Non-Con Schedule

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Three definite Q1 games (top 75). Hopefully, five. Eight definite Q1/2 games (top 150). Hopefully, nine.

FGCU Q3
Belmont Q2
CSU1 Q4
Georgia Q2
Clemson (hopefully) Q1, Akron Q3
Creighton (hopefully) Q1, St. Bonaventure Q2, Boise State Q2, Georgia State Q2
BYU Q1
SDSU Q1
UIC Q3
Ole Miss Q3
CSU2 Q4
UCF Q1

 

[ThisIsTheLineup]

Is that 2 Q4 games? Not sure where Chicago or Cleveland rank but I'm sure it's not high. This could hurt come at-large time even if they win both games.

Are you complaining just to complain? Like, this is honestly the best all around non-con schedule we have had in a LONG time. I don't know if you were expecting Duke, the Warriors or the 1996 USA Mens team but I don't see how anyone can see this as NOT a stellar schedule, let alone disappointing.

 

[Adunk33]

Is that 2 Q4 games? Not sure where Chicago or Cleveland rank but I'm sure it's not high. This could hurt come at-large time even if they win both games.

If I've said this once, I've said it 1000 times. I put zero faith in the committee to grant Illinois State an At-Large bid. If we go 13-0 it will be "yeah...but they played Chicago and Cleveland State....they should have gotten bought by Kansas and Nova." Same goes for if we go my predicted 10-3. It was talked about last tournament its not how you do in these quadrant games.... at the P5 level, its how many you play. We could go do what Texas Southern did a few years ago and get bought for every non-con game, play 10-13 Q1 games, and be more considered than with the schedule we have.

Win in STL and never leave it up to chance.

Again, as a season ticket holder, I love this home schedule for the most part. I do not believe my season ticket price went up. 7 non-con home games this year versus 5 last year. These 7 are better than those 5.

 

[Flagship08]

Clemson is the only likely Q1 opponent in that tournament IMO. Creighton and Georgia are not good this year.

 

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Georgia isn't but Creighton should be top 75 I would think.

 

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Alright, I did a bit of research and here is how the quadrants officially fall (subject to change by how well they do this season). Illinois-Chicago and Akron are both on the cusp of becoming Q3 games (hopefully, we don't even face Akron, however). Also, St. Bonaventure could be the preferred third round match-up in the MTE. If everything falls just right (err...wrong) there could be four Q4 games which would be bad.

Looks like eight definite Q1/2 games (top 150).

1. vs Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (Q3) on November 6th (End of a H&H)
2. @ Belmont Bruins (Q2) on November 10th (Start of a H&H)
3. vs Chicago State Cougars (Q4) on November 13th (Buying them)
4. MTE Georgia Bulldogs (Q2) one November 19th (Tournament)
5. MTE Clemson Tigers (Q1) or Akron Zips (Q4 and almost Q3) on November 20th (Tournament)
6. MTE Creighton Bluejays (Q1 possibly Q2 this season), St. Bonaventure Bonnies (Q1 possibly Q2 this season), Boise State Broncos (Q1 but probably Q2 this season), or Georgia State Pounce (barely Q2) on November 21st (Tournament)
7. vs Lindenwood Lions on November 24th (D2 -- buying them)
8. vs Brigham Young Cougars (Q1) on November 28th (End of H&H)
9. vs San Diego State Aztecs (Q1) on December 1st (MWC/MVC Challenge)
10. @ Illinois-Chicago Flames (Q4 and almost Q3) on December 5th (Third game of a four game series)
11. vs Ole Miss Landsharks (barely Q2 but have a new coach) on December 8th (End of H&H)
12. vs Cleveland State Vikings (Q4) on December 16th (Buying them)
13. @ Central Florida Golden Knights (Q2 but probably Q1 this season) on December 21st (Start of H&H)

 

[DannyCooksey]

good schedule

opportunities for good W's. Need to run the table at home and at least split with Georgia/Clemson (if we play both).

a road win at Belmont could be very nice in March.

as has been pointed out this is a good schedule that will test the team before Valley play and it's far from embarrassing and atrocious like our conference neighbor to the west.

 

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

definitely makes Bradley's look horrible

 

[Redbirdwarrior]

I like the mix here. Belmont is a much better get than many think. They are constantly a tourney team. To those of you hating on Creighton and Georgia... why? You get a chance to knock off teams from the ACC, SEC, Big East, MWC and WCC this season. I love love love the balance here. There is no stretch of games that look like backbreakers and no stretch of games that look like cookies. All told, this will be a T50 OOC schedule and very much prep ISU for Valley play.

 

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Thanks to VUGrad on the MVC message board some of these games will change quadrants based on all the rules of the quadrants. Really hurts ISU (of course).

https://www.hammerandrails.com/2017/12/5/16739334/2018-ncaa-tournament-selection-criteria-changes-rpi-kenpom

 

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Pretty much ISU still has to go at least 29-5 to get an at-large bid with this schedule and maybe 30-4. So, really no pressure until St. Louis where they'll lose on Sunday...again.

 

[Redbirdwarrior]

Take the idea of at-large and put that shit out of your heads, kids. As a reminder, ISU won 28 games 2 years ago TWENTY-EIGHT before post season and was held out of the tourney in favor of several programs who would get dropped by that ISU team 8 times out of 10.

I seriously think that if ISU went 30-2 and lost one of those games in StL, we are hosting the ISU NIT bracket again.

The system is broken, we all know it, so stop playing into that game. Use the OOC as a practice slate to get Copeland, Jefferson and Rey up to D1 speed then hit the gas come late December. Honestly, I don't really care if ISU wins all 12 OOC games or goes 6-6 so long as the team looks fundamentally solid.

 

[Chi-bird]

Take the idea of at-large and put that shit out of your heads, kids. As a reminder, ISU won 28 games 2 years ago TWENTY-EIGHT before post season and was held out of the tourney in favor of several programs who would get dropped by that ISU team 8 times out of 10.

I seriously think that if ISU went 30-2 and lost one of those games in StL, we are hosting the ISU NIT bracket again.

The system is broken, we all know it, so stop playing into that game. Use the OOC as a practice slate to get Copeland, Jefferson and Rey up to D1 speed then hit the gas come late December. Honestly, I don't really care if ISU wins all 12 OOC games or goes 6-6 so long as the team looks fundamentally solid.

It's fluid. It very well may be the case that the cards are severely stacked against us. It may also be the case that the pendulum is swinging back a little bit. It would be naive to think that the recent trend is the long-term, indisputable forecast.

I would like to believe that the selection process may be biased, but it is not altogether rigged. If for a moment I truly believed it, I would not give two sh-ts about college hoops. Why even be a fan?

 

[JHBird]

The selection committee says teams like us need to play more games against the P5 schools, yet the only way we can play them is to "buy" a game. That sounds like extortion to me. Of course I don't know what to do about it, but we should be playing U of I and Northwestern each year. It's economical, and it would be a blast. Imagine how many of us would travel to Champaign or Chicago. I bet there would be more fans there then their average non conference games.

 

[Redbirdwarrior]

I would like to believe that the selection process may be biased, but it is not altogether rigged. If for a moment I truly believed it, I would not give two sh-ts about college hoops. Why even be a fan?

This is exactly where I planted my feet Sunday March 12th 2017 about 7 PM when the last name was read.

ISU had their best season in school history. They had the coach of the year, the Larry Bird Player of the year, the DPOY and still ended up outside a field that included a 20 win Providence team, a 20 win KSU team, a 19 win Marquette team and a 19 win Wake Forest team.

The time that you need to win 30-35% more games in a season than another team to even get a sniff of the first 4 is the time to call the game rigged.

I have seen no change in policy regarding selection in the last year and a half or so, so I must assume that this is not temporary, rather the direction that college basketball is going by design: Get the richest conferences to pile in as many teams as possible and give everyone else a 1% chance of winning.

 

[isuquinndog]

Coach Muller's comments on the schedule:

https://twitter.com/Redbird_MBB/status/1023962822085103616

 

[DWRedbird]

It's fluid. It very well may be the case that the cards are severely stacked against us. It may also be the case that the pendulum is swinging back a little bit. It would be naive to think that the recent trend is the long-term, indisputable forecast.

I would like to believe that the selection process may be biased, but it is not altogether rigged. If for a moment I truly believed it, I would not give two sh-ts about college hoops. Why even be a fan?

I don' think the system is rigged per say, but I think that the deck is stacked severely against programs not in a P5 Conference. The overall issue however is that the committee has no quantifiable criteria for at large admittance into the tourney. When it benefits the teams they let in that year, they will tell you it is about SOS and Quadrants. When it benefits the teams they let in another year, they will tell you it is about who you beat, not who you play. Another year to justify it, they will say they play in a really tough conference.

There needs to be hard rules for who can get an at large, so there is none of this mysterious cloudy, will they get in or won't they stuff. But, the NCAA won't do that because then it might not let as many P5 conference teams in as it wants....

I love college basketball. I hate the politics associated with it and the committee. They want P5 named conference teams in over better basketball teams, and now a days they aren't even trying to hide it...

 

[bb fan]

1. The NCAA men's basketball tournament selection process is rigged. No doubt about it.

2. I am looking forward to this home noncon slate. The best in years.

3. Go you Redbirds

 

[crazzymark]

ALLLLL RIGHT!! I get to attend an ISU GAME!!! And taking 10 people with against UCF!! Now if the football team could get a game booked at Spectrum Stadium (UCF home) ....the big aluminum bowl that it is..lol Better yet , as AAC league game!!

 

[WeLoveTheBirds]

ALLLLL RIGHT!! I get to attend an ISU GAME!!! And taking 10 people with against UCF!! Now if the football team could get a game booked at Spectrum Stadium (UCF home) ....the big aluminum bowl that it is..lol Better yet , as AAC league game!!

Mark you are crazy!!!! :lol: