2019-20 nonconference schedules

[SCGamecock]

I can't follow you on those numbers. My phone screen is displaying them on erractically aligned rows.

And about that entire schedule talk, I think its because Dawn is trying to be Geno. Vic is just trying to be Vic.

Dawn is a competitor. She’ll play anybody anywhere. If that means she’s “trying to be Geno” then so be it.. they’re both from Philly so it’s a fair comparison..

Before South Carolina was on the scene nationally we played home and away games with the national powers, usually visiting them first (notably the Stanford series). Now we’re in the position to flex muscle in these big series, but it wasn’t always like that.

State just needs to ante up and be willing to play on the road a little bit. But if Vic feels like his program is too good for that then I guess he’s right.

 

[SimpleDawg]

Dawn is a competitor. She’ll play anybody anywhere. If that means she’s “trying to be Geno” then so be it.. they’re both from Philly so it’s a fair comparison..

Before South Carolina was on the scene nationally we played home and away games with the national powers, usually visiting them first (notably the Stanford series). Now we’re in the position to flex muscle in these big series, but it wasn’t always like that.

State just needs to ante up and be willing to play on the road a little bit. But if Vic feels like his program is too good for that then I guess he’s right.

Lol..... that sounds like something out of Diane Keaton's mouth........"I'm from Philadelphia. Whaddya want from me? I'm honest."

But... see, your assessment is fair. The thing is, no one is arguing it's a good schedule. And I'm not saying that it's my preference to play a weak schedule. Vic tried to schedule UConn this year, but Geno wanted to play at Storrs. Not sure what the deal with that is, but I think we're still the new kids on the block. We don't get to dictate what we want to do.

Vic has had a 36-2 SEC record in the last 2 years. He also had 2 national championship game appearances, and scored 84 points against Oregon in one of his most impressive offensive onslaughts. He always has his team ready and firing both by conference time, and in the NCAA tournament. So having a weak nonconference doesn't faze his team at all, or really affects anything. As long it doesn't hurt us, I really don't care what UConn or SC or what anybody else says about our schedule.

I think the only thing it really means is slightly lower seeding. But..really I'll take a #2 or #3 seed because none of the regionals this year favors us. Another reason we're the new kids on the block. Regionals in the last 3 years were hosted in Albany, Portland, Fort Wayne, Greenville, Lexington, Stockton, and Dallas. It favors every top 7 or 8 team except for State. The day when they host a regional in Jackson or Memphis is the day where the basketball universe deems us "a national power." Until then, we still aren't getting the benefits those teams I mentioned are.

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[UConnCat]

Vic tried to schedule UConn this year, but Geno wanted to play at Storrs. Not sure what the deal with that is, but I think we're still the new kids on the block. We don't get to dictate what we want to do.

Can you provide a link? If true, what's the problem with playing in Storrs? Wouldn't the agreement be a home and home? This story doesn't make sense.

 

[Plebe]

But... see, your assessment is fair. The thing is, no one is arguing it's a good schedule. And I'm not saying that it's my preference to play a weak schedule. Vic tried to schedule UConn this year, but Geno wanted to play at Storrs. Not sure what the deal with that is, but I think we're still the new kids on the block. We don't get to dictate what we want to do.

So you're essentially saying that Vic "tried to schedule UConn" but insisted on a home game.

Too bad so sad.

 

[DaBball]

Can you provide a link? If true, what's the problem with playing in Storrs? Wouldn't the agreement be a home and home? This story doesn't make sense.

Did a quick scan of Mississippi State's forum and perhaps that was it...

WBB Announces Non Conference Schedule

247sports.com

I also don't see Geno playing them partly due to AEH...

 

[triaddukefan]

Meh...... except for Texas and Maryland. Though I guess you can throw out the record books when the North Carolina 1862 and 1890 Morrill Act schools meet up on the farm court

 

[UConnCat]

Did a quick scan of Mississippi State's forum and perhaps that was it...

WBB Announces Non Conference Schedule

247sports.com

I also don't see Geno playing them partly due to AEH...

LOL Just what I thought. A bunch of fans making stuff up on a message board. Geno agrees to home-and-homes with a bunch of teams; there's no reason to think he wouldn't agree to one with MSST if he wanted to play them.

I really don't think Espinoza-Hunter's presence would affect Geno one bit. UConn has several home-and-homes set up so a series with MSST may have to wait.

 

[SimpleDawg]

LOL Just what I thought. A bunch of fans making stuff up on a message board. Geno agrees to home-and-homes with a bunch of teams; there's no reason to think he wouldn't agree to one with MSST if he wanted to play them.

I don't see that as making things up, but have it your way. That was our main MSU insider, btw. We'll play UConn sometime in the future, but 1) it's not unthinkable to believe that Geno won't agree to every single proposal. He's not going to say "let's play 100% of the games suggested by other teams." 2) Geno is stubborn and likes to have things his own way.

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[SECbbfan24]

I also don't see Geno playing them partly due to AEH...

That would be extremely shallow of Geno if that is true. If State didn't want to play UCONN because they would have to travel to Storrs for a year, then shame on Vic. None of it makes sense, usually there is a home and home so of course you would have to travel up one year.

I am guessing with all the home and home series UCONN has agreed to, they had no room this year.

 

[UConnCat]

View attachment 45250

I don't see that as making things up, but have it your way. That was our main MSU insider, btw. We'll play UConn sometime in the future, but 1) it's not unthinkable to believe that Geno won't agree to every single proposal. He's not going to say "let's play 100% of the games suggested by other teams." 2) Geno is stubborn and likes to have things his own way.

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So you're saying Geno would only agree to play MSST one game and that one game had to be in CT? Remind me when Geno has done that when in discussions with another program? I'll wait.

Again, sounds like make believe.

 

[SimpleDawg]

So you're saying Geno would only agree to play MSST one game and that one game had to be in CT? Remind me when Geno has done that when in discussions with another program? I'll wait.

Again, sounds like make believe.

It didn't work out for one reason or another. All I'm saying is that Geno is not going to agree to 100% of the games. There's not enough room, first of all. And UConn is the team everyone wants to play. It's quite reasonable to believe that one or two series will end up not working out. I'm not knocking Geno, I'm just stating pretty reasonable things.

Graves and Vic have always seen eye-to-eye though. Another thing which our board confirmed is that both coaches really enjoy playing each other, often and a lot. So expect more Oregon/State in the future.

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[MSUFan2003]

So you're saying Geno would only agree to play MSST one game and that one game had to be in CT? Remind me when Geno has done that when in discussions with another program? I'll wait.

Again, sounds like make believe.

The MSU beat writer said that several years ago, MSU tried to get a home and home, but UConn did not want to do it. I don't know how long ago or the reasons. Those things would helpful to know because they would add more context.

I tend to trust this beat writer because he knew in May 2018 that Anriel Howard had verbally committed to State. He is very closely connected to the program.

 

[UConnCat]

The MSU beat writer said that several years ago, MSU tried to get a home and home, but UConn did not want to do it. I don't know how long ago or the reasons. Those things would helpful to know because they would add more context.

I tend to trust this beat writer because he knew in May 2018 that Anriel Howard had verbally committed to State. He is very closely connected to the program.

Several years ago seems different than what was alluded to earlier in this thread and by the message board posters where it was suggested that the talks were recent and involved the upcoming season. Geno may indeed have declined a home-and-home series "several years ago" for any number of reasons. My primary objection was to the suggestion that Geno's response recently to Vic was "my way (one game in Storrs) or the highway."

I'd appreciate a link to the quote from the beat writer saying Geno refused a home-and-home.

 

[MSUFan2003]

Several years ago seems different than what was alluded to earlier in this thread and by the message board posters where it was suggested that the talks were recent and involved the upcoming season. Geno may indeed have declined a home-and-home series "several years ago" for any number of reasons. My primary objection was to the suggestion that Geno's response recently to Vic was "my way (one game in Storrs) or the highway."

I'd appreciate a link to the quote from the beat writer saying Geno refused a home-and-home.

I think this is correct. It was probably before we became a more respected team, so there would be no need for Geno to agree to play us. It could also simply be that the scheduling didn't work out. It's probably not a very exciting reason in the end.

WBB Announces Non Conference Schedule

WBB Announces Non Conference Schedule

247sports.com

Did that link work?

 

[SCGamecock]

After the events of the past few years I can't see Geno agreeing to a series with Miss State. And if he does, it's definitely going to be in Gampel FIRST. Its hard beating UConn in general, but in Gampel it's almost impossible.

Still, even if UConn/MS never becomes a home/home series, there are definitely other interesting games out there. I think MSU/Oregon is something that can become a fun rivalry with their contrasting play styles. I also think MSU/Baylor would make an interesting series in the future.. both teams play similar styles and occasionally overlap in recruiting.

 

[Plebe]

but 1) it's not unthinkable to believe that Geno won't agree to every single proposal. He's not going to say "let's play 100% of the games suggested by other teams." 2) Geno is stubborn and likes to have things his own way.

You mean Vic is stubborn. By your own account he refused to schedule UConn if he couldn't have the game at home.

 

[SimpleDawg]

You mean Vic is stubborn. By your own account he refused to schedule UConn if he couldn't have the game at home.

Not sure what youre reading into this time. They're both stubborn. No arguments there. They'll never reach an agreement because of that.

 

[Plebe]

Not sure what youre reading into this time. They're both stubborn. No arguments there. They'll never reach an agreement because of that.

Okay, so don't make Geno out to be the bad guy. And don't make it sound like Vic made a serious attempt to schedule up. If he approached with a refusal to play on the road, he wasn't earnest to start with. Who is he to insist that everyone else come to Starkville?

Look at all the teams that Geno has scheduled home-and-homes against. This is not on him. Now go and enjoy your home games against Southern Miss and UT Martin.

 

[MSUFan2003]

After the events of the past few years I can't see Geno agreeing to a series with Miss State. And if he does, it's definitely going to be in Gampel FIRST. Its hard beating UConn in general, but in Gampel it's almost impossible.

Still, even if UConn/MS never becomes a home/home series, there are definitely other interesting games out there. I think MSU/Oregon is something that can become a fun rivalry with their contrasting play styles. I also think MSU/Baylor would make an interesting series in the future.. both teams play similar styles and occasionally overlap in recruiting.

Apparently, the UConn thing was proposed before 2017, the year we made it to the NC game, and it was a home and home series. I don't see any reason Geno would feel obligated to play us at that time, so I'm not surprised it never happened.

I've also thought Baylor would be a fun series. Iowa State, NC State, Arizona State, UCLA, Oregon State, Miami- a lot of interesting teams out there. I like Oregon's style of play a lot.

 

[SimpleDawg]

Okay, so don't make Geno out to be the bad guy. And don't make it sound like Vic made a serious attempt to schedule up. If he approached with a refusal to play on the road, he wasn't earnest to start with. Who is he to insist that everyone else come to Starkville?

Look at all the teams that Geno has scheduled home-and-homes against. This is not on him. Now go and enjoy your home games against Southern Miss and UT Martin.

Wow..... That was really vigorous. I have no idea where that stinging reaction came from, but I'll let you settle down. LOL........ Plebe is a funny guy.

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[GoDawgs4]

I don’t want to hear a single MSU fan complain about their seeding. That schedule is abysmal.

Unless their conf schedule includes SC TAMU KY twice, they may end up with <5 games against the top 25.

Getting the #1 seed did not really help since we were the road team at the #2 seed. Realistically we should have been a #2 seed since that was what we were effectively were.

Agree that the schedule is terrible. I think a lot of it is the big teams are scared to come to Starkvegas. So we have a hard time getting home and home with some of the powerhouse teams.

 

[MSUFan2003]

I think a lot of it is the big teams are scared to come to Starkvegas. So we have a hard time getting home and home with some of the powerhouse teams.

I really doubt that any big name teams are scared to play us at home. First, no serious coach is going to be scared to play a team. Second, why do those same teams agree to play other big name teams?

 

[Vowelguy]

Agree that the schedule is terrible. I think a lot of it is the big teams are scared to come to Starkvegas. So we have a hard time getting home and home with some of the powerhouse teams.

The only thing teams would be scared of is the time it takes to get there. Not exactly an easy destination to reach if you fly commercial.

 

[Vowelguy]

Uhh, folks, let's not forget that Vic visited Storrs and talked with Geno. GA did not have to do that.

 

[stamfordhusky]

So you're saying Geno would only agree to play MSST one game and that one game had to be in CT? Remind me when Geno has done that when in discussions with another program? I'll wait.

Again, sounds like make believe.

If anyone makes that claim, it is definitely make believe and clearly untrue. It is possible, if UConn already had too many road games on tap for a given year, that he might insist on the series beginning in Storrs. But there is no major team that he won't do a home and home game with. History has proven that.

 

[MSUFan2003]

Uhh, folks, let's not forget that Vic visited Storrs and talked with Geno. GA did not have to do that.

I had forgotten about that. There was an article I read about the meeting, and Vic said he asked Geno about offense.

 

[triaddukefan]

Wow..... That was really vigorous. I have no idea where that stinging reaction came from, but I'll let you settle down. LOL... Plebe is a funny guy.

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Sometimes I think @Plebe should change his avatar to a Bulldog

 

[mbr33ct]

I just can't wrap my head around this story, Geno and Vic could not reach an agreement/understanding (if it actually happened) for a home-and-home series due in part Geno being "stubborn" for wanting the first game at Storrs. Doesn't protocol/unwritten rule dictate when starting a home-and-home series the team wanting to play a certain school should "travel" to that school first, in order to get the second game home? Doesn't Vic know "you can't have your cake and eat it too".

If this really took place a few years back...more reason for Vic to accept offer and go to Storrs first...again, if it really happened.

 

[GoDawgs4]

The only thing teams would be scared of is the time it takes to get there. Not exactly an easy destination to reach if you fly commercial.

Actually it is pretty easy to get there. GTR has Delta and flights from ATL. The airport is 18 miles from campus.

Also it can easily handle charter flights as well.

Actually I have no idea what the truth is. Stans used to have a hard time on the men’s side because teams did not want to come to State. Don’t know if that is true anymore or not.
Vic does not strike me as one who is scared to play on the road first in a home and home series.

Hopefully in the years to come we will see us play a few more of these intersectional match ups with some of the stronger programs.

 

[Vowelguy]

GTR has Delta and flights from ATL.

Exactly my point -- all flights are through ATL. If I were from west of MS, gonna have a hard time convincing me to fly over Starkville several hours east to Atlanta, then several hours back to MSU.