Game 24- Troy

[clarkwgriswold]

The MAC/Sun Belt Challenge resumes this Saturday with the Zips heading to Troy for a 6:00 matchup on ESPN2.   Troy is 15-8 going into Wednesday’s game against Georgia State.  They are in first place in conference the Sun Belt at 8-3.  They are first  in scoring offense at 83.7 ppg and   ninth in defense 75.7 ppg.

 

6’8” junior forward Thomas Dowd leads the Sun Belt in rebounding at 10.4 rpg and is second on the team in scoring at 14.9 ppg.   6’7” junior forward Victor Valdes leads Trojans scoring at 16 ppg. 

[Let'sGoZips94]

I like that Troy has one less day for rest. 

[Zips1991]

1 hour ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

I like that Troy has one less day for rest. 

So did EMU, to be fair. But I agree.

[kreed5120]

14 minutes ago, Zips1991 said:

So did EMU, to be fair. But I agree.

 

Yes, also Troy doesn't look like an easy place to get to. You have to fly into Montgomery, which would almost certainly require a layover unless you charter a flight, and then jump on a bus and drive an hour to Troy. I feel that more than offsets the extra day of rest.

[Hilltopper]

42 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

 

Yes, also Troy doesn't look like an easy place to get to. You have to fly into Montgomery, which would almost certainly require a layover unless you charter a flight, and then jump on a bus and drive an hour to Troy. I feel that more than offsets the extra day of rest.

It will be a charter.

[Blue & Gold]

 

[Reslife4Life]

2 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

 

For teams like the directionals yes it is pretty dumb. But for the top schools I like it. It would be nice if they could hold off on the matchups a little bit longer, OU playing 7-16 old dominion could be a much better matchup

[kreed5120]

5 minutes ago, Reslife4Life said:

For teams like the directionals yes it is pretty dumb. But for the top schools I like it. It would be nice if they could hold off on the matchups a little bit longer, OU playing 7-16 old dominion could be a much better matchup

 

I would say if they do only one round keep it the one in February. JMU, which was one of the SunBelt's top preseason teams ended up being garbage. 

[Let'sGoZips94]

The CBB schedule needs overhauled. Make conference schedules year round to allow for more impactful March Madness-esque games in January/February. 

[zippy5]

29 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

The CBB schedule needs overhauled. Make conference schedules year round to allow for more impactful March Madness-esque games in January/February. 

[LZIp]

I’m a big fan of the MAC- Sun Belt challenge and hope it continues in its current form.

[Illini Zip]

1 hour ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

The CBB schedule needs overhauled. Make conference schedules year round to allow for more impactful March Madness-esque games in January/February. 

I keep mentioning this idea because it makes too much sense to me and it would give you some of what you’re looking for. And that is to require every team to play a game against an opponent from each quad home and away. Some could be scheduled early based on pre-season expectations and then some games late during conference play based on live results. I realize it won’t happen because of money and the fact that the NCAA is just a tool of the big conferences. I still think it would make the NET more fair. 

[Let'sGoZips94]

4 hours ago, Illini Zip said:

I keep mentioning this idea because it makes too much sense to me and it would give you some of what you’re looking for. And that is to require every team to play a game against an opponent from each quad home and away. Some could be scheduled early based on pre-season expectations and then some games late during conference play based on live results. I realize it won’t happen because of money and the fact that the NCAA is just a tool of the big conferences. I still think it would make the NET more fair. 

 

The P6 aren't necessarily why I would tweak the schedule in this manner. It's the mid majors that would be the focus and if they were smart, they'd all come together to make this change. If they could open up 4-5 dates in January/February that allows for flex games based on a mutual agreement among several conferences to match up similarly ranked (NET) schools, that would be incredibly beneficial for all parties. 

[RoyalBlu]

7 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

The P6 aren't necessarily why I would tweak the schedule in this manner. It's the mid majors that would be the focus and if they were smart, they'd all come together to make this change. If they could open up 4-5 dates in January/February that allows for flex games based on a mutual agreement among several conferences to match up similarly ranked (NET) schools, that would be incredibly beneficial for all parties. 

Personally I believe the NCAA should step in on non-conference basketball scheduling.

 

Example: Dictate Top 50 NET/Kenpom teams over the previous 3 years (avg.) must play 8 of 10 non-con games vs. teams with avg. NET/Kenpom ranking no worse than 200 over the previous 3 years. It should crack the door open a little bit for those avg. 75-150 NET/Kenpom teams to get at least one or two P5 caliber games.

 

Top 51-100 avg. NET/Kenpom (3 years) teams must play 8 of 10 non-con games vs. teams no worse than 250 (3 years). These P5 teams playing 6-8 SWAC/MEAC/Ivy/NEC games to avoid upsets and pad their records must be addressed - along with helping solid mid-majors get at least one or two quality games, even if they're on the road. 

 

While most of the Top 20 Kenpom have strong non-con SOS, of the 30 teams from 21-50, a whopping 15 of them have non-com SOS of 200 or higher. Those are the teams that need to play much tougher non-con schedules. Only 7 teams 21-50 had non-con SOS below 100.

 

Edited 10 hours ago by RoyalBlu

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 hour ago, RoyalBlu said:

Personally I believe the NCAA should step in on non-conference basketball scheduling.

 

Example: Dictate Top 50 NET/Kenpom teams over the previous 3 years (avg.) must play 8 of 10 non-con games vs. teams with avg. NET/Kenpom ranking no worse than 200 over the previous 3 years. It should crack the door open a little bit for those avg. 75-150 NET/Kenpom teams to get at least one or two P5 caliber games.

 

Top 51-100 avg. NET/Kenpom (3 years) teams must play 8 of 10 non-con games vs. teams no worse than 250 (3 years). These P5 teams playing 6-8 SWAC/MEAC/Ivy/NEC games to avoid upsets and pad their records must be addressed - along with helping solid mid-majors get at least one or two quality games, even if they're on the road. 

 

While most of the Top 20 Kenpom have strong non-con SOS, of the 30 teams from 21-50, a whopping 15 of them have non-com SOS of 200 or higher. Those are the teams that need to play much tougher non-con schedules. Only 7 teams 21-50 had non-con SOS below 100.

 

 

Today's landscape doesn't allow for these types of parameters. Princeton and James Madison are the perfect example. Akron's OOC should've been much better than it has turned out to be because of those 2. 

[ZipsFan31]

This game comes down to shooting. Can we shoot well on the road. Sharron seems to be coming on late.hopefully Bowen stays hot!  
 

Something I found interesting is they also have a brother duo. Theirs are red head guards who shoot the 3 decent. Looks to be their starting PG and SG 

Edited 1 hour ago by ZipsFan31