a national reputation and a consistently winning program helps (see VCU & UVA). Teams in the A-10 have been able to schedule some P5 series, however, it is going to get even harder to schedule those opportunities. Take the ACC for example: that league is going to 20 conference games, which leaves its teams with about seven non-conference game slots. One of those games is likely to be part of the Big 10/ACC challenge, so that's six. Most teams in that league have 4-5 guarantee games, especially when you have round-robin play with teams like Duke, UNC, Louisville, Syracuse, etc. Do the math. That's not good for teams and conferences like ours.

[ramster]

Thank you for the insight. Especially interesting that the ACC going to 20 games.

[CT Rhody]

Mike fantastic analysis and breakdown. Thanks for taking us behind the scenes a little on what goes into the schedule. It's going to be interesting how the NCAA committee is going to assess ACC teams with 20 conference games, one exempt tournament weekend, one Big ten challenge game and then mainly buy games after that. I hope the committee can make a stand and do what's right, if you don't challenge yourself out of conference then you don't get in. I wish the NCAA had some teeth and could make this more equitable accross the entire D1 platform.

[mlaprey]

Thats it?

Just ONE P5 opponent that might end up being Penn State? Where are the OOC resume building wins going to come from exactly? How is URI going to get into the Dance as an at-large?

Cincinnati game looms large early on, drop that one and URI's margin for an at-large is razor thin.

PC will be down this year, Valpo will take a step back without Bryce Drew. Belmont and Old Dominion are fine but home wins that won't do much on selection sunday.

Nothing really needs to be said about Dartmouth, Marist, Brown, Holy Cross and W&M except that if you drop one then URI can really start sweating on selection Sunday.

Houston could be a real wild card game and a nice win.

Of course, if Hurley's coaching catches up with his hype and URI takes care of business early on against Cincy and Duke then this soft OOC slate is a moot point. I just have zero to suggest that will actually happen.

Ahh man, this is going to be a fun year!! Either URI dances or this board will meltdown over another year of hype and unrealized expectations.

Let's start from the top:
1. I know we refer to Power 5 (P5) conference schools because of their basketball success, but Cincinnati has made the NCAA Tournament six straight years. Other teams to do that - Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina, VCU and Wisconsin. That's powerful.
2. The opportunity for OOC resume building wins start on Nov. 11 and ends hopefully on Sunday afternoon on March 12. RPI is 25% your wins & losses; 50% your opponent's wins & losses; 25% your opponent's opponent's wins & losses. We did our homework and our research on teams we believed that would be good RPI teams. Look at the win/loss records of our non-conference teams last year - they won close to 58% of their games. And further, many of the teams we scheduled - we believe - will compete for their league titles and play difficult non-conference slates. The average RPI of our opponents last year was 133.
(but Mike, it's not all about the RPI...)
So we studied the metrics, from KenPom and the KPI. Those metrics make the committee room because it's yet another piece of predictive data that measures a team's performance. When you look at our schedule breakdown, you'll see all three team rankings on there because they all matter. Our opponent's average KenPom/KPI ranking from a year ago was 133 and 144, respectively. (The average KenPom ranking for our non-conference opponents for this coming year is 108.)
3. The at-large bid comes by winning the games on our schedule.
thanks Coach Belichick, can you elaborate?
Over the last five years, 10-seeds in the NCAA tournament average 21.35 wins per season and 10.9 losses, have an RPI of 45.7, a non-conference strength of schedule of 121 and an overall SOS of 45. They play an average of 17.9 top 100 RPI games (and win a little over eight of them). We think this schedule allows us the opportunity to reach those numbers.
4. Each of the five road/neutral games in the non-conference are projected to be in the top 100 of the RPI. And I know we've focused on our non-conference slate, but it's bolstered by a very strong A-10 slate (especially our home/away matchups).

That's it.

-ATP Correction on RPI Component %s

[TruePoint]

Mike is the man

[adam914]

Yet soon enough we'll be reading the same posts from people saying they need to "be more creative" when scheduling, and "start the process sooner" or whatever.

[PeterRamTime]

Yet soon enough we'll be reading the same posts from people saying they need to "be more creative" when scheduling, and "start the process sooner" or whatever.

Haha yeah no kidding.

Mike and the staff seem to be doing everything possible to put us in the best position for a NCAA berth with the scheduling.
So cool for him to drop in and lay down the knowledge!

[reef]

Thank you Mike L !!

[CT Rhody]

Yea thanks again Mike!!!

[Rhody74]

Fascinating! Thanks Mike for such detail.

[Rhodymob05]

Awesome questions and answers. Thanks Mike.

[Iggy1979]

I thought the debate on journalism ethics had scared Mike away but glad to see it didn't!

[mlaprey]

I thought the debate on journalism ethics had scared Mike away but glad to see it didn't!

and I'll be tuning in like most of you at 6 am on Monday morning to see who's hosting the D&C show...

[josephski]

Over the last five years, 10-seeds in the NCAA tournament average 21.35 wins per season and 10.9 losses, have an RPI of 45.7, a non-conference strength of schedule of 121 and an overall SOS of 45. They play an average of 17.9 top 100 RPI games (and win a little over eight of them). We think this schedule allows us the opportunity to reach those numbers.

If anyone's interested here are the averages for a10 10 seeds over the past 5 years (the teams were VCU, Davidson, St. Joes and Xavier).

Wins: 23.25
Losses: 9.5

RPI: 36.25
SOS: 69.75
NCSS: 135.25

Top 100 RPI games: 17
Number of wins: 9

Only reaching the numbers Mike posted would most likely put us on the bubble. I doubt we'd be a lock for the tournament unless we beat Cincy and Duke and slipped up in some conference games.

[ace]

4 is a really small sample size. I'm not sure how valuable it is to pull out just A10 teams for that timeframe. Maybe they'll just not lose in Pittsburgh and make it easy on everybody.


In any case, here's a nice write-up on Belmont and their head coach-

http://www.midmajormadness.com/2016/8/1 ... ce=twitter

[josephski]

4 is a small sample size but it doesn't make sense to compare what an a10 team needs to do to get a 10 seed to what a power conference team needs to do to get a 10 seed. Especially when we have an out of conference schedule like the one we currently have.

[ATPTourFan]

Thanks, Mike, for helping us understand and appreciate the complexity and science of designing a NCAA caliber out of conference schedule. Let the games begin!