Stay Classy Brenda

[Vowelguy]

Last year, Baylor played 14 games against the Sagarin top 25. Tied for most in the country.

Baylor played 12 games against the Massey top 25. It's not easily displayed, but as comparison, Notre Dame played 13 such games.

 

[easttexastrash]

Exhibition games should be eliminated. Who wants to watch a bunch of Div I teams bash the brains out of a bunch of over matched teams. Are you really learning anything if you play a team that you can beat by 70 - 100 points?

I will say that Emporia State had some nice players who can shoot the ball. They drained 10 three pointers...felt like watching Louisville in one stretch. This was not at all what I expected for an exhibition game. That is not to say that Baylor looked very fluid most of the game, but ES is a good little team that would challenge a lot of Div I programs.

 

[UcMiami]

Exhibition games should be eliminated. Who wants to watch a bunch of Div I teams bash the brains out of a bunch of over matched teams. Are you really learning anything if you play a team that you can beat by 70 - 100 points?

I will say that Emporia State had some nice players who can shoot the ball. They drained 10 three pointers...felt like watching Louisville in one stretch. This was not at all what I expected for an exhibition game. That is not to say that Baylor looked very fluid most of the game, but ES is a good little team that would challenge a lot of Div I programs.

Exhibition games are a way for teams (and especially their freshman) to get used to the venue(s) and kind of crowds they will be playing in during the season and to run their systems against people they don't play against five times a week, when the play can't be stopped and where fouls actually matter. And for the cannon fodder that is brought in to provide the competition, it is a chance to add to their revenue, to see how their own play stacks up against better players, and to have minor victories over the course of a game. Some of the teams can be as good or better than some of the D1 teams on the schedule. And for some of the teams, just playing against D1 Das and HOF quality coaches can bring its own excitement.

On the SOS for Baylor - I think some Baylor fans and many outside fans recognize that they play plenty of decent teams during the year - the complaint is that the OOC has had a lot of really terrible teams included. Every team ends up with a Colgate or Holy Cross on their schedule because of special considerations, but for a few years Kim seemed to load up on those kinds of teams OOC when people felt her team was 'better than that'.
(And there are a lot of teams, including a number of SEC teams that are much worse than Baylor in terms of scheduling OOC - every year you see them rise in the polls as they got 13-0 or 12-1 OOC before going 6-10 or worse once the conference play kicks in.)

 

[triaddukefan]

OK. I get it. Some people were saying that they should have stepped off the pedal a little bit in the 2nd half. But a lot of Maryland fans would like a little stronger OOC schedule and they did better this year with Arizona State, Washington State and Louisville.

The Louisville game is part of the Big 10/ACC Challenge... Its not like your coach went out and scheduled them

That power house Washington state ???? .... the same school that finished 9-22 last season.... and 1-17 in the Pac 12 But i guess they are stronger than UMES

 

[Plebe]

...Or enter conference play with a .500 record, weakening their chance of a high seed come tournament selection time. Mulkey's OCC schedule was embarrassingly weak last year. This year, it's a little better. It's still a little soft, but better than last year's. Coaches that are in a competitive conference know they need a good won/loss record at the end of the season to get invited to the tournament, and get a decent seed. The preseason is the perfect time to load up on wins for the season. That's where the bread products come in. They do serve a purpose. It's hard to find anyone that's not partial to cupcakes and twinkies.

Baylor's nonconference strength of schedule last year was #23 in the country. Not amazing, but compared favorably to the likes of Texas (#35), Louisville (#39), South Carolina (#46), Kentucky (#52), Maryland (#69), Oklahoma (#112), West Virginia (#113), and Mississippi State (#123).

 

[Carnac]

Kim seemed to load up on those kinds of teams OOC when people felt her team was 'better than that'.

That's all I'm saying. Baylor is better than that. THAT'S my whole point!!! Baylor is too good a team to to play as weak and mushy OOC schedule.
Iron sharpens iron!!! Schedule your OOC schedule like the champions you think you are.

 

[UcMiami]

Baylor's nonconference strength of schedule last year was #23 in the country. Not amazing, but compared favorably to the likes of Texas (#35), Louisville (#39), South Carolina (#46), Kentucky (#52), Maryland (#69), Oklahoma (#112), West Virginia (#113), and Mississippi State (#123).

Baylor upgraded their schedule last year, in the previous couple of seasons it was really dreadful with lots of 100+ opponents. In 2013-14 for example the only OOC game of consequence was against KY - the rest of the slate was: Grambling, Nichols State, Rice, Savannah State, Northwestern State, TX-San Antonio, San Jose State, Houston Baptist, Ole Miss, and McNeese State - and all of the games were at home except for KY which was 'neutral' in Arlington, TX. They did play Uconn also on their home court in January. Last year in contrast they played South Florida, DePaul, Michigan State, Miami, and James Madison in their OOC.

 

[JordyG]

I'm guessing you don't know where those numbers came from?

Oh I can tell basketball score of D1 vs. D2's. They still look like over/unders.

 

[Checkmate]

The Louisville game is part of the Big 10/ACC Challenge... Its not like your coach went out and scheduled them

That power house Washington state ???? .... the same school that finished 9-22 last season.... and 1-17 in the Pac 12 But i guess they are stronger than UMES

View attachment 16585

CHECKMATE

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

As was just pointed out to me above by jbb, these teams are forced to play much inferior teams, so I really can't fault Maryland here.

Except that you could "scrimmage" against another D1 team, however, then the public is neither invited nor allowed to know how it went. Rutgers has been doing scrimmages in recent years, a couple of times against Drexel that I know of. Even who you scrimmage with is somewhat "secret" but that gets out, usually.

So there is a balance, too, of getting your team showcased in front of the fans and your team experiences playing in front of the home fans.

But I do agree with those who wonder if these particular opponents for Maryland offer the best opportunity for improvement. Then again, maybe for Brenda it is a morale thing, something she is really, really big on.

 

[Vowelguy]

Oh I can tell basketball score of D1 vs. D2's. They still look like over/unders.

Um no. They are UConn scores against D1 opponents over the years.

 

[HoopsFan21]

WTF is there such a thing as a secret scrimmage? Can someone please explain the NCAA rules?

 

[UcMiami]

WTF is there such a thing as a secret scrimmage? Can someone please explain the NCAA rules?

You can have preseason games in front of fans with scores kept but they have to be against non-D1 schools. If you want to play against D1 talent, you cannot keep score and it must be closed to the public. I don't think the scrimmage need be kept secret, it just cannot be view by the public.

 

[Bayareahusky]

So how exactly do you improve your athletic, team, or communicative skills by beating a child?

OK I will ask then, do you have an example in WCBB when an exhibition has been played with anyone but a "child" as you say it? They all are patsies..... It is like the football games you try to set up for homecoming.... someone you can whomp on.....

If it is me, and i am the coach, i do not schedule someone like Bluefield State..... but my point was ...... why should I call into question Brenda, when she thinks this sort of game can improve her team in some way, or reveal areas which could show to her how her team is progressing..... perhaps we shouldn't schedule Indiana Univeristy of Pennsylvania.....

 

[HoopsFan21]

You can have preseason games in front of fans with scores kept but they have to be against non-D1 schools. If you want to play against D1 talent, you cannot keep score and it must be closed to the public. I don't think the scrimmage need be kept secret, it just cannot be view by the public.

Why?

 

[JordyG]

Um no. They are UConn scores against D1 opponents over the years.

H-m-m-m. So these selective scores over the course of X plus years have what in common with 2-20 D2 teams and thrashing them every year? Yes, those were clearly either not very good teams, or like last years Mississippi State game, not expected. Yes, The UConn plays D2 teams, but for the most part these teams are reflective of far better versions of D2's than what Frese schedules. For all that I get on Mulkey, at least Emporia State made good inroads in last years D2 NCAA's. And lets not speak of The UConn and Lubbock Christian from last year.

 

[JordyG]

OK I will ask then, do you have an example in WCBB when an exhibition has been played with anyone but a "child" as you say it? They all are patsies..... It is like the football games you try to set up for homecoming.... someone you can whomp on.....

If it is me, and i am the coach, i do not schedule someone like Bluefield State..... but my point was . why should I call into question Brenda, when she thinks this sort of game can improve her team in some way, or reveal areas which could show to her how her team is progressing..... perhaps we shouldn't schedule Indiana Univeristy of Pennsylvania.....

Then Brenda in thinking a 2-20 D2 team will help her teams growth is not thinking very clearly. Or perhaps she anticipated that such a "great" recruiting classes egos were such eggshells that they needed to be galvanized by pummeling powderpuffs. And may I remind you that Emporia State and Lubbock Christian did well in D2 last year.

 

[Volup1]

Maryland has no 2017 commits. Perhaps this "performance" was, in part, intended to get the attention of a very small audience: Evina Westbrook and Rennia Davis.

 

[UcMiami]

OK I will ask then, do you have an example in WCBB when an exhibition has been played with anyone but a "child" as you say it? They all are patsies..... It is like the football games you try to set up for homecoming.... someone you can whomp on.....

If it is me, and i am the coach, i do not schedule someone like Bluefield State..... but my point was . why should I call into question Brenda, when she thinks this sort of game can improve her team in some way, or reveal areas which could show to her how her team is progressing..... perhaps we shouldn't schedule Indiana Univeristy of Pennsylvania.....

The National team has done it a couple of times I believe, once during Tara's reign when they were playing together for the full year, and once in the early 2000s as well. Otherwise it is set up by the NCAA to not be competitive generally - D1 teams cannot play against each other except in scrimmages so they are always playing lesser divisions. But i think Baylor would say they had a competitive game for there first preseason one.

 

[mudcat]

I don't understand the outrage? It's an EXHIBITION game, I also don't understand this whole "running up the score" mentality. Are you supposed to put players in a game that don't get much playing time and tell them not to play to the best of their ability because we may "run up the score?" Did the "Dream Team" run up the score in the 1992 Olympics? Why is University of Maryland exhibition game against a D-II opponent the topic of convo on a UConn Fan Message Board? Didn't the Huskies play Tuesday night? How many points did they win by? I just don't what the big deal is.....

I think the outrage is not so much against the score, but reflects questioning regarding why such an obviously inferior team was scheduled in the first place (318 statistically out of 318 D2 schools). As was pointed out, it appears that it is to give the fans of those schools an opportunity to see the state flagship institution. It should be pointed out also that these schools, for various reasons, choose to play the U. of MD, there is no coercion involved.

 

[JordyG]

I think the outrage is not so much against the score, but reflects questioning regarding why such an obviously inferior team was scheduled in the first place (318 statistically out of 318 D2 schools). As was pointed out, it appears that it is to give the fans of those schools an opportunity to see the state flagship institution. It should be pointed out also that these schools, for various reasons, choose to play the U. of MD, there is no coercion involved.

Understood and agreed. But from my viewpoint the benefit is all tilted toward the D2 team that gets a look at the states flagship, exposure, a little money, a nice trip, and their players get a a real taste of what it takes to play at that level. Clearly what Geno does is use the entire game as a teaching moment(s) against fairly good and even excellent D2 teams. I ask, where and what were Frese's teaching moments against Bluefield State? If it were a fight Bluefield's corner would have thrown in the towel faster than a speeding Mulkey bulletjacket, and no one would have objected.

 

[cabbie191]

H-m-m-m. So these selective scores over the course of X plus years have what in common with 2-20 D2 teams and thrashing them every year? Yes, those were clearly either not very good teams, or like last years Mississippi State game, not expected. Yes, The UConn plays D2 teams, but for the most part these teams are reflective of far better versions of D2's than what Frese schedules. For all that I get on Mulkey, at least Emporia State made good inroads in last years D2 NCAA's. And lets not speak of The UConn and Lubbock Christian from last year.

Let's emphasize "far better" given that Lubbock Christian had an undefeated team last year. I checked into their website a moment ago - their main article features a picture of their coach talking with Geno.

 

[HuskyNan]

To the person that called BF a name in a now-deleted post: it's ironic that in a thread calling out Frese for a lack of class that a UConn fan would call her "pond scum".

Just sayin'.

 

[Charliebball]

Understood and agreed. But from my viewpoint the benefit is all tilted toward the D2 team that gets a look at the states flagship, exposure, a little money, a nice trip, and their players get a a real taste of what it takes to play at that level. Clearly what Geno does is use the entire game as a teaching moment(s) against fairly good and even excellent D2 teams. I ask, where and what were Frese's teaching moments against Bluefield State? If it were a fight Bluefield's corner would have thrown in the towel faster than a speeding Mulkey bulletjacket, and no one would have objected.

I'd love to know exactly how much money these sacrificial lambs make for their efforts..........

 

[Kibitzer]

I'd love to know exactly how much money these sacrificial lambs make for their efforts.....

A team from the northeast recently cancelled their game with UNC in passive protest over MC political positions. They forfeited a $17,000 payoff, plus arrangements for lodging and xx number of meals for xx players.

IUP chartered a bus for the 460 mile round trip to Storrs. I'm sure ther was some provision for meals and lodging in CT.

The team from Texas (L____ Christian?) went all out. Chartered a plane for team and fans, played UConn and someone else, toured Boston, then went home. They made a movie about the trip to New England and had a successful season.