Nonconference schedule analysis: Big East

[Rico444]

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebask...6194/nonconference-schedule-analysis-big-east

CONNECTICUT

Toughest: Battle 4 Atlantis (Nov. 24-26), Arkansas (Dec. 3), at Tennessee (Jan. 21)
Next-toughest: Harvard (Dec. 8), Fairfield (Dec. 22)
The rest: Columbia (Nov. 11), Wagner (Nov. 14), Maine (Nov. 17), Coppin State (Nov. 20), Holy Cross (Dec. 18)
Toughness scale (1-10): 1 -- The defending national champs and preseason top-four Huskies don’t have a single nonconference game against a team that will be ranked in the preseason. Arkansas and Tennessee are name teams from the SEC, but Harvard and Fairfield may prove to be just as difficult. Still, none are locks for the NCAA tournament. The Huskies better hope for strength of scheduling purposes that they get Florida State in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament final after presumably beating Asheville in the Bahamas opener and playing either UCF or Charleston on Day 2. Winning in the Big East will cure the Huskies’ seed issues, but this weak schedule doesn't help.

I would argue that Arkansas is a good team and clearly better than Harvard and Fairfield, but a majority of the article is accurate. Our OOC schedule is pretty weak.

 

[61cygni]

Agree about Arkansaes. Can't blame the UT game, home and away scheduled before the program combusted right?

Too bad the Battle 4 Atlantis field is weak, gotta stomp on them, and hopefully UMess. Win, and win big, then the OOC slate hardly matters.

 

[Scot-e]

I do not think it is going to hurt us all that much this year. We are going to be a good team- if we are a really good team we will be able to cut our teeth in the BET right before the seedings are handed out for the NCAA. With the talent level of the top teams being so high this year- UNC, OS, Uk, Quse, Lville- we are going to either play at a high level or not.
This is the dook model most years- play only a few average games outside your conference and then hope you do well when you play teams inside your conference. If we lose a 2-3 games going into the BET we will be in line for a high seed- if not we will have to earn it once again in the BET.
I think it is good that we will have time to find our stride before playing the big boys- I also think we will have a "kemba hangover" to start the year. We will make lemonade out of lemons with the OCS.

 

[hooskies]

i don't think a single team in the battle 4 atlantis field is better than any of the teams we played last year in Maui

 

[ctchamps]

I do not think it is going to hurt us all that much this year. We are going to be a good team- if we are a really good team we will be able to cut our teeth in the BET right before the seedings are handed out for the NCAA. With the talent level of the top teams being so high this year- UNC, OS, Uk, Quse, Lville- we are going to either play at a high level or not.
This is the dook model most years- play only a few average games outside your conference and then hope you do well when you play teams inside your conference. If we lose a 2-3 games going into the BET we will be in line for a high seed- if not we will have to earn it once again in the BET.
I think it is good that we will have time to find our stride before playing the big boys- I also think we will have a "kemba hangover" to start the year. We will make lemonade out of lemons with the OCS.

Exactly. UConn did not know UT would be facing all its problems and be bad. They didn't have a choice on the SEC partner. And the Battle of Atlantis field was not in their control. If these three situations were different, the OOC toughness scale could easily have been a 4-7 and that would have been ideal for a team without Kemba. The BE will be more significant this year.

 

[Waquoit]

The only reason this OOC schedule rates a 1 is because there is nothing lower. It embarrassingly weak. The only hint of bone to throw to the season ticket holder early on is Arkansas. I'm bracing for another two months of Boneyard posters that don't go to games badmouthing those fans that do for not being sufficiently excited at watching a top team run up the score aginst a bunch of cupcakes.

 

[Dann]

i hope we end up playing fsu in the b4a ship game for ooc #'s wise. but we are getting paid so well to go there that i don't care if it was all d2 teams, that paycheck is da bomb!

 

[Walker11]

I can understand the lack of marquee games even though these are by far the best games because we got somewhat unlucky in scheduling as described above. My problem is with the terrible teams on the schedule, teams that will be rated 200 and worse. It would be great if the majority of the OOC games were vs. teams like Fairfield and Harvard and not the bottom feeders because these teams will be around the top 75 , help the RPI and are possible tournament teams that could somewhat challenge the team, but really pose a small threat to win. This is what teams like Duke do and they somehow end up with a top 10 schedule without any incredibly difficult games.

 

[HeGotGame]

The schedule is beyond weak, it is down right pathetic. There is no excuse for it. But it is what it is and anything more than 1 or 2 losses would be damaging to an NCAA seed.

 

[babysheep]

Let's keep a couple things in mind here:

Was the schedule made before or after our team got potentially so much better, i.e. before DD (and eventually AD) committed? We were, of course, coming off a championship year and lost our huge star, without a very certain future. Now that we have DD and AD it looks like we can take on anyone, but did we really think that last May?

Do we choose who we play in these tournaments and challenges (I'd bet not)? Do we pick who we got matched up with in the SEC challenge? Do we pick what teams compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis?

While it may be a bit more boring than last year, I don't mind us not having an OOCS like we had last year. We will get our fair share of tough games (at Loserville, at Cuse, at ND) in-conference already. Give the freshmen some time to get a feel for playing at game speed.

 

[HeGotGame]

Babysheep you are correct we do not chose who we play in the SEC challenge or our opponents in the Battle for Atlantis. However, it is our choice to play Wagner and not try to find someone else.

Playing up in competition will make our team better and get us prepared for the tournament. We always play a tough conference schedule, we are not Syracuse we cannot use that as an excuse.

Man up and play the big boys, I would rather have a tough close loss at UK than beat Wagner by 30 at home.

 

[61cygni]

Those other teams have to agree to play us too.

 

[ctchamps]

Those other teams have to agree to play us too.

Exactly. Things like scheduling conflict or lack of desire to get crushed by a superior opponent factor into the opponents UConn gets.

 

[ctchamps]

Babysheep you are correct we do not chose who we play in the SEC challenge or our opponents in the Battle for Atlantis. However, it is our choice to play Wagner and not try to find someone else.

Playing up in competition will make our team better and get us prepared for the tournament. We always play a tough conference schedule, we are not Syracuse we cannot use that as an excuse.

Man up and play the big boys, I would rather have a tough close loss at UK than beat Wagner by 30 at home.

Well we know what you prefer. My preference is actually similar. But who are you arguing with? JC has a lot of input in this scheduling, at least over the things he has control about scheduling. So your issue is with him and not with us. He factored in things about his team in deciding the schedule and those factors had to be made before the additions of DD and AD. So should I seriously consider myself and my desires and/or how I might handle this team more important than how a HOF coach who just won his third NC felt was necessary to develop his team. I don't have that type of self inflated importance.

 

[Kitaman]

Well once the season starts this will be moot. The bottom line is I don't like looking at. Furthermore I try to never miss watching a UConn game, and hope to continue that BUT this season will be a challenge to watch full two halves as far as OOC opponents. There is just nothing exciting about our opponents.

 

[Waquoit]

Decent pre-season schedules outside the exempt tournament have been the exception to the rule. Couple years back UConn had the worst SOS in D-1 on Dec 31st. You don't get to 800 wins playing a tough non-con schedule.