Non-Conference Schedule for another Mid-major

[tornado]

Not many schools have announced their non-conference schedule like Bradley has...but one other good mid-major just did.

Charlotte announced their's and they use words like
"top"
"attractive"
"This is the best non-conference schedule we have played in my time at Charlotte," said 10th-year head coach Bobby Lutz."
etc........


And yet....look who they have....
They do have 4 BCS-type schools Georgia Tech, Wake, Md., Clemson, pretty much the same caliber and number as Bradley has, but only 4 teams on the non-conference schedule were NCAA teams last year....only 4 (Maryland, Davidson, SIU, Georgia Tech)

....But they also have some real patsies like High Point, Appalachain St., Fairleigh Dickinson, etc.

Overall, I think it may be as strong as BU's, but the strength of the mid-majors on BU's schedule, especially the ones on the road like Butler, make BU's a bit stronger.

NOTE...the MARQUEE mid-major game they have is a home game against SIU.


2007-08 non-conference schedule
(Dates tentative; Times TBA)
Nov.
9 High Point
12 Appalachian State
16-19 @ Paradise Jam
vs. Georgia Tech
vs. Winthrop/Ill. Chicago
vs. Notre Dame; Baylor;Monmouth; Wichita State
29 Wake Forest
Dec.
5 Davidson
8 Southern Illinois
15 @ Hofstra
22 Gardner-Webb
30 Fairleigh Dickinson
Jan.
5 Maryland
9 @ Clemson

http://charlotte49ers.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/061407aab.html

[chitownBUB]

Here is a comparison of BU and Charlotte's opponents and last year RPI

BU

Home
Iowa State-135
UMES-332
UF-Gulf Coast-??
SEMO-291
Michigan State-24
VCU-42
Bracket Buster-probably under 100

Away
UIC-159
Loyola-101
Wright State-72
Butler-27

Neutral
Iowa-96
Vandy or TBA-47
****************

Charlotte
Home
High Point-185
Appalachian St.-62
Wake-122
Davidson-49
SIU-7
Gardner Webb-265
FDU-233
Maryland-16


Away
Hofstra-73
Clemson-46

Neutral
Georgia Tech-52
Winthrop-70 or UIC-159
ND, Baylor, Wichita, or Monmouth (31, 141, 100, 259)

I agree, it is equal enough that it is hard to make a clear call.
But, the coach at Charlotte lauds his schedule as the toughest he's seen in his 10 years at Charlotte.

[patrick_o'brian]

This is a very tough schedule. 4 acc teams. applause for Bobby Lutz. He is right. It is a very nice schedule.

[BradleyBrave]

Why is Charlotte the target of our ire now? Just because Charlie Coley went there? Who cares about them? I care about us. I like our schedule. Time will tell if it's as good as we think it is. We've done all we can to make it a great one.

[tornado]

There is no ire...just a comparison of the schedules of similar teams. There wasn't the tiniest thought of Coley or anything negative, just that so few teams have released their non-conference schedules, that this is about the only other mid-major to compare to.
My point was that Charlotte's schedule is very tough, and hardly anyone denies it, but I found it odd that there were people who claimed ours was not that good.

[MacabreMob]

There is no ire...just a comparison of the schedules of similar teams. There wasn't the tiniest thought of Coley or anything negative, just that so few teams have released their non-conference schedules, that this is about the only other mid-major to compare to.
My point was that Charlotte's schedule is very tough, and hardly anyone denies it, but I found it odd that there were people who claimed ours was not that good.

T - don't tippy-toe it.

I took this thread as a direct point to say Charlotte is a MID-MAJOR.

They may not want to admit it, but it is true.

About the schedules.... yes, yes... they have a good one - VERY GOOD. And I say 'Good for you' with a big fat facetious thumbs up. (and I usually give a thumbs up cause I can't give you the real digit that has universal meaning)

Yes... some pick at Bradley's schedule and I think they might be the leftovers of those still wanting WM as head coach - looking for something/anything to complain about. And then they will allow for a double edge sword... 'not THAT great of a schedule, has flaws ... yet couldn't win enough games against it'.

Whatever.

[Braves4Life]

Charlotte and BU -- Two good mid-majors/two strong schedules. Trust me when I say Charlotte will have many losses from this schedule next year (and not just the obvious ones. They will lose to Davidson, High Point, and maybe even App. St. )

[tornado]

T - don't tippy-toe it.

I took this thread as a direct point to say Charlotte is a MID-MAJOR.
.....

Yes, they are a mid-major by whatever criteria you want to use.
They surely aren't a low major, and I can't conceive of them as a BCS or major school, no matter who they play or how big they might be.
They play in the CUSA (Charlotte, Central Florida, Tulsa, Marshall, etc...) which gets only one bid, remember?

[tornado]

A couple comments about the BU schedule frmo the St. Louis fans:

"That is really impressive"
"that is a great schedule from an RPI perspective"
"I agree. Bradley year after year has a great schedule to boost up their RPI. They really know how to work the system"
"All it took was a Sweet 16 appearance (to get such a great schedule...)"

http://www.billikens.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.pl?az=show_thread&omm=0&om=13107&forum=DCForumID3

Funny how there are some supposed BU fans that are yet unconvinced.

[MacabreMob]

Funny how there are some supposed BU fans that are yet unconvinced.

Yea, talking about me here... I am just ticked off we didn't put UIS on the schedule!

[tornado]

UCLA just released their non-conference schedule.
Here it is just for comparison....

In addition to an 18-game conference schedule, here is who they play (mostly at home)

Portland State-home
Chicago State-home
Youngstown State-home
Weber State-home
Then if they advance in the "College Basketball Experience" tournament, they may get Michigan State, Maryland, or Missouri.
They also host their own Wooden Classic....all on their home court.

Texas (at home)
Michigan on the road
Idaho State-home
UC Davis-home
Western Illinois-home
Yale -home
Cal Poly-home

so at least 9-11 lower rated teams all at home, and only two certain games against Top 100 squads...and possibly one or two more if they advance in the "Experience".
AND-- only one true road game, against a team that was 8-8 in the Big Ten.
I think BU's non-conference schedule is tougher.

[squirrel]

Funny how there are some supposed BU fans that are yet unconvinced.

I just want to know why some find it acceptable to play 4 road games against an inferior conference (Horizon) and laud it as good/great/worthy of praise and honor.

I'm principally disappointed in that fact and the SPI field and its guarantees. But I do acknowledge it will be a challenging schedule. That doesn't mean it's where it should be though.

Because of it, any potential benefit from the good parts WILL BE negated by its weak links, at least in terms of RPI.

Until someone can explain to me what is so "great" about going on the road to 4 teams from an inferior league, I reserve the right to be disappointed and express my concern.

[Da Coach]

Yes, the Horizon was an inferior league, but the 4 teams that Bradley will play this coming year were the top 4 RPI teams in the league last year. And all 4 look to be as good or better than last year. I would agree with you if it was Cleveland State, Detroit-Mercy, or UW-M that we were scheduling.
I don't think it's fair to down grade those 4 teams just because they play in an inferior league. They were and are still decent teams to schedule. I congratulate KK and JL for playing the best teams they could get to schedule us. It has been well documented (just ask Gary Williams) that the big boys (the BCS conference schools) simply are not willing to schedule the Bradleys of the world, home or away.

http://kenpom.com/conf.php?y=2007&c=Horz

W-L W-L RPI SOS
Butler 25-6 13-3 27 108
Wright St. 23-9 13-3 72 159
Loyola Chicago 19-11 10-6 101 129
Illinois Chicago 13-18 7-9 159 110
Wisconsin GB 16-15 7-9 170 204
Youngstown St. 12-17 7-9 173 121
Detroit 11-19 6-10 191 124
Wisconsin Milw 9-22 6-10 236 116
Cleveland St. 7-21 3-13 264 161

I will bet Duke doesn't play any road games against teams with RPI as good as Butler, Wright State,, etc this year.

[BUBraves06]

I will bet Duke doesn't play any road games against teams with RPI as good as Butler, Wright State,, etc this year.

Duke plays road games? Who knew.

[squirrel]

Yes, the Horizon was an inferior league, but the 4 teams that Bradley will play this coming year were the top 4 RPI teams in the league last year. And all 4 look to be as good or better than last year. I would agree with you if it was Cleveland State, Detroit-Mercy, or UW-M that we were scheduling.
I don't think it's fair to down grade those 4 teams just because they play in an inferior league. They were and are still decent teams to schedule. I congratulate KK and JL for playing the best teams they could get to schedule us. It has been well documented (just ask Gary Williams) that the big boys (the BCS conference schools) simply are not willing to schedule the Bradleys of the world, home or away.

http://kenpom.com/conf.php?y=2007&c=Horz

W-L W-L RPI SOS
Butler 25-6 13-3 27 108
Wright St. 23-9 13-3 72 159
Loyola Chicago 19-11 10-6 101 129
Illinois Chicago 13-18 7-9 159 110
Wisconsin GB 16-15 7-9 170 204
Youngstown St. 12-17 7-9 173 121
Detroit 11-19 6-10 191 124
Wisconsin Milw 9-22 6-10 236 116
Cleveland St. 7-21 3-13 264 161

I will bet Duke doesn't play any road games against teams with RPI as good as Butler, Wright State,, etc this year.

Wright St will still be good, but I don't think they will be as good as last year. Two of their top players were seniors last year who blossomed under Brownell. Yes they will still be good. And Brownell could very well have them in the RPI 75 again. But I don't think they are RPI 100 good on paper.

I like the Loyola and Butler rivalries and also Detroit. And I can live with occasional series against Horizon teams, and all for playing the in-state UIC.

But for the RPI, playing those 4 teams means we're indirectly playing 12 games each against Cleveland St, Milwaukee, UWGB, Detroit, Valpo, and Youngstown.

Throw in a MEAC team and a DI newbie that negates any benefit to having teams like Michigan St and VCU coming in.

Not trying to be Negative Nelly, but knowing how the RPI works, and your opponents opponents do figure into the thing, this schedule is not as good as is being advertised. It's just not. There's some good there, but its not all good. And the not good will neutralize the stuff that is good. For better or worse.