Men's schedule almost complete

[zipboy]

While I wish the schedule was just a little stronger, I am fine with it. I think1. KD and McFadden have figured out how to schedule to win 20+ games and be a 75-100 RPI school every year. That gets you into the NIT. If we scheduled a little better and were a top 50-75 team, we would never get an at large anyway. The only way for a MAC school to get an at large is schedule how Miami does and actually win those games. I don't see us or anyone in the league with Miami's schedule and winning 23 games in the season. 2. IF A&M is a buy game I would rather have it be them than Xavier. I would never have a buy game with any school in Ohio or an A-10 program. We are starting to compete for recruits with those schools and that would just show we think those programs are better than us. They may be, but I don't want to acknowledge that. I like 1 buy game maybe 2 a year against a top 20 team, to measure yourself, play in that atmosphere, etc. But I would not want it to be with a team close by. I did not like the Pitt game last year either for that reason without a return to the Q. We are starting to compete (and beat) them for at least 1 recruit.3. To me the schedule would be perfect if we replaced 2 of our home and homes with a Dayton. RI type team, a high mid major. Valpo may turn out to be one of those but someone stronger than UIC like a VCU would have been nice. Otherwise I am fine with it.4. The MAC should be much better this year. Last year the MAC was ranked 22nd the worst in how many years? If the MAC returns to a top 15 league and we have the same season with the OOC schedule ranked the same as last year we probably end up 10-12 spots higher in the RPI.5. Elton's comment was except for then he lists 6 games, the Zips should have an easy time of it. Assuming that the bracketbuster game is a good draw, he basically is saying half the games the Zips will be favored to lose or are toss ups. That to me doesn't sound like a patsy schedule. Can't has as many guaraneed wins as us, they just heavy load and have no chance to win a few more to raise their RPI and we schedule tight but winnable games.

[ZachTheZip]

I don't get why we have to play Malone. Why not play UA-Wayne if we're going to play a lower-division team? All the money stays within the university, then. Plus it gives a chance for the Wayne Campus people to come to the main school.

[johnnyzip84]

I don't get why we have to play Malone. Why not play UA-Wayne if we're going to play a lower-division team? All the money stays within the university, then. Plus it gives a chance for the Wayne Campus people to come to the main school.

This is probably a stupid question, but I'll ask it anyway. When did the Wayne Branch get a hoops team?BTW, NAIA D-1 Malone is generally more on-par with an NCAA D-2 school, than an NCAA D-3 school (as I assume UA-Wayne would be, if indeed they have a program).

[ZachTheZip]

I don't get why we have to play Malone. Why not play UA-Wayne if we're going to play a lower-division team? All the money stays within the university, then. Plus it gives a chance for the Wayne Campus people to come to the main school.

This is probably a stupid question, but I'll ask it anyway. When did the Wayne Branch get a hoops team?BTW, NAIA D-1 Malone is generally more on-par with an NCAA D-2 school, than an NCAA D-3 school (as I assume UA-Wayne would be, if indeed they have a program).

http://www.wayne.uakron.edu/ss_athletics.htmThey have volleyball, men's and women's basketball, and golf.Since Malone is NAIA the game doesn't count for either team's record or RPI. If we're going to play a game that doesn't count for anything, Wayne makes too much sense.

[johnnyzip84]

I don't get why we have to play Malone. Why not play UA-Wayne if we're going to play a lower-division team? All the money stays within the university, then. Plus it gives a chance for the Wayne Campus people to come to the main school.

This is probably a stupid question, but I'll ask it anyway. When did the Wayne Branch get a hoops team?BTW, NAIA D-1 Malone is generally more on-par with an NCAA D-2 school, than an NCAA D-3 school (as I assume UA-Wayne would be, if indeed they have a program).

http://www.wayne.uakron.edu/ss_athletics.htmThey have volleyball, men's and women's basketball, and golf.Since Malone is NAIA the game doesn't count for either team's record or RPI. If we're going to play a game that doesn't count for anything, Wayne makes too much sense.

Very cool! So 2009-2010 is the 1st season for Men's Hoops? Although in the write-up, it looks like UA-Wayne plays in a league that is even below D-3. I realize the game doesn't count, but there is some argument for at least playing a team that will make you work a little. But I do see your point as far as keeping the funds "in-house".

[GP1]

1. KD and McFadden have figured out how to schedule to win 20+ games and be a 75-100 RPI school every year. That gets you into the NIT.

I like the way they schedule too. I know it isn't possible because they need to make a lot of money in OOC games in football, but we should schedule football games in the same manner. Rig it so you go to a bowl every year whether or not you win the league. The NIT is basically like going to a bowl when you don't win your conference as it is a reward for a good season.20+ wins against anyone looks really good. 8+ wins looks really good in football. 7+ wins in the MAC is actually a really good record for the league. Football scheduling could learn a lot from BB scheduling.

[Quickzips]

1. KD and McFadden have figured out how to schedule to win 20+ games and be a 75-100 RPI school every year. That gets you into the NIT. If we scheduled a little better and were a top 50-75 team, we would never get an at large anyway. The only way for a MAC school to get an at large is schedule how Miami does and actually win those games. I don't see us or anyone in the league with Miami's schedule and winning 23 games in the season.

I'm sorry but this is just total bull. The MAC hasn't gotten an at-large bid in a long time so...we just stop trying? Settle for trying to get the auto-bid and hope that if we don't we've won enough games against I-AA cupcakes to get ourselves into an NIT tournament that noone cares about? I don't always agree with Miami's scheduling. I don't think you HAVE to play a gauntlet of teams like Duke, UCLA, Kansas, Louisville, etc., etc. to get at-large consideration. But you give yourself ZERO chance when you play a cream filled schedule of UIC, Valpo., Malone, Niagra and Austin Peay. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you don't try, you can't fail.

[Captain Kangaroo]

20+ wins against anyone looks really good.

I disagree.Sincerely, Romeo Travis and Dru Joyce

[Captain Kangaroo]

But you give yourself ZERO chance when you play a cream filled schedule of UIC, Valpo., Malone, Niagra and Austin Peay.

UIC ebbs and flows. They beat us 2 years ago, so they aren't a cream puff by any stretch.Valpo is typically a great opponent. Last year they sucked. But they still beat us, so they aren't a cream puff by any stretch. You also cannot fault UA for scheduling Valpo in 2009-10 because it is a mandatory return game for the Bracket Buster.Malone is essentially a scrimmage. I don't have a problem scheduling one such game per year, early on, to shake off the rust.Niagara is a solid program. You cannot fault UA for scheduling Austin Peay because both recent games were mandatory Bracket Busters. The game in November was also set up via a 3rd party tourney.IMO - It seems if we play great basketball in the early/mid-season, for back-to-back seasons, we will get a attractive Bracket Buster opponent and our SOS/RPI issues will be solved? If we play to begin 2009-10, and again in 20010-10, the 2010-11 schedule should play out to be VERY tough.If we play mediocre, well get mediocre Bracket Buster opponents and have a so-so RPI/SOS.

[Quickzips]

The problem with teams like UIC, Valpo., Niagra and Austin Peay isn't that they are bad teams for their conference. It's just that they won't impress anyone on a selection committee. When you get to selection time start looking at what the pundits consider to be a bubble teams "good wins" and "bad losses" I will guarantee you you will never see any of those teams listed as a "good win" but you may see them listed as a "bad loss" I'm not saying you can't schedule teams like this, but you should fill out your schedule with them in addition to a nice rotation of challenging teams that will really look good on a tournament resume. Our schedule is based almost entirely on these types of teams and it is why we will still have no chance of an at-large birth once again this season.

[GP1]

20+ wins against anyone looks really good.

I disagree.Sincerely, Romeo Travis and Dru Joyce

Dear Romeo and Dru,Thank you for your response. By "anyone", I meant a team with a pulse. Should have been more clear in the first place. My bad.Cheers,The Great GP1

[Quickzips]

So the great GP1 would be impressed with a 20 win season even if we only played against NAIA teams???

[GP1]

So the great GP1 would be impressed with a 20 win season even if we only played against NAIA teams???

The Great GP1 would not, but all you have to do is fool are the idiots that make decisions in college athletics. With the schedule the Zips play and the talent they now have on the team, the benchmark for a good season should go from 20 wins to at least 23.

[Captain Kangaroo]

The problem with teams like UIC, Valpo., Niagra and Austin Peay isn't that they are bad teams for their conference. It's just that they won't impress anyone on a selection committee. When you get to selection time start looking at what the pundits consider to be a bubble teams "good wins" and "bad losses" I will guarantee you you will never see any of those teams listed as a "good win" but you may see them listed as a "bad loss" I'm not saying you can't schedule teams like this, but you should fill out your schedule with them in addition to a nice rotation of challenging teams that will really look good on a tournament resume. Our schedule is based almost entirely on these types of teams and it is why we will still have no chance of an at-large birth once again this season.

By virtue of the fact that we're still losing to some of those teams, I don't believe we are ready to play an OOC schedule like Miami's. Unless of course, we want to lose all our "marquee" OOC games like Miami does (at least recently).It will be interesting to see how KD schedules in the future, as our talent level improves. If you want to back up the "Gonzaga of the East" claim, at some point soon we'll also need to adopt a "We'll play anyone, anywhere, anytime" approach. That's where the Gonzaga's & Boise State's of the world separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

[zipboy]

By virtue of the fact that we're still losing to some of those teams, I don't believe we are ready to play an OOC schedule like Miami's. Unless of course, we want to lose all our "marquee" OOC games like Miami does (at least recently).It will be interesting to see how KD schedules in the future, as our talent level improves. If you want to back up the "Gonzaga of the East" claim, at some point soon we'll also need to adopt a "We'll play anyone, anywhere, anytime" approach. That's where the Gonzaga's & Boise State's of the world separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

Excellent point, if and when we ever get to that point, I would change my tune. But we are not a top 50 program yet.

[UAZip0510]

Akron needs to establish itself as the premier team in the MAC, leading the conference every year, going to the NCAA every year, before we start scheduling like Gonzaga. To do that, we need to continue to get better recruits. To get better recruits, you need to win games and make NCAA Tournament appearances. To win games and make NCAA tournament appearances, for a team on the way up, sometimes means playing a less-than-stellar non-conference schedule.

[Quickzips]

Akron needs to establish itself as the premier team in the MAC, leading the conference every year, going to the NCAA every year, before we start scheduling like Gonzaga. To do that, we need to continue to get better recruits. To get better recruits, you need to win games and make NCAA Tournament appearances. To win games and make NCAA tournament appearances, for a team on the way up, sometimes means playing a less-than-stellar non-conference schedule.

That right there is the key. The problem right now is that the way we are scheduling we leave ourselves with one chance to get to the NCAA every year. It's win the MACC or hope for an NIT bid. If we boost our scheduling up to the point where we can get ourselves in the conversation for an at-large bid we don't have to leave everything up to the tournament. We've all seen how fickle the MAC tournament can be. Heck, this years team that won the tournament was on it's death bed against lowly Toledo until a miraculous series of events in the last minutes of the game. I don't think we have to schedule a murderers row of teams like Miami does, but our current scheduling doesn't impress anyone and we really are left with only one shot at the NCAA.

[ZachTheZip]

Akron needs to establish itself as the premier team in the MAC, leading the conference every year, going to the NCAA every year, before we start scheduling like Gonzaga. To do that, we need to continue to get better recruits. To get better recruits, you need to win games and make NCAA Tournament appearances. To win games and make NCAA tournament appearances, for a team on the way up, sometimes means playing a less-than-stellar non-conference schedule.

That right there is the key. The problem right now is that the way we are scheduling we leave ourselves with one chance to get to the NCAA every year. It's win the MACC or hope for an NIT bid. If we boost our scheduling up to the point where we can get ourselves in the conversation for an at-large bid we don't have to leave everything up to the tournament. We've all seen how fickle the MAC tournament can be. Heck, this years team that won the tournament was on it's death bed against lowly Toledo until a miraculous series of events in the last minutes of the game. I don't think we have to schedule a murderers row of teams like Miami does, but our current scheduling doesn't impress anyone and we really are left with only one shot at the NCAA.

Miami had the #1 non-conference schedule on the NCAA last season. They had the #1 SOS in the country before MAC play began. At the end of the season their SOS was ranked #108, which isn't nearly enough to impress the selection committee. The point is that it wouldn't matter if our non-conference schedule consisted of the entire Big East and ACC when playing the MAC will drop it below 100. It's impossible to schedule a tough enough group of teams to cancel out the effect of playing the MAC, as Miami showed last year. Not to mention that there wouldn't ever be any home games trying to do that. Even then you would need to have a winning record against those teams.So why not focus on preparing the team to win the MAC, while playing a few interesting teams in home-and-homes and building a reputation for being a winning team.

[Quickzips]

SOS isn't the main focus of the selection committee. RPI is a much bigger part of it. Had Miami won more of their OOC games and had a better conference season than they did I assure you they would have been in contention for an at-large birth. Your conference schedule is something that you can't really control. You can control your OOC schedule. Who you schedule and how well you play against your OOC schedule can go a long way in March when selection time rolls around.

[GJGood]

SOS isn't the main focus of the selection committee. RPI is a much bigger part of it. Had Miami won more of their OOC games and had a better conference season than they did I assure you they would have been in contention for an at-large birth. Your conference schedule is something that you can't really control. You can control your OOC schedule. Who you schedule and how well you play against your OOC schedule can go a long way in March when selection time rolls around.

All true but let's keep in mind that it takes an agreement between two parties to schedule. If bigger name programs see us as extremely dangerous but we at the same time lack national noteriety then scheduling the Zips is really a "no win" situation for them.That is why I personally think the Zips need to concentrate on getting into the best neutral site tournaments they can get into every year and then hopefully play their way into a very good BracketBusters matchup also. I'm not saying to give up on more competitive scheduling in addition to that but I think that is the area where the biggest strides can be made without just throwing the team into a gauntlet like Miami runs every year.

[Zipmeister]

SOS isn't the main focus of the selection committee. RPI is a much bigger part of it. Had Miami won more of their OOC games and had a better conference season than they did I assure you they would have been in contention for an at-large birth. Your conference schedule is something that you can't really control. You can control your OOC schedule. Who you schedule and how well you play against your OOC schedule can go a long way in March when selection time rolls around.

All true but let's keep in mind that it takes an agreement between two parties to schedule. If bigger name programs see us as extremely dangerous but we at the same time lack national noteriety then scheduling the Zips is really a "no win" situation for them.That is why I personally think the Zips need to concentrate on getting into the best neutral site tournaments they can get into every year and then hopefully play their way into a very good BracketBusters matchup also. I'm not saying to give up on more competitive scheduling in addition to that but I think that is the area where the biggest strides can be made without just throwing the team into a gauntlet like Miami runs every year.

Another strategy is to keep track of local high school kids who end up at big time programs. Occasionally you should be able to talk the big time program into playing at AU so the local kid can play in front of his old crowd. You may (as in probably) have to agree to a 2 and 1, but at least you get a name program in the JAR. Unfortunately, once you beat the big time program at your place it will be extremely difficult (but not impossible) to get another one to show up.

[akronad]

This was just released.2009-10 Akron Non-Conference Schedule:Sun., Nov. 15 – Austin Peay^Fri., Nov. 20 – vs. NC State^ (in Daytona Beach, Fla.)Sat., Nov. 21 – vs. Drake^ (in Daytona Beach, Fla.)Sun., Nov. 22 – vs. Howard^ (in Daytona Beach, Fla.)Fri., Nov. 27 – Arkansas-Pine Bluff Sun., Nov. 29 – NiagaraFri., Dec. 4 – at Texas A&MSat., Dec. 12 – MaloneFri., Dec. 18 – UNC GreensboroSun., Dec. 20 – St. Francis (Pa.)Tue., Dec. 22 – UICSun., Dec. 27 – ValparaisoWed., Dec. 30 – at WyomingTue., Jan. 5 – Rhode IslandSat., Feb. 20 – at TBA (ESPNU BracketBusters)*** Mid-American Conference Schedule TBA ***

[zippyman23]

Yawn...

[ziptrumpet87]

This was just released.2009-10 Akron Non-Conference Schedule:Sun., Nov. 15 – Austin Peay^Fri., Nov. 20 – vs. NC State^ (in Daytona Beach, Fla.)Sat., Nov. 21 – vs. Drake^ (in Daytona Beach, Fla.)Sun., Nov. 22 – vs. Howard^ (in Daytona Beach, Fla.)Fri., Nov. 27 – Arkansas-Pine Bluff Sun., Nov. 29 – NiagaraFri., Dec. 4 – at Texas A&MSat., Dec. 12 – MaloneFri., Dec. 18 – UNC GreensboroSun., Dec. 20 – St. Francis (Pa.)Tue., Dec. 22 – UICSun., Dec. 27 – ValparaisoWed., Dec. 30 – at WyomingTue., Jan. 5 – Rhode IslandSat., Feb. 20 – at TBA (ESPNU BracketBusters)*** Mid-American Conference Schedule TBA ***

Double your fun with the final regular season game at Info vs EMU @ 4:00. They'll have fun with parking that day! Good thing it's the Friday after Turkey Day - many companies shut down then.