Toughest schedules in 2019

[utee94]

Aggies have a top-heavy schedule that's for sure.  But it's also rather bottom-heavy, to be honest. Regardless it should be an exciting season for them.

My i s c & a aggie wife's Aggie dad offered to get us all tickets to the A&M-Alabama game this year, but unfortunately it's the same weekend as TX-OU so we'll be at the State Fair in Dallas.

[FearlessF]

good call

[utee94]

I'd love to go to that game, but the timing this year is unfortunate, that's for sure.  We'll make it to a game in Aggieland at some point this year, but unfortunately it'll probably be one of those gimme games from the bottom-heavy portion of their schedule.

[medinabuckeye1]

I'm less concerned about a few pastries in basketball.

I actually look at this exactly the other way around.  As I see it, scheduling pastries in basketball serves no good purpose whatsoever. 

In football the old adage that a lot of coaches (cough-Bill Snyder-cough) go by is "never schedule a loss".  That can be very important in football.  As Penn State circa 2016 whether it was a good idea to schedule Pitt.  Without that Pitt loss the Nittany Lions likely would have made the CFP.  Ask Ohio State circa 2017 whether it was a good idea to schedule Oklahoma.  Without that Oklahoma loss the Buckeyes likely would have made the CFP. 

In basketball a few losses to good teams almost never keeps you out of the tournament.  The sport much more explicitly considers SoS when making their selections.  I see the risks of upgrading your BB schedule as substantially lower than the risks of upgrading your FB SoS. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I actually look at this exactly the other way around.  As I see it, scheduling pastries in basketball serves no good purpose whatsoever. 

In football the old adage that a lot of coaches (cough-Bill Snyder-cough) go by is "never schedule a loss".  That can be very important in football.  As Penn State circa 2016 whether it was a good idea to schedule Pitt.  Without that Pitt loss the Nittany Lions likely would have made the CFP.  Ask Ohio State circa 2017 whether it was a good idea to schedule Oklahoma.  Without that Oklahoma loss the Buckeyes likely would have made the CFP. 

In basketball a few losses to good teams almost never keeps you out of the tournament.  The sport much more explicitly considers SoS when making their selections.  I see the risks of upgrading your BB schedule as substantially lower than the risks of upgrading your FB SoS. 

All I'm saying is that you can do both... In the B1G, you have 11 OOC games to schedule. With the right tournament, the ACC/B1G challenge, possibly Gavitt Games, for Purdue the now traditional Crossroads Classic, and then trying to find a good game elsewhere, you can get plenty of good games in there. 

[ELA]

I'm less concerned about a few pastries in basketball. I don't want Purdue scheduling too many schools way down at the very bottom of RPI/NET/KenPom, but schools in the 101-250 ranking ranges are great as tune-up games.

But this is partly due to the fact that with 20 conference games, the ACC/B1G challenge, the Gavitt Games, and generally one "tournament" scheduled each year, you know you're going to get some good games OOC. On top of Purdue and Indiana always facing Notre Dame or Butler each year in the Crossroads Classic.

So if you load up a few guaranteed wins in early December, it's not as meaningful, especially when you're looking at 31 regular season games plus the B1G tournament plus the NCAAT.
 

That's what people are talking about, those 200+ games that cancel out any good games you schedule.  You might as well just schedule all 100-175 type teams and go undefeated, you'll have the same SOS, but without any losses.

[medinabuckeye1]

That's what people are talking about, those 200+ games that cancel out any good games you schedule.  You might as well just schedule all 100-175 type teams and go undefeated, you'll have the same SOS, but without any losses.

You and I have talked about this before and, as you know, I strongly agree and this is one of my big pet peeves with BB scheduling.  I think with those "tune-up" games you should aim for a team at roughly 125-175.  If they have a really good year they might end up being a ~50 team that could beat you and if they have a really bad year they might end up being a ~250 team the drags down your SoS but it still will not be THAT bad.  Scheduling a bunch of ~250 teams is what bothers me.  Even when they have a relatively good year they still aren't good for your SoS and in a bad year they really drag it down. 

[bayareabadger]

That's what people are talking about, those 200+ games that cancel out any good games you schedule.  You might as well just schedule all 100-175 type teams and go undefeated, you'll have the same SOS, but without any losses.

Hooray for SOS being secret garbage. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

You and I have talked about this before and, as you know, I strongly agree and this is one of my big pet peeves with BB scheduling.  I think with those "tune-up" games you should aim for a team at roughly 125-175.  If they have a really good year they might end up being a ~50 team that could beat you and if they have a really bad year they might end up being a ~250 team the drags down your SoS but it still will not be THAT bad.  Scheduling a bunch of ~250 teams is what bothers me.  Even when they have a relatively good year they still aren't good for your SoS and in a bad year they really drag it down. 

Yeah, I looked at Purdue's NET sheet
Purdue's NET sheet from last year.

You may not think of Belmont or Davidson as "strong" wins, but both climbed to Tier 2. Purdue saw Notre Dame (usually good enough to be Tier 2) slip into Tier 3, and Ball State finished in Tier 3 but still a respectable 131st in the NET rankings.

Ohio I think was expected to be "decent", but dropped to tier 4 at 175 in NET. Still not badly scheduled IMHO.

Most of those teams (absent ND who just had a bad year) are essentially G5 equivalent. Which is fine when your OOC also includes VTech, FSU, Texas, all of whom ended up top-half Tier 1.

App State, Robert Morris, and Fairfield are a little below what I'd like to see Purdue schedule. That's FCS-equivalent. Those are teams who it almost hurts you to beat because they drag your SOS down more than a win helps your ranking.