Evansville at Indiana State (2/19)

[FearDaTrees]

Iowa dropped out of the Great Alaskan Shootout as well. It wasn't a bad non-conference schedule at all when we scheduled it. @N.Dame(Top25), @Saint Louis(Top25), and 2 neutral games against Harvard and Iowa(Top25) (was expected). The schedule just didn't pan out for us. Iowa dropped out of the Great Alaskan Shootout, Notre Dame sucks ass and we didn't get a chance at Harvard (our fault). Plus, I think our AD understood the MVC was gonna be down this year, but I don't think he anticipated mediocrity of this level.

[shocktheheart]

Iowa dropped out of the Great Alaskan Shootout as well. It wasn't a bad non-conference schedule at all when we scheduled it. @N.Dame(Top25), @Saint Louis(Top25), and 2 neutral games against Harvard and Iowa(Top25) (was expected). The schedule just didn't pan out for us. Iowa dropped out of the Great Alaskan Shootout, Notre Dame sucks ass and we didn't get a chance at Harvard (our fault). Plus, I think our AD understood the MVC was gonna be down this year, but I don't think he anticipated mediocrity of this level.

Why schedule home and home with three teams with RPI's above 250?

[Cdizzle]

Iowa dropped out of the Great Alaskan Shootout as well. It wasn't a bad non-conference schedule at all when we scheduled it. @N.Dame(Top25), @Saint Louis(Top25), and 2 neutral games against Harvard and Iowa(Top25) (was expected). The schedule just didn't pan out for us. Iowa dropped out of the Great Alaskan Shootout, Notre Dame sucks ass and we didn't get a chance at Harvard (our fault). Plus, I think our AD understood the MVC was gonna be down this year, but I don't think he anticipated mediocrity of this level.

Why schedule home and home with three teams with RPI's above 250?

No money $$$$

[Ace Dad]

Iowa dropped out of the Great Alaskan Shootout as well. It wasn't a bad non-conference schedule at all when we scheduled it. @N.Dame(Top25), @Saint Louis(Top25), and 2 neutral games against Harvard and Iowa(Top25) (was expected). The schedule just didn't pan out for us. Iowa dropped out of the Great Alaskan Shootout, Notre Dame sucks ass and we didn't get a chance at Harvard (our fault). Plus, I think our AD understood the MVC was gonna be down this year, but I don't think he anticipated mediocrity of this level.

Why schedule home and home with three teams with RPI's above 250?

To get 6 wins.

[shocktheheart]

Iowa dropped out of the Great Alaskan Shootout as well. It wasn't a bad non-conference schedule at all when we scheduled it. @N.Dame(Top25), @Saint Louis(Top25), and 2 neutral games against Harvard and Iowa(Top25) (was expected). The schedule just didn't pan out for us. Iowa dropped out of the Great Alaskan Shootout, Notre Dame sucks ass and we didn't get a chance at Harvard (our fault). Plus, I think our AD understood the MVC was gonna be down this year, but I don't think he anticipated mediocrity of this level.

Why schedule home and home with three teams with RPI's above 250?

To get 6 wins.

I agree with CDizzle...don't think they have the money to buy decent teams to come into home.

[MissouriValleyUnite]

I guess the logic is ISU considers EIU a geographic acquaintance (1 hour apart), and Ball State and IUPUI as in-state acquaintances. Not sure what's behind the UMKC H/H. Regardless, the whole EIU thing is stupid. That's an apathetic school that doesn't send 500 bodies to its home games. Ditto for IUPUI.

Out of that 4, I'd excuse Ball State (peer school, and the best program of the 4), but the other three constituted digging its own grave. You can't recklessly throw away 30% of your D1 Non-Con schedule when you knew the Missouri Valley would hit a trough this season.

[FearDaTrees]

Iowa dropped out of the Great Alaskan Shootout as well. It wasn't a bad non-conference schedule at all when we scheduled it. @N.Dame(Top25), @Saint Louis(Top25), and 2 neutral games against Harvard and Iowa(Top25) (was expected). The schedule just didn't pan out for us. Iowa dropped out of the Great Alaskan Shootout, Notre Dame sucks ass and we didn't get a chance at Harvard (our fault). Plus, I think our AD understood the MVC was gonna be down this year, but I don't think he anticipated mediocrity of this level.

Why schedule home and home with three teams with RPI's above 250?

Because they didn't have RPI's when we scheduled them?.....

[shocktheheart]

Iowa dropped out of the Great Alaskan Shootout as well. It wasn't a bad non-conference schedule at all when we scheduled it. @N.Dame(Top25), @Saint Louis(Top25), and 2 neutral games against Harvard and Iowa(Top25) (was expected). The schedule just didn't pan out for us. Iowa dropped out of the Great Alaskan Shootout, Notre Dame sucks ass and we didn't get a chance at Harvard (our fault). Plus, I think our AD understood the MVC was gonna be down this year, but I don't think he anticipated mediocrity of this level.

Why schedule home and home with three teams with RPI's above 250?

To get 6 wins.

And that leaves no room for error against teams you need to beat for RPI reason if you schedule these teams. Puts them on the bubble for the NIT

[MissouriValleyUnite]

In the 68-team era, I'd wager the Sycamores would be in the discussion, with Dayton being their ceiling.

Just last year, Middle Tennessee was Dayton-bound with just 1 Top-100 RPI win.

Middle Tennesee State also had a RPI 33 and Non-Conference SOS of 10. Lunardi doesn't even have them on his radar.

In a normal year, ISUB might have actually won the MVC and maybe been at large but a perfect storm has occurred to stop them from being "their year"

1. Then their non-conference schedule seemed at least decent, but Belmont went from a Top 25 RPI to sucking this year - and they had them on the schedule twice and worse they lost once to them.

2. Notre Dame seemed like they would be a top 50 victory, but they have struggled all year to be 0.500 team.

3. Couldn't beat STL, and their margin for getting a good non-conference win vanished

4. Then there was the MVC, 4 teams with 200+ RPI sucking the life out of their RPI and then losing to one of them. MVC RPI tanked from 8th last year to 11th.

5. Then the cherry on top - WSU just dominating the conference and running away with the race.

If you think it going to happen you will be peeing green in the morning from all the kool aid your drinking. Even the ISUB beat writer has agreed when he attended the NCAA mock draft last week - there was no realistic discussion for ISUB making it as an at-large.

Strong argument, and I'll concede it's dependent on other teams forcing their way off the bubble.

2012 Oral Roberts was revealed as the last team in, until St. Bonaventure winning the A10 in clutch knocked off ORU at the 11th hour. That year, ORU posted a 65 RPI & 187 SOS. 7 Losses, including San Antonio & Western Illinois. Only Top-100 RPI wins were Xavier, South Dakota State, & Akron. (Hate to say it, but the Sycamores could've really used a matchup with, say, Green Bay in BracketBusters.)

2012 Iona received a ticket to Dayton after posting a 48 RPI & 142 SOS. The Gaels' 7 losses included falling victim to 2 200+-RPI schools (Siena & Hofstra). Iona's 4 best wins: Nevada, Loyola-Maryland, Saint Joseph's, Long Island Blackbirds.

Laugh all you want, but the consensus laughed at similar cases (MTSU, ORU, Iona). Still think a 24-7 ISU losing competitively to WSU and help from others forcing their way off the bubble elicits discussion.

[shocktheheart]

Iowa dropped out of the Great Alaskan Shootout as well. It wasn't a bad non-conference schedule at all when we scheduled it. @N.Dame(Top25), @Saint Louis(Top25), and 2 neutral games against Harvard and Iowa(Top25) (was expected). The schedule just didn't pan out for us. Iowa dropped out of the Great Alaskan Shootout, Notre Dame sucks ass and we didn't get a chance at Harvard (our fault). Plus, I think our AD understood the MVC was gonna be down this year, but I don't think he anticipated mediocrity of this level.

Why schedule home and home with three teams with RPI's above 250?

Because they didn't have RPI's when we scheduled them?.....

I guess the Indiana St coaching staff doesn't look at history when scheduling opponents, especially home and home. The last five years for all with RPI being in parenthesis. Average RPI at the end.

UMKC
12-13 8-24 (284)
11-12 10-21 (266)
10-11 16-14 (212)
09-10 12-18 (281)
08-09 7-24 (309)
53-101 .344% (270)

Ball St
12-13 15-15 (233)
11-12 15-15 (255)
10-11 19-13 (167)
09-10 15-15 (220)
08-09 14-17 (262)
79-75 .512% (227)

EIU
12-13 11-21 (276)
11-12 12-17 (286)
10-11 9-20 (314)
09-10 19-12 (169)
08-09 7-22 (287)
58-92 .414% (266)

IUPUI
12-13 6-26 (326)
11-12 14-18 (210)
10-11 19-14 (115)
09-10 25-11 (83)
08-09 16-14 (241)
80-83 .490% (195)