The Best Thing About the Rhode Island Game

[Captain Kangaroo]

No, it isn't that it is over.For the 1st time this season I got to watch a great college basketball games at the JAR. Two very good teams going toe-to-toe. Crowd booing the refs. Cheers, high 5's, and heartbreak. I got my money's worth. If for no other reason, that is why we need to play more such opponents at the JAR. I witnessed a great competition.I'd rather lose to Rhode Island than beat USC Upstate by 40.

[skip-zip]

No, it isn't that it is over.For the 1st time this season I got to watch a great college basketball games at the JAR. Two very good teams going toe-to-toe. Crowd booing the refs. Cheers, high 5's, and heartbreak. I got my money's worth. If for no other reason, that is why we need to play more such opponents at the JAR. I witnessed a great competition.I'd rather lose to Rhode Island than beat USC Upstate by 40.

For whatever reason, some people don't want to see it that way.One of these situations has some benefits to us.The other one does absolutely nothing for us.

[g-mann17]

No, it isn't that it is over.For the 1st time this season I got to watch a great college basketball games at the JAR. Two very good teams going toe-to-toe. Crowd booing the refs. Cheers, high 5's, and heartbreak. I got my money's worth. If for no other reason, that is why we need to play more such opponents at the JAR. I witnessed a great competition.I'd rather lose to Rhode Island than beat USC Upstate by 40.

For whatever reason, some people don't want to see it that way.One of these situations has some benefits to us.The other one does absolutely nothing for us.

Yep losing has no benefits, you are so right.

[Let'sGoZips94]

No, it isn't that it is over.For the 1st time this season I got to watch a great college basketball games at the JAR. Two very good teams going toe-to-toe. Crowd booing the refs. Cheers, high 5's, and heartbreak. I got my money's worth. If for no other reason, that is why we need to play more such opponents at the JAR. I witnessed a great competition.I'd rather lose to Rhode Island than beat USC Upstate by 40.

+1That game ranks up there with the Nevada and Dayton games. Sure the crowd wasn't the largest it could be, but it was into the game! That's how you generate excitement. Nobody cares if you beat Malone or St. Francis. We just proved that we are an improved team from a year ago. We did something that Boston College, an ACC team, couldn't do: we held them under 70. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm proud of this team. They came out and fought hard and just plain old fell short. My high school coach told me that the varsity basketball team lost because shots didn't fall, but they didn't walk off the court saying they got out hustled or out hearted and neither should the Zips. Let's win the MAC and make some noise in the NCAA tourney! Oh, and here's a major bright side:

[xu9697]

C'mon guys!This is obviously not a black and white issue (and I don't mean race). There is a middle ground here.A BALANCED schedule is necessary. It is all about finding that balance and adjusting it each and every year based on the expectations of the team (internally, not externally).

[skip-zip]

C'mon guys!This is obviously not a black and white issue (and I don't mean race). There is a middle ground here.A BALANCED schedule is necessary. It is all about finding that balance and adjusting it each and every year based on the expectations of the team (internally, not externally).

I don't think any of us are advocating an OOC schedule full of the best teams from the ACC and SEC.If by saying "balanced" you mean adding more of the types of games that give us a high enough SOS to have a legitimate chance at at-large consideration, more revenue for the program, better publicity, and more opportunities for victories that have some kind of national significance......then I agree with you that we should have a balanced schedule.

[Dr Z]

I could care less about SOS, RPI or PBR, I would like to see the Zips play teams better than them for two reasons.1. It's entertaining to me to watch.2. It makes our team better by playing better teams.

[skip-zip]

I could care less about SOS, RPI or PBR, I would like to see the Zips play teams better than them for two reasons.1. It's entertaining to me to watch.2. It makes our team better by playing better teams.

If only I felt like going on forever......I would have added these two to my list as well.

[zippy5]

We need to play more A-10, Horizon like teams. Not only are they great competition, and exciting games, but they have to have the same scheduling problems as us (no big team wants to play in their house). Seems like it makes a lot of sense. Plus, they bring a decent name to the table too. Dayton, Temple, Rhode Island, Cleveland State, Charlotte, Umass, Richmond are all recognizable names in the college basketball world.

[Hilltopper]

We need to play more A-10, Horizon like teams. Not only are they great competition, and exciting games, but they have to have the same scheduling problems as us (no big team wants to play in their house). Seems like it makes a lot of sense. Plus, they bring a decent name to the table too. Dayton, Temple, Rhode Island, Cleveland State, Charlotte, Umass, Richmond are all recognizable names in the college basketball world.

The only names that would make a difference to Joe fan would be the likes of Ohio State, North Carolina, Kentucky, Louisville, etc...

[zip37]

Capt Roo-- There is NO substitute for VICTORY-- glad you were never my coach.

[RootforRoo44]

We need to play more A-10, Horizon like teams. Not only are they great competition, and exciting games, but they have to have the same scheduling problems as us (no big team wants to play in their house). Seems like it makes a lot of sense. Plus, they bring a decent name to the table too. Dayton, Temple, Rhode Island, Cleveland State, Charlotte, Umass, Richmond are all recognizable names in the college basketball world.

The only names that would make a difference to Joe fan would be the likes of Ohio State, North Carolina, Kentucky, Louisville, etc...

Joe fan can burn in hell then, if they aren't on board yet then who cares. There are plenty of Alumni and students that just dont know about the games being played! You have no idea how many people i invite to come out before the game to drink then attend the game with me and they say "i didnt konw there was a game tonight". That's the biggest problem. Also, I'm with every person who said they would rather watch a quality game like we just watched than kill someone. How could anyone disagree with that? It was great on Tuesday at the JAR, actually i'm not even that pumped about Saturday after experiencing some excitement in Zips sports for the first time since the Soccer National title game. I guess the Can't game is coming up soon...that should be good.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Capt Roo-- There is NO substitute for VICTORY-- glad you were never my coach.

If you'd rather beat up a midget than go toe-to-toe with a contender, then you could never play for me.

[BirdZip]

I know it is tradition on this board to bash the basketball OOC schedule, but I honestly don't think the schedule was too bad this year:High Level / Recognizable Opponents (0-3)NC State (Neutral)Texas A&M (Away)Rhode Island (Home)Solid Mid-Level Opponents (5-1)Austin Peay (Home) (Don't argue they're not, they beat us)Drake (Neutral)Niagara (Home)UIC (Home)Valpo (Home)Wyoming (Away)Crap Games (5-0)Howard (Neutral)AK-PB (Home)Malone (Home)UNC-G (Home)St Francis (Home)I'd prefer to leave the crap-level games to three or less. We all scream for more awesome opponents but we still can't beat them (0-3). We're close sometimes, though, so still schedule them, but don't fill your schedule with them.The only thing that disappoints me about the schedule this year is how we used it. In those crap games, I didn't think the end of the bench was used enough to get them experience or to see if they can perform when the lights are on.

[Lion Girl]

I know it is tradition on this board to bash the basketball OOC schedule, but I honestly don't think the schedule was too bad this year:High Level / Recognizable Opponents (0-3)NC State (Neutral)Texas A&M (Away)Rhode Island (Home)Solid Mid-Level Opponents (5-1)Austin Peay (Home) (Don't argue they're not, they beat us)Drake (Neutral)Niagara (Home)UIC (Home)Valpo (Home)Wyoming (Away)Crap Games (5-0)Howard (Neutral)AK-PB (Home)Malone (Home)UNC-G (Home)St Francis (Home)

Bird Zip-Please advise how you determine "Solid Mid-Level Opponents". I know we don't all agree on the validity RPIs, but it's something. Today's RPI (Pomeroy) lists your Solid Mid-Level Opponents as having RPIs varying from 119- 262. Four of our Solid Mid-Level opponents have RPIs over 200. I guess my standards are high.

[Quickzips]

Take two or three off of the crap opponents list and add them to the High and Mid-Level lists and I'll be fine. If you are going to break it down like that I would want to see at least 4 High-Levels(preferably 5 if we are going to include the likes of Rhode Island who I wouldn't quite put on the same level, recognition wise, as Texas A&M and NC State), 8 Mid-levels and only 2 crap teams. I could deal with 4, 7 and 3. 3, 6 and 5 is unacceptable though.

[RootforRoo44]

Capt Roo-- There is NO substitute for VICTORY-- glad you were never my coach.

If you'd rather beat up a midget than go toe-to-toe with a contender, then you could never play for me.

BURN

[Dave in Green]

North Carolina and Michigan State played for the national championship last year. At the end of the season, by the rules of the NCAA tournament, they were the two best teams in the land. They have two of the strongest programs in college basketball. Their out of conference schedules include some really tough teams as well as some teams that some Zips fans would complain about if they were on the Zips schedule.If you were a Michigan State or North Carolina fan, which of the following opponents would you be griping about your team scheduling?MSU:Florida Gulf CoastToledo Valparaiso Wofford Citadel Oakland Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne University of Texas-ArlingtonUNC:Florida International University North Carolina Central ValparaisoGardner-Webb Presbyterian MarshallAlbanyCollege of Charleston

[BirdZip]

Bird Zip-Please advise how you determine "Solid Mid-Level Opponents". I know we don't all agree on the validity RPIs, but it's something. Today's RPI (Pomeroy) lists your Solid Mid-Level Opponents as having RPIs varying from 119- 262. Four of our Solid Mid-Level opponents have RPIs over 200. I guess my standards are high.

I define it in whatever way is necessary to help make my point! If forced to make a definition, I define it as teams that either have a tradition of finishing high in the mid-major poll or who this year have a solid team. I believe someone said Harvard was #1 in RPI--I'll pass. If I'm building a schedule I go back to the last 5 years' final mid-major standings and find teams that are traditionally finishing in the top 30 and buiding my schedule from there. Throw in a few crap teams and a few high levels, call it a day and have a beer.

[Quickzips]

North Carolina and Michigan State played for the national championship last year. At the end of the season, by the rules of the NCAA tournament, they were the two best teams in the land. They have two of the strongest programs in college basketball. Their out of conference schedules include some really tough teams as well as some teams that some Zips fans would complain about if they were on the Zips schedule.If you were a Michigan State or North Carolina fan, which of the following opponents would you be griping about your team scheduling?MSU:Florida Gulf CoastToledo Valparaiso Wofford Citadel Oakland Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne University of Texas-ArlingtonUNC:Florida International University North Carolina Central ValparaisoGardner-Webb Presbyterian MarshallAlbanyCollege of Charleston

I would take Marshall off the list for UNC. They have a much better team now days than they did when they were in the MAC lead by a fine big man in Whiteside who a lot of people think will be a top-5 pick in the NBA draft whenever he decides to come out.Further, when it comes to scheduling for UNC or Michigan State versus scheduling for the Zips you really are comparing apples to oranges. Those two teams get to play a very difficult league schedule with a lot of big name teams like Duke, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Wisconsin, Indiana, etc. that goes a long way towards making up for some bad OOC games. Those programs also have a lot more money behind them to be able to offset some crummy games with games against Ohio State, Syracuse, Nevada, Kentucky, Texas and Rutgers (for UNC) or Gonzaga, Florida, UMass and Texas (for Michigan State), not to mention they played each other this year. On top of that they attract more attention from the bigger pre-season tournaments that can really boost their OOC schedule. None of these are really luxuries that the Zips have.

[Lion Girl]

Bird Zip-Please advise how you determine "Solid Mid-Level Opponents". I know we don't all agree on the validity RPIs, but it's something. Today's RPI (Pomeroy) lists your Solid Mid-Level Opponents as having RPIs varying from 119- 262. Four of our Solid Mid-Level opponents have RPIs over 200. I guess my standards are high.

I define it in whatever way is necessary to help make my point! If forced to make a definition, I define it as teams that either have a tradition of finishing high in the mid-major poll or who this year have a solid team. I believe someone said Harvard was #1 in RPI--I'll pass. If I'm building a schedule I go back to the last 5 years' final mid-major standings and find teams that are traditionally finishing in the top 30 and buiding my schedule from there. Throw in a few crap teams and a few high levels, call it a day and have a beer.

Pomeroy has Kansas as one and Duke as two.