2015-16 Schedule Discussion

Rhody15 · Unread post by **Rhody15** » 9 years ago

I'll take it.

RoadyJay · Unread post by **RoadyJay** » 9 years ago

Out of Conference (13 games):

Home (? games):
SUN 11/15/2015 - Maine
SAT 11/21/2015 - Cleveland State*
SUN 11/29/2015 - Rider*
SAT 12/5/2015 - Providence
TUE 12/8/2015 - Houston

Away (? games):
TBD - Brown
SUN 12/13/2015 - Nebraska

Neutral – Cancun Challenge (2 games):
TUE 11/24/2015 - TCU
WED 11/25/2015 - Illinois St or Maryland

* - Home games as part of Cancun Challenge

Rhody74 · Unread post by **Rhody74** » 9 years ago

Houston has an interesting history and had some great players. Last year was a down year (http://theamerican.org/custompages/stat ... 15/hou.htm) but they're still high profile enough to bring some attention to us.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

I wonder if Penders' contacts in the Houston athletic department helped make the connection? Houston was on of the elite programs in college basketball in previous eras.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 9 years ago

The American should be a good conference this season, too.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 9 years ago

Penders has kind of made himself
"Persona non grata".with his slam on Twitter at
the URI Marketing Dept.
That really P.O.ed some people in high places in Kingston.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 9 years ago

His opinions are his own, and he's more than free to express them. However, they were so repetitive and petty that it made him look really bad. I would read them and be embarrassed for him. Then, when people started to question if he was speaking for Dan, it got worse. He is not someone who will have someone else do his bidding.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

Penders' comments definitely were embarrassing and I'd assume that many people around the athletic department didn't appreciate them. I just assume that people can compartmentalize.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 9 years ago

People who know Penders know that he speaks his mind.
However, this time, he went over the line.
People shouldn't drunk Tweet in the wee hours of the morning.
As I said, a few people in Kingston more or less severed ties
with Penders over those Tweets.
Penders was very supportive of Dan in his first year here.
Not sure why Penders decided to slam URI's marketing.
A story worth repeating......
Bob Terino said to Dan,"You know, you're the weirdest coach
we've ever had here".
Dan's reply, "I don't know. Tom Penders is pretty weird."

bressler3south · Unread post by **bressler3south** » 9 years ago

TruePoint wrote:I wonder if Penders' contacts in the Houston athletic department helped make the connection? Houston was on of the elite programs in college basketball in previous eras.

Talk about being treated like royalty for past successes (along with Coach Skinner) -- and then pissing on the very hosts who helped resurrect you from the forgotten.
Very bad form.
The Cougars are on AD #2 since Penders last coached there….
"Kingston, we have a problem," is more fitting. Unfortunately for the crew of one, the silence is a deafening indictment.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 9 years ago

It's kind of unfortunate, though.
Penders has always been one of the revered former
Rhody coaches.
He was always a character. Always spoke highly of his time here.
Sad to see the turn it's taken, over his self inflicted wound.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

I think I said at the time he posted his rants that it was one of the more sad spectacles I've seen. The guy is/was so beloved here that he was basically coach emeritus status - all he had to do was sit back and enjoy it and he basically had the run of the place in terms of access and privileges. And he threw that all out so he could make completely unfounded and seemingly insane complaints about an athletic department that is lightyears better than anything we have had around here before. Just makes no sense.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 9 years ago

Well, he had kind of withdrawn from hanging around practices
before he made those Tweets.
I wonder if he wasn't angered, because he sought something
from URI that didn't happen.
Some sort of job, perhaps? He had mentioned interest in doing
color on broadcasts.
Who knows?

bressler3south · Unread post by **bressler3south** » 9 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Well, he had kind of withdrawn from hanging around practices
before he made those Tweets.
I wonder if he wasn't angered, because he sought something
from URI that didn't happen.
Some sort of job, perhaps? He had mentioned interest in doing
color on broadcasts.
Who knows?

Reminds me of Pompey the Great before the end of the Roman Republic; you're #1 in the hearts of the people, but in the minds of the people, you're a pain-in-the-ass, because no one should be bigger than the institution.
Just go away quietly, and let others write the legacy…..

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 9 years ago

Plus, Pompey had the even greater Julius Caesar to contend with,
who became the institution.

PeterRamTime · Unread post by **PeterRamTime** » 9 years ago

Lookin like we're ending up with basically the same level of schedule as last year. Gotta beat Providence and not lose to a Georgia Tech

URI96 · Unread post by **URI96** » 9 years ago

PeterRamTime wrote:Lookin like we're ending up with basically the same level of schedule as last year. Gotta beat Providence and not lose to a Georgia Tech

Still several games that we don't know about yet.

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 9 years ago

RhowdyRam02 wrote:I read on another message board that URI and UMass will be playing a doubleheader at the TD Garden with URI drawing Kentucky. This is a rumor and I can't say one way or another how accurate the rumor is, but I figured it was worth passing it along.

Kentucky has released their out of conference schedule, and this game won't be happening. Kentucky will be hosting Arizona St.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

I sure hope we see a lot more beef on this schedule. As it is now, we need to beat PC and Maryland for any chance of an at large bid.

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 9 years ago

theblueram, I don't mean this as an attack on you, because I've seen other posters say similar, but can we please stop with this whole "we need to beat this team and that team", or at least hold off until sometime in February?

A. Most of the predictions people on here had this past season about what we needed to do to get in the NCAA or NIT, even late in the season were total garbage. B. We have no idea what our whole schedule will look like. For instance, how do we need to beat Maryland when they're not even definitely on our schedule yet? If we don't play them in Cancun have we already lost our chance at an at large bid before the season starts? C. Even when it comes to teams where we know the name of who we're playing, we have no idea if they'll be what we think they are, see Nebraska this past season.

I know we're all on here for discussion, but can we keep it reasonable? It was annoying listening to people talking about must win games before we even got to the conference schedule last year, and this line of thinking is even worse. There are no must win games Memorial Day weekend when the season doesn't start until mid November.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

RR2, if you go back and review our fate last year, the reason we needed to win the A10 Tournament was due to our lack of quality wins. not on our win/loss record. The premise for an at large bid is to beat other tournament teams. The more chances the better. If you don't then you better hope you win your conference tournament. With Chukwu gone who knows how good pc will be. And yes, Maryland is a maybe on the schedule so if we don't play them, as the schedule stands, we are playing no teams projected for the tournament in OOC.

And last year, based on the record up until VCU/Umass, I said we needed to win those to be in the talk. We didn't. Thus we weren't.

This thread is about next years schedule. And the impact it has on our tournament chances. So go ahead... schedule UMBC, UIC, UCF and Tulsa. And let the other A10 teams schedule hard, get ranked and in the tournament discussion so we can play them and hope to win in conference. That's fool's gold. Me? I'd rather be the team that schedules hard.

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 9 years ago

My argument isn't that we shouldn't play a tougher schedule then last year, we absolutely should play a tougher schedule. My argument is that there are no must win games six months before the season even begins, no matter what the schedule is, and if anyone thinks and or says otherwise they really should drink heavier then they were already planning this weekend or go to their doctor and get their medical marijuana card and chill out.

RoadyJay · Unread post by **RoadyJay** » 9 years ago

Despite a 23-10 record and an NIT appearance last year I wonder if scheduling is still a major challenge for us. I suspect it is.

Certainly, many of us believe we have as good a shot as ever to make the NCAA tourney this year as the likely the favorites to win the A10. I wonder though, what is the perception about us nationally? Are prospective Top 50 teams knocking down our doors to come to play in Kingston? Doubtful. We are still probably a scary team to play in the minds of Top 50 programs. How good will we actually be? Will we have the kind of year many pundits expect?

I say all this with likely 4 games left to announce in the OOC schedule. Maybe they will all be prospective Top 50 teams. My guess is probably not.

Still, if we take care of business in the OOC and the A10 there is no reason we can't control our own destiny and make the tourney.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

I think it is reasonable to look at a schedule and pinpoint games that are must win in order to attain an at large bid. I find it fairly easy based on opponent expectations. Sure, teams under/over perform, but preseason it's fairly straightforward. And right now, I can't pinpoint games we are playing OCC that could put us in a great position for an at large other than pc and the potential Maryland games.

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 9 years ago

You can find it reasonable and fairly easy, but you'd be wrong. It's not at all straightforward, it's hot sports takez! at its worst. So if Dunn gets hurt and PC sucks and we don't play Maryland we can't be an at large? If we win all our games except PC, Maryland, and the conference tournament final we're in the NIT? If we win only two games but they're the all important PC and Maryland games we're in? Of course not. It's five and a half months before a ball is put in play for real and you don't even know our full schedule, you literally have no clue what we need for an at large bid. There are no must win college basketball games in May.

EZBuckets · Unread post by **EZBuckets** » 9 years ago

Everyone also needs to keep in mind that last season was an especially down year for the A10. If the league rebounds and has a comparable showing to the '13-'14 season (which looks to be plausible); not having a handful of Top 50 opponents in the OOC isn't the end-all-be-all.

That's not to say I wouldn't love to be able to schedule some strong OOC teams; just that a solid A10 can alleviate a lot of those headaches come March.

(Edit: Full disclosure- I have no intel on any potential games or scheduling...just adding my own two cents here.)

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

Wasn't Dan's last Wagner team something like 25-4 and didn't even get invited to the NIT? And EZ, WHO is going to rebound the A10? Us? or leave it to someone else?

Ram1019 · Unread post by **Ram1019** » 9 years ago

Agree that the A10 should improve. I can see SLU and others making a bigger jump this year than most people expect.

Simple odds dictate that more top 50 teams in our OOC schedule means greater chance to get more quality wins, however, to rhowdyram's point....I remember watching the students rush the floor and immediately thinking that this win will definitely help our resume.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

Any rebound of the A10 happens in OOC.

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 9 years ago

theblueram wrote:Wasn't Dan's last Wagner team something like 25-4 and didn't even get invited to the NIT? And EZ, WHO is going to rebound the A10? Us? or leave it to someone else?

I'm not sure what Wagner has to do with this. You do know there's a giant difference between Wagner and URI right? It might have something to do with the conferences they play in and how many teams they get into the NCAA's every year.

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 9 years ago

Actually, you kind of made the case against yourself. If we were playing the #13 ranked team in the country you'd call it a must win. Straight forward right, if you play a ranked team you have to beat them. Wagner beat #13 Pittsburgh and didn't make the NIT.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

Gonzaga plays in a really great conference too, don't they?

EZBuckets · Unread post by **EZBuckets** » 9 years ago

theblueram wrote:Wasn't Dan's last Wagner team something like 25-4 and didn't even get invited to the NIT? And EZ, WHO is going to rebound the A10? Us? or leave it to someone else?

I wasn't suggesting the A10 was going to get 6 bids...just that there was a lot of youth and inexperience on many teams last season that will only help teams on the fringe take an extra step (us included)

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

I get it EZ. But the strength of the conference is dictated by either 1) the preseason rankings of teams which we won't get, or 2) the strength of the conference OOC performance and RPI. To say the A10 is going to be strong so let's schedule Maine and wait till conference play is ridiculous. That's what pc did forever in the old big east. All I'm saying is an at large bid can be had with a strong OOC schedule and win pct. If you have a weak one, then you are leaving fate to someone else to provide you with that opportunity in conference. Be a leader of the conference or don't. I want URI to be the leader.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 9 years ago

This is one of the oldest and most frustrating debates had on this board. It is far too often WAY oversimplified. You make it sound like it is as easy as just picking to play whoever you want.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

Adam, I'm not saying scheduling is easy. By any means. But that's not on me thankfully, that's on Dan.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

No one game out of 30 is a "must win," and it is especially unfair to say a game against the potential #1 team in the country is a must win game. LIke others have caveated, I'm not at all saying a good OOC schedule and good OOC wins aren't important, but keep in mind we will also likely have ample top-50 chances in the conference and those count too.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 9 years ago

EZBuckets wrote:
theblueram wrote:Wasn't Dan's last Wagner team something like 25-4 and didn't even get invited to the NIT? And EZ, WHO is going to rebound the A10? Us? or leave it to someone else?
I wasn't suggesting the A10 was going to get 6 bids...just that there was a lot of youth and inexperience on many teams last season that will only help teams on the fringe take an extra step (us included)

Right. In 13-14, the A10 had one team with an RPI over 200. Last year, they had four, and Rhode Island played two of those four (Fordham, Saint Louis) twice.

Mongo · Unread post by **Mongo** » 9 years ago

Loving the Houston home and home since I live there.... That's awesome! Get U of Texas on the schedule and I'd be really pumped.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 9 years ago

Last year's MUST WIN games were VCU and Davidson, which we lost by a total of 6 points...but would you have pinpointed that at the beginning of the season? If we won those two home games we would have won the league (and beaten 2 Top 50 & NCAA teams) and would have probably needed 1 tourney win to get in.

Dre3000 · Unread post by **Dre3000** » 9 years ago

I think this year will be even harder to schedule tough games than last year. If I'm a top 25 coach I'm not bringing URI to my place because with the returning players there's a decent chance they can beat us at home. And I'm definitely not going to play URI at URI. It'll be interesting to see who is willing to play us in the OOC. Hopefully TCU can have a respectable year

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

bigappleram wrote:Last year's MUST WIN games were VCU and Davidson, which we lost by a total of 6 points...but would you have pinpointed that at the beginning of the season? If we won those two home games we would have won the league (and beaten 2 Top 50 & NCAA teams) and would have probably needed 1 tourney win to get in.

Last years must wins were pc and Kansas. If we had beaten pc and Kansas, we might have made the tournament. VCU and Davidson would have been irrelevant.

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 9 years ago

So last year Kansas was a must win and this year Maryland is? I'm sorry, but if you genuinely believe that URI must win a top 10 game every season you're crazy and you're going to be bitterly disappointed most every year.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

theblueram wrote:
bigappleram wrote:Last year's MUST WIN games were VCU and Davidson, which we lost by a total of 6 points...but would you have pinpointed that at the beginning of the season? If we won those two home games we would have won the league (and beaten 2 Top 50 & NCAA teams) and would have probably needed 1 tourney win to get in.
Last years must wins were pc and Kansas. If we had beaten pc and Kansas, we might have made the tournament. VCU and Davidson would have been irrelevant.

What BAR said is 100% true though. If we beat VCU and Davidson then PC and Kansas would have been irrelevant. Which is exactly the point - there is no such thing as must win games, only resumes.

bressler3south · Unread post by **bressler3south** » 9 years ago

Why is it that people think that URI can't get big boy teams to play at the Ryan Center or that they won't invite the Rams to their gyms? Other perennial Top-25 schools do it all the time, playing each other, and Top 26-50 teams are part of that scene, too.
Looking at next season's schedule, it's one game at a time, one win at a time. There's nothing wrong with opening up against Maine or a Youngstown State or a Loyola of Chicago, to get the team going. But that's it. One can't have a schedule littered with Pace, Detroit, UMass-Lowell, Delaware State -- and traditional in-state rival Brown. The numbers just don't add-up.
Also, URI did beat Nebraska, as we all know, a Top-25 team at the time, and it was a big-time win.
The problem was that Nebraska NEVER rebounded from that loss due to a multitude of reasons, and didn't hold up its end of the bargain. URI's RPI was doomed from that point on.
Georgia Tech loss, sure it hurt, but Georgia Tech played a season of near-misses, it didn't tank URI's RPI. It destroyed KeaneyBlues' morale.
Kansas loss, sure, it hurt, but Kansas' RPI was Top 10-15 all season and was factored into URI's RPI as a positive.
Southern Miss, though, also killed URI's numbers. That program had an intramural odor to it by the end of February.
This season, because of the Cancun tourney, Rider and Cleveland State are part of the schedule, no choices involved. "Must win" games? Well, even though it's May 21, I would think that those are two games that fall into a category of Bressler's called "Better Not Lose Games." And Maine, and Brown, TCU, Houston, Fordham, etc.,
If URI plays a solid schedule and wins the games it should, then when league play begins, the process continues from a position of strength, not a constant stream of "We'd better win this one…." and then it's the same thing game after game, the NCAA invite list shrinking game-by-game, and then it's: "Brooklyn or Bust, We Got Screwed Again….."

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 9 years ago

RhowdyRam02 wrote:So last year Kansas was a must win and this year Maryland is? I'm sorry, but if you genuinely believe that URI must win a top 10 game every season you're crazy and you're going to be bitterly disappointed most every year.

I won't be disappointed, because I know when the opportunities in OOC to play tournament teams, i.e Kansas, Maryland, Duke etc are not taken advantage of, we are left to the whims of the game (rpi, sos , analysts, pundits etc). So when we miss making the tournament, I look back to those games and say woulda, coulda, shoulda. If we don't have the chance to play those types of teams, that concerns me.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 9 years ago

If we have to beat Maryland to get in the tourney....the drought continues. C'mon, if we lose to the potential #1 team in the country, it kills our NCAA hopes? That's ridiculous.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 9 years ago

I feel empathy for my pal theblueram.
It's kind of lousy fighting Custer's Last Stand against
everyone disagreeing.
I should know. I've had enough of these shoot outs.
Hang in there blueram!

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 9 years ago

bressler3south wrote:Why is it that people think that URI can't get big boy teams to play at the Ryan Center or that they won't invite the Rams to their gyms? Other perennial Top-25 schools do it all the time, playing each other, and Top 26-50 teams are part of that scene, too.

The problem is we are not a perennial Top 25 team yet. Teams just aren't going to take risks with their schedule for a team that could beat them on any given night but could finish 125th. We haven't shaken that yet, reputation wise.

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