2/3 & 2/4 Big East Schedule

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

Seton Hall, Xavier, and St. John's would all be locks at 9-9, and sweating on the bubble at 8-10. Honestly, DePaul and Creighton are killing the league's hopes at 7 bids. DePaul is 4-1 against the bubble teams and Creighton is 2-1. To get 7 in, you need the other 3 to be pretty bad. We've (ugh) held up our end, but the other two haven't. The killer is that neither of them (or us) have any shot at a bid outside of 4 wins at MSG.

Would be nice if Seton Hall and Xavier could beat up on St. John's and the Johnnies managed to win the BET at MSG. That, or something like it, is probably the best shot at keeping 7 bids. Right now, I just have a tough time seeing all 3 get in. I do still think at least 1-2 of them will, though, someone will build some separation.

[Nukem2]

Seton Hall, Xavier, and St. John's would all be locks at 9-9, and sweating on the bubble at 8-10. Honestly, DePaul and Creighton are killing the league's hopes at 7 bids. DePaul is 4-1 against the bubble teams and Creighton is 2-1. To get 7 in, you need the other 3 to be pretty bad. We've (ugh) held up our end, but the other two haven't. The killer is that neither of them (or us) have any shot at a bid outside of 4 wins at MSG.

Would be nice if Seton Hall and Xavier could beat up on St. John's and the Johnnies managed to win the BET at MSG. That, or something like it, is probably the best shot at keeping 7 bids. Right now, I just have a tough time seeing all 3 get in. I do still think at least 1-2 of them will, though, someone will build some separation.

Xavier's 46 RPI with 9 losses is perplexing, especially given who some of the losses are. Looking more closely, it's built on SOS as X's schedule has no outliers. Nice, but I suspect the committee will be looking more closely at who X has beaten (and, who X has lost to).

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

Yeah, Xavier's entire resume right now is propped up by those Georgetown wins. Had they lost those two games their RPI would plummet to 81. They did a brilliant job of scheduling. Their lowest non-con opponent was #229 IUPUI. And while neither UTEP nor LBSU are good losses, they both should be top-100 teams.

At the end of the year, however, Auburn, DePaul, and Creighton will all be blemishes. Also, they do have a non-con game at Cincy remaining. That game might be a must for them as they only have one top-50 non-con win and that's #48 Stephen F Austin.

What Xavier does illustrate, however, is the importance of non-conference scheduling. Their RPI and SOS numbers are fantastic despite only playing 1 top-50 team in non-con so far. It's not about high-end teams, it's about stocking yourself with the 50-200 teams. May not get as much publicity, but it's great for the RPI and SOS. Wish MU would take a page out of that book.

[Nukem2]

Yeah, Xavier's entire resume right now is propped up by those Georgetown wins. Had they lost those two games their RPI would plummet to 81. They did a brilliant job of scheduling. Their lowest non-con opponent was #229 IUPUI. And while neither UTEP nor LBSU are good losses, they both should be top-100 teams.

At the end of the year, however, Auburn, DePaul, and Creighton will all be blemishes. Also, they do have a non-con game at Cincy remaining. That game might be a must for them as they only have one top-50 non-con win and that's #48 Stephen F Austin.

What Xavier does illustrate, however, is the importance of non-conference scheduling. Their RPI and SOS numbers are fantastic despite only playing 1 top-50 team in non-con so far. It's not about high-end teams, it's about stocking yourself with the 50-200 teams. May not get as much publicity, but it's great for the RPI and SOS. Wish MU would take a page out of that book.

LBSU is 10-11. Another scheduling wonder. As you say, it is important to get a good NC schedule.

[RJax55]

On Xavier, they can't afford to lose to MU on Tuesday.

[Nukem2]

On Xavier, they can't afford to lose to MU on Tuesday.

Yup. But, I'll take the win anyway.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

LBSU is 10-11. Another scheduling wonder. As you say, it is important to get a good NC schedule.

LBSU's non-conference schedule looks like a murderer's row for a low to mid-major. Only 3 games vs sub-100 RPI teams and they won all three (including K-State). Their worst non-con loss is at Syracuse, with St. John's and UCLA also on that list. And they're 6-1 in conference play.

[Nukem2]

LBSU's non-conference schedule looks like a murderer's row for a low to mid-major. Only 3 games vs sub-100 RPI teams and they won all three (including K-State). Their worst non-con loss is at Syracuse, with St. John's and UCLA also on that list. And they're 6-1 in conference play.

LBSU will still need to win its conference tourney to get into the NCAAs, though.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

Definitely, just illustrating the bizarre nature of a (currently) losing record team with a top-100 RPI.