Evansville at Indiana State (2/19)

[rlh04d]

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.

If Indiana State wasn't confident that they could get six wins against teams with RPI's between 150-250, then they, again, don't deserve to make the tournament.

I don't care what anyone here is arguing about Indiana State's schedule being decent. They had a couple good opportunities to build a solid resume. But you simply don't choose to schedule four teams consistently above 250, and three teams consistently above 300, and then blame Notre Dame for you not having a good enough resume.

Again: Swap those four teams with teams around RPI 150 and Indiana State makes the NCAA tournament.

If you want a shot at making an NCAA tournament as an at-large bid, stop scheduling teams with RPI's consistently above 250 in the nonconference schedule. That's a blanket statement for every MVC team.

[TheAsianSensation]

My only issue with ISU's schedule was the games at UMKC and EIU (I assume those were home-and-home deals, right?). You need your road games to have more value than that. You don't need top 50, just top 175 is fine enough, frankly. But those were bad teams who were expected to be bad.

It's OK to schedule a couple of cupcakes. Just make them home cupcakes.

In reality, the rest of their schedule played out with some bad luck. Alaska was a low-impact tournament, not getting a probable top 100 game out of it is just killer. Notre Dame should've had more value, home-and-home with Belmont is ok.

[rlh04d]

My only issue with ISU's schedule was the games at UMKC and EIU (I assume those were home-and-home deals, right?). You need your road games to have more value than that. You don't need top 50, just top 175 is fine enough, frankly. But those were bad teams who were expected to be bad.

Those both seem to be home/home deals, and IUPUI was also a home/home series, it just began last year.

[FearDaTrees]

It's not like Wichita scheduled world beaters either. St.Louis (who ISU played too) and BYU are their only games against top 50 RPI teams. Most BCS schools just don't want to schedule MVC teams because they realize the talent and they don't have much to gain by beating us.

[Snaggletooth]

It's not like Wichita scheduled world beaters either. St.Louis (who ISU played too) and BYU are their only games against top 50 RPI teams.

Lets not let the facts get in the way of good delusion. I

Non-conference schedule SOS from RPIforecast

1. UNI 27
2. WSU 43
3. ISUR 129
4. MSU 159
5. DU 182
6. ISUB 200
7. EU 238
8. SIU 248
9. BU 302
10. LUC 343

It really looks most schools have implemented the "blind squirrel plan" - The schedule crap and hope the blind squirrel finds a nut (or somehow ride WSU coat tails). It really criminal what ISUB did. Here they were suppose to be one of the Top MVC teams and they didn't even try for success. UNI did. So don't give excuses.

BTW some noteble non-Conference SOS. Maybe WSU non-conference SOS is not so bad afterall.

Villanova 32
Arizona 41
CU 48
Syracuse 68
Iowa St 80
STL 77
Cincy 95
Michigan St. 56
Michigan 79
Ohio St 52


This is why the MVC really sucks as a conference - nobody really plans to succeed. They just hope as the blind squirrel they find a nut. O

[UNIFanSince1983]

This is why I love Jacobsen. He is going to schedule as tough as he can. It didn't turn out well for us this year, but I know he will do what he can to put together a great schedule every year.

[rlh04d]

It's not like Wichita scheduled world beaters either. St.Louis (who ISU played too) and BYU are their only games against top 50 RPI teams. Most BCS schools just don't want to schedule MVC teams because they realize the talent and they don't have much to gain by beating us.

Your reading comprehension skills are not good.

I specifically said you don't need to schedule world beaters. You need to NOT schedule teams consistently above 300 RPIs. I also specifically mentioned teams like Florida Gulf Coast or Northern Colorado that ISUb could easily schedule.

A lack of major teams isn't why your schedule sucks. It's because you're scheduling home/home games against terrible teams. That is simply scheduling stupid.

Scheduling smart isn't about scheduling world beaters. It's about playing the RPI game to give yourselves the best opportunity to get an at-large bid.

ISUb would have beaten four 150-200 RPI teams just as easily as they beat the four 250-300+ teams. But your RPI would have been higher.

If you'd like to stick your head in the sand and pretend like it's someone else's fault that you just wasted Jake Odum's senior season, be my guest. But Indiana State was good enough to make the NCAA tournament this year ... your schedule just prevented it.

[rlh04d]

This is why I love Jacobsen. He is going to schedule as tough as he can. It didn't turn out well for us this year, but I know he will do what he can to put together a great schedule every year.

I'd like it if he backed off on his schedule strength a little, but he does a great job.

I think all MVC teams that want a shot at an at large should be aiming for 50-75 noncon sos.

[Snaggletooth]

There is not a game left on their schedule that is going to help their resume. And frankly the way they are playing I expect they will lose at least one game before the MVC tournament.

Like I said...