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Missouri St
non-conference SoS: 266
the schedule:
Oral Roberts (183)
N-Arkansas St (209)
@Tennessee (27)
@Tulsa (129)
Pepperdine (266)
Pacific (124)
Arkansas-Little Rock (175)
Central Arkansas (31
@Oklahoma St (44)
St Louis (151)
Arkansas St (209)
The forced games: As part of the PNIT, in addition to UT, they added Arkansas St, Pepperdine, and Pacific. (and that's the reason ASU is on there twice, so no concerns from me regarding that)
Grade: B-
The good: The preseason NIT presents a prime opportunity as usual.
The bad: The RPIs don't match the SoSs (more on that below)
The ugly: Nothing good ever happens in the state of Arkansas
Analysis: That schedule above doesn't feel like a 266 schedule, does it? Not to me either. Upon further investigation, it's a unique case - although they avoid RPI anchors (except Central Arkansas), only 2 teams on their sked have winning records (guess which 2). It's sort of an unusual schedule with a lot of bad luck sprinkled in. This had to be the year Oral Roberts' bottom fell out? The year Tulsa slipped back? The year St Louis is fading? Before the season, I would've said those 3 games provided great depth to the schedule; now, they're actually hurting the SoS slightly.
The PNIT was very good. I'd be willing to take my chances with Pepperdine and Pacific in the consy bracket most years. Didn't pan out. MSU did do good getting 2 marquee opportunities for signature wins. Not getting them is another discussion for another thread.
I wonder what the fascination with the state of Arkansas is. ASU, CAU, UALR. Although UALR isn't that bad a game, it seems like that's 3 too many games against that state. They're not exactly basketball powerhouses. CAU in particular raises my eyebrow. Those plus St Louis and Oral Bob....seems like they're going out of their way to NOT go out of their way. Very regional games. MSU needs to work to branch out, find opponents from other parts of the country.
How to improve the schedule: Think national, not local. Arkansas and Missouri and Oklahoma schools are fine and all, but this is a program that should work a bit harder at getting more exposure by getting teams from all over the country.
non-conference SoS: 266
the schedule:
Oral Roberts (183)
N-Arkansas St (209)
@Tennessee (27)
@Tulsa (129)
Pepperdine (266)
Pacific (124)
Arkansas-Little Rock (175)
Central Arkansas (31
@Oklahoma St (44)
St Louis (151)
Arkansas St (209)
The forced games: As part of the PNIT, in addition to UT, they added Arkansas St, Pepperdine, and Pacific. (and that's the reason ASU is on there twice, so no concerns from me regarding that)
Grade: B-
The good: The preseason NIT presents a prime opportunity as usual.
The bad: The RPIs don't match the SoSs (more on that below)
The ugly: Nothing good ever happens in the state of Arkansas
Analysis: That schedule above doesn't feel like a 266 schedule, does it? Not to me either. Upon further investigation, it's a unique case - although they avoid RPI anchors (except Central Arkansas), only 2 teams on their sked have winning records (guess which 2). It's sort of an unusual schedule with a lot of bad luck sprinkled in. This had to be the year Oral Roberts' bottom fell out? The year Tulsa slipped back? The year St Louis is fading? Before the season, I would've said those 3 games provided great depth to the schedule; now, they're actually hurting the SoS slightly.
The PNIT was very good. I'd be willing to take my chances with Pepperdine and Pacific in the consy bracket most years. Didn't pan out. MSU did do good getting 2 marquee opportunities for signature wins. Not getting them is another discussion for another thread.
I wonder what the fascination with the state of Arkansas is. ASU, CAU, UALR. Although UALR isn't that bad a game, it seems like that's 3 too many games against that state. They're not exactly basketball powerhouses. CAU in particular raises my eyebrow. Those plus St Louis and Oral Bob....seems like they're going out of their way to NOT go out of their way. Very regional games. MSU needs to work to branch out, find opponents from other parts of the country.
How to improve the schedule: Think national, not local. Arkansas and Missouri and Oklahoma schools are fine and all, but this is a program that should work a bit harder at getting more exposure by getting teams from all over the country.
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