Big East Expansion

[GoMuskies]

I don't think they worked out any sort of deal that involved multiple games in Bowling Green. They DID work out a deal, it seems, to give Bobby Petrino a safe waiting spot until Strong bolted. That will probably result in Louisville playing a football game in Bowling Green.

[paulxu]

I'm not moving any goalposts.
I don't have a dog in this hunt.
My only point is that most big time programs I think(yes, it's an impression; I've only looked up a couple; UNC and Duke) do not play a lot of lower tiered programs away from home, as a true road game on a regular basis.

UNC as noted above plays one per year. Just one. And there seem to be extenuating circumstances for each of the ones they do play.

I now return you to your regular programming of back and forth.

[XUFan09]

Home loss, not road loss.

You're correct but then Xavier's loss to Wofford should have been even more devastating!

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[xudash]

We're ruining the discussion of Dash's favorite topic lol.

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Actually, carry on with the present discourse, because we all got what we wanted: inclusion in the Big East. I hope it stays at 10 as well.

We'll see what time brings with the topic, if anything, on the football side, and what effect movement there may or may not have on the Big East.

SLU is viable, at least to many of us, but it isn't viable enough to have made the initial cut, so it probably remains in that state with the decision makers at present. Beyond SLU, it's just not clear who #12 could or should be for now, so, I believe it's safe to reiterate that we're solid with 10 and that we probably will stay that way for the foreseeable future.

What's this business about playing mid-majors at their places?

[throwbackmuskie]

You're correct but then Xavier's loss to Wofford should have been even more devastating!

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Not as much. Think of this, the reason why osu won't play a home and home with uc in football is they do not see them as an equal and if they were to do that kids would start to think uc is on the same level at them, it would loosen the grip osu has over the state when it comes to football for the most part. Upsets happen, like Wofford, but an upset loss on the road hurts a program more, it gets back to the perception of being an equal with that school.

[danaandvictory]

Home loss, not road loss.

That makes it worse, you know?

Your point is stupid. Wazzu and SC are not in the toilet because of two basketball games. They are down because of terrible coaching hires. If a bad loss to a lower tier team is disastrous to recruiting, then Matta losing to Ball State, Sean Miller losing to Bucknell, and the recent losses to ORU, Hawaii, and Wofford would have crippled this program.

[throwbackmuskie]

That makes it worse, you know?

Your point is stupid. Wazzu and SC are not in the toilet because of two basketball games. They are down because of terrible coaching hires. If a bad loss to a lower tier team is disastrous to recruiting, then Matta losing to Ball State, Sean Miller losing to Bucknell, and the recent losses to ORU, Hawaii, and Wofford would have crippled this program.

Go read my last post. Those losses do not help. I never said they were horrible directly to those losses, but those losses hurt. Another thing, Elon and Pepperdine recruit the same areas/players as SC/WSU. The losses you mentioned for X are schools who are not in the same recruiting area.


And again I said road losses, the games you mentioned where home losses. Bottom line, there is no need to play lower level road games anymore.

[GoMuskies]

Ball State and Hawaii were road losses.

And Ball State recruits the same players Xavier does (Indianapolis) at least as much as Pepperdine and Elon recruit the same players as Wazzu and South Carolina, respectively.

[throwbackmuskie]

Ball State and Hawaii were road losses.

And Ball State recruits the same players Xavier does (Indianapolis) at least as much as Pepperdine and Elon recruit the same players as Wazzu and South Carolina, respectively.

Hawaii was part of the Diamondhead classic. And the Ball St game was 10 years ago, when Xavier was still working on becoming a high level program.

[GoMuskies]

It obviously didn't stop us from becoming a high level program. We even tossed Ball State a transfer afterwards as a token of our appreciation for their hospitality.

Did you know that the second time we went to the Elite Eight we lost at Miami (OH) that season?

[throwbackmuskie]

It obviously didn't stop us from becoming a high level program. We even tossed Ball State a transfer afterwards as a token of our appreciation for their hospitality.

Did you know that the second time we went to the Elite Eight we lost at Miami (OH) that season?

Did you read the post where I addressed the last 10 years od scheduling?

answer this, if I am wrong, then why doesn't Xavier play at Miami anymore? Why in the last 10 years has Xavier not went on the road to play a bunch of lower tier schools?

[GoMuskies]

Xavier played at Alabama this year. That's pretty lower tier.

[GoMuskies]

And Auburn not that long ago. That's about the lowest of the low.

[throwbackmuskie]

Xavier played at Alabama this year. That's pretty lower tier.

Thanks broken record, already addressed that like 50 times

[GoMuskies]

Thanks broken record, already addressed that like 50 times

Holy hell, you're _LH.

[throwbackmuskie]

Last I checked Bama and Aubrun are in the Power 6. Did you skip that point about 9 pages back?

[GoMuskies]

No, I gave that point all the consideration it deserved.

[throwbackmuskie]

No, I gave that point all the consideration it deserved.

there is a big difference in playing a SEC team, power 6 conference and playing @ USC Upstate.

And again Bama has been ranked recently, yes they fizzled out, but they were ranked.

[GoMuskies]

And again Bama has been ranked recently, yes they fizzled out, but they were ranked.

And so have a bunch of teams you think we're too good to schedule. Dayton was ranked THIS YEAR!

[throwbackmuskie]

And so have a bunch of teams you think we're too good to schedule. Dayton was ranked THIS YEAR!

When did I say not schedule Dayton? I so don't give them a home and home!

[GoMuskies]

If we're willing to go to Auburn and Alabama, we should consider going to Dayton (maybe not Dayton per se, because I hate them, but others similar to them).

[throwbackmuskie]

If we're willing to go to Auburn and Alabama, we should consider going to Dayton (maybe not Dayton per se, because I hate them, but others similar to them).

So you would give a home and home to Ohio? Middle Tenn St? Sac St? Evansville?

Again if I am wrong, why in the past 10 years has X only gone on the road to play one lower tier team, Miami, which isn't happening anymore?

[GoMuskies]

I would consider playing at Ohio, sure. Belmont? Maybe. Davidson? I'd play them in Charlotte. If he gets Winthrop going, I might throw Kelsey a game in Charlotte. I'd definitely consider going to Western Kentucky. Kent State? In some years maybe, and definitely in Cleveburg. I could see going back to UMass or VCU or SLU. Back in the day I could have seen going to College of Charleston, but they've slipped a bit. Not sure how you view, the Mountain West, but I'd support a trip to SDSU, UNLV, Boise, Utah State, New Mexico or Nevada. In addition to Gonzaga, I'd go to St. Mary's or BYU out of the WCC.

That's probably about the list.

[nuts4xu]

I spoke to Greg Christopher earlier this season about our scheduling, and we won't be putting Miami on the road schedule any time soon. He also didn't see any reason to go on the road to dayton either, stating "we have nothing to gain". There is no reason to go on the road to play the likes of Ohio, Evansville, Middle Tenn St, St Francis of PA, and the like. We win, we are supposed to win....we lose, it is an unexpected loss that reveals we weren't ready to play.

Xavier will not be scheduling any lower tier teams on the road any more. I don't think they will schedule all cupcakes at home either.

Our non conference plan will be to schedule at least one exempt early season tournament, a few road games against quality teams, and a handful of buy games at home.

[throwbackmuskie]

I would consider playing at Ohio, sure. Belmont? Maybe. Davidson? I'd play them in Charlotte. If he gets Winthrop going, I might throw Kelsey a game in Charlotte. I'd definitely consider going to Western Kentucky. Kent State? In some years maybe, and definitely in Cleveburg. I could see going back to UMass or VCU or SLU. Back in the day I could have seen going to College of Charleston, but they've slipped a bit. Not sure how you view, the Mountain West, but I'd support a trip to SDSU, UNLV, Boise, Utah State, New Mexico or Nevada. In addition to Gonzaga, I'd go to St. Mary's or BYU out of the WCC.

That's probably about the list.

So you would do home and home with Ohio? Belmont? WKU?

SDSU,UNLV, NM and Gonzaga would not be lower tier teams.

Playing netrual court games is a lot different than playing at this place.

[throwbackmuskie]

I spoke to Greg Christopher earlier this season about our scheduling, and we won't be putting Miami on the road schedule any time soon. He also didn't see any reason to go on the road to dayton either, stating "we have nothing to gain". There is no reason to go on the road to play the likes of Ohio, Evansville, Middle Tenn St, St Francis of PA, and the like. We win, we are supposed to win....we lose, it is an unexpected loss that reveals we weren't ready to play.

Xavier will not be scheduling any lower tier teams on the road any more. I don't think they will schedule all cupcakes at home either.

Our non conference plan will be to schedule at least one exempt early season tournament, a few road games against quality teams, and a handful of buy games at home.

Where did I see that said before?

Good info!

[bleedXblue]

I like what we've been doing.

DO NOT under any circumstance schedule games against non D1 (Abilene Christan) teams.

Makes not one bit of sense to me.

[throwbackmuskie]

I like what we've been doing.

DO NOT under any circumstance schedule games against non D1 (Abilene Christan) teams.

Makes not one bit of sense to me.

We didn't have a choice for that game, and they are D1, part of the Southland Conference, this is thier 1st year as D1

[BBC 08]

So, about that expansion...

[GoMuskies]

So you would do home and home with Ohio? Belmont? WKU?


Before I would do a home and home with Auburn or Northwestern? Absolutely.

[bleedXblue]

We didn't have a choice for that game, and they are D1, part of the Southland Conference, this is thier 1st year as D1

Yes, but it doesnt count as a D1 game b/c its their first year.

Are you saying we couldnt find another crappy D1 team to play ?

Who's responsible for the scheduling?

[GoMuskies]

Yes, but it doesnt count as a D1 game b/c its their first year.

Are you saying we couldnt find another crappy D1 team to play ?

Who's responsible for the scheduling?

The Battle for Atlantis folks arranged that gem for us.

[throwbackmuskie]

Before I would do a home and home with Auburn or Northwestern? Absolutely.

Bottomline is you wouldn't schedule Ohio or those like them for a home and home would you?

Aubrun was in the Sweet 16 in 2003, about the time we set up that series, BTW.

[xubrew]

Holy hell, you're _LH.

I think you're on to something.

[GoMuskies]

Bottomline is you wouldn't schedule Ohio or those like them for a home and home would you?


Depends on the alternatives. I'm not picking Ohio if Ohio State is available. But I'm picking Ohio if the best alternative is Auburn.

[throwbackmuskie]

So tell me if I am so wrong, why hasn't Xavier in the past ten years played home and home with lower tier programs, minus the Miami games, which are not happening anymore?

[nuts4xu]

So tell me if I am so wrong, why hasn't Xavier in the past ten years played home and home with lower tier programs, minus the Miami games, which are not happening anymore?

We don't need to anymore. There is nothing to gain by playing lower tier teams on the road.

[throwbackmuskie]

We don't need to anymore. There is nothing to gain by playing lower tier teams on the road.

Thank you, that has been my whole point.

[GoMuskies]

Thank you, that has been my whole point.

I get your point. I just disagree with it. Xavier would have had more to gain playing Ohio on the road this year than Alabama. It almost is more fact than opinion, frankly. So why are we scheduling Alabama on the road?

[throwbackmuskie]

I get your point. I just disagree with it. Xavier would have had more to gain playing Ohio on the road this year than Alabama. It almost is more fact than opinion, frankly. So why are we scheduling Alabama on the road?

SEC>MAC

When the Bama games where scheduled Bama was ranked. NCAA team from 2002-2006 and 2012. Ohio in that time only 2005, 2010 and 2012.

Bama is the better program.

[xubrew]

Actually, I'm pretty sure Bama was added to the schedule after Northwestern was removed from it. They weren't in the same universe as a ranked team.

No one in the state of Alabama would agree with your assessment that Bama is a better program than Ohio right now, BTW.

[xubrew]

Thank you, that has been my whole point.

I agree that we don't NEED to.

I disagreed with your claims that no high level teams play mid level teams on the road. Not all of them do, but a lot of them do, and they're no worse off for doing it. It's not as if they're losing anything.

There is something to gain. Maybe you could say that the upside doesn't outweigh the downside, but a win on the road counts more than twice as much as a win at home does in the RPI, and in other computer rankings.

There is a new stat on the team sheets that the committee looks at. Your average RPI road win. They know that beating the 50th best team at home is about the same as beating the 85th best team at a neutral site, and the 125th best team on the road. So, if you go on the road and beat the 90th best team, the committee will give you more credit for it than beating a team that's 40 spots higher at home.

That's gaining SOMETHING. It's not something a team necessarily needs because if you win all your games then it really doesn't matter (as much) who or where you play, but it is something to be gained. It can give you more chances to get statement wins. Maybe you don't need more chances, but not needing it is not the same as not gaining anything from it.

[GoMuskies]

I'm not sure they'd agree that that SEC is better than the MAC, either, if you're not playing Kentucky or Florida.

[xubrew]

I'm not sure they'd agree that that SEC is better than the MAC, either, if you're not playing Kentucky or Florida.

Yeah. People all throughout Alabama and Georgia spend most of January, February and March whining about how much they suck at basketball. People are actually arguing that the best college team out of those two states is Georgia State. They're probably right.

[GoMuskies]

I can buy that they spend the 10 days between signing day and the start of baseball season noticing that their basketball teams suck. That's about it, though.

Baseball season starts Friday, by the way.

[throwbackmuskie]

Actually, I'm pretty sure Bama was added to the schedule after Northwestern was removed from it. They weren't in the same universe as a ranked team.

No one in the state of Alabama would agree with your assessment that Bama is a better program than Ohio right now, BTW.

No one in the state of Alabama cares about basketball, and yes at this moment, 2014 Ohio looks better, but when the games where scheduled, Bama was better.

[GoMuskies]

Obviously they weren't.

[xubrew]

No one in the state of Alabama cares about basketball, and yes at this moment, 2014 Ohio looks better, but when the games where scheduled, Bama was better.

Clearly you're an expert on how people feel about basketball in the state of Alabama. Tell us more....

If you're right, is not caring about basketball a common characteristic of a high level basketball program??

[throwbackmuskie]

Obviously they weren't.

Talking about a last minute scheduled game really isn't fair to this. Also there is a relationship with Bama, and they started out ranked last year did they not? So at the time it was a better looking game.

[throwbackmuskie]

Clearly you're an expert on how people feel about basketball in the state of Alabama. Tell us more....

If you're right, is not caring about basketball a common characteristic of a high level basketball program??

I went to an SEC school.

[paulxu]

Baseball season starts Friday, by the way.

Game...Cocks!

[GoMuskies]

Xavier is in Greenville this weekend to face Toledo, Furman and Norfolk State. Not sure where you live in SC, paul, but FYI.

[throwbackmuskie]

Game...Cocks!

Picked to win the SEC!

[GoMuskies]

I went to an SEC school.

Was it Kentucky? Because that's a slightly different animal.

[throwbackmuskie]

Was it Kentucky? Because that's a slightly different animal.

nope

[paulxu]

Xavier is in Greenville this weekend to face Toledo, Furman and Norfolk State. Not sure where you live in SC, paul, but FYI.

Right up the road. We are currently going through Snowmageddon and nobody has a friggin clue what to do.
So today, everybody closed everything. Very strange.

[GoMuskies]

Ah, the weather is not going to cooperate. Too bad.

They're in Chapel Hill next weekend, but that's obviously a lot further afield. And they're likely to get slaughtered.

The Shockers' field is currently covered in snow, but we're going to get weather in the 40s this weekend, so they'll play their opening series. They have one of those fields that is all turf other than the mound and (I think) the plate area. Otherwise they'd never get to play at home in February.

[BBC 08]

I hear the Big East is expanding to include Alabama, Northwestern, Belmont, AND Ohio. We all win!!!!!