Golden: Indiana State's difficulties in scheduling

[MVCfans]

Another good column by Todd Golden on the difficulty that most MVC teams have in trying to schedule home games.

Now that ISU is NCAA Tournament-tested? It’s a lot like the legend of Icarus. The higher the Sycamores go, the more their scheduling options melt away.

ISU coach Greg Lansing has exercised the only options he really has to give ISU a competitive schedule. A home-and-home with Louisiana-Monroe is admittedly about as appealing as a punch in the face, but it’s smart, win-win scheduling for both schools as they both get hard-to-get home dates out of it. Many mid-major schools are turning to this option.

As for buy games, ISU did it last year with a game at Notre Dame and will do it again with a one-off trip to Vanderbilt on Dec. 17.

Vanderbilt is not as easy a sell for fans as the Fighting Irish were, but Lansing is committed to playing good teams. If that means swallowing pride and taking a buy game, so be it. After all, ISU thinks it can go back to the NCAA Tournament. And they don’t want to sit there like the Illinois State’s of the world with a low RPI on Selection Sunday and no at-large bid.

http://tribstar.com/sports_columns/x124 ... it-can-get

[pafan]

Aww ... nobody wants to play the Trees ... how sad.

Is anyone buying what Todd is selling?

[Snaggletooth]

were is all the creighton fans demonizing isub for taking a buy game?

[panther-state]

Hey gotta do what you gotta do to boost that RPI. Sucks that it has to come to a situation like that though, dang BCS schools

[dgreenwell3]

Aww ... nobody wants to play the Trees ... how sad.

Is anyone buying what Todd is selling?

That's not really what he was tryin to sell...it's a reality of being a solid mid major. I like the vandy game and I think the old spice classic should be good for us but this isnt our greatest schedule. Still looking for one more game.

[AndShock]

I like the dig at Illinois State even though ISUb's schedule doesn't exactly look like it's going to win the Selection Committee over.

[WSUbballer]

With the Old Spice Classic being one of the poorest preseason tourney fields I have ever seen, I agree that the schedule leaves a lot to be desired. I don't think the jab at Illinois State looked well coming from an Indiana State beat writer.

You could argue that this is a solid low-major schedule.

[dgreenwell3]

I like the dig at Illinois State even though ISUb's schedule doesn't exactly look like it's going to win the Selection Committee over.

I don't think anyone's schedule is as bad as that illinois states schedule was that year

[sycamorestateofmind]

Look I'm not a great fan of Golden and to be perfectly honest I haven't even bothered reading his article... lol With that said, I don't think the Sycamores would have any trouble winning over the selection committee if we were (not saying we will) to win the OSC and beat Vandy - granted you can't really afford "bad" losses and the Sycamores have been known to have one or two of those over the last several seasons.

[Aargh]

After watching the struggles of WSU to get quality opponents (especially after a good year), I'm willing to accept one buy game a year against an upper-level BCS school. Vandy definitely qualifies.

I'd rather have a roadie against a good team than a home cupcake. There's no penalty for losing a roadie to a quality opponent. A W in that game is a huge up. There's no upside for winning a home game against New Jersey Institute of Technology.