Santa Clara Men's Basketball - We Play Who???

Scheduling used to be a LOT easier.  I recently sat down with Coach Keating to get the details.

Years ago, if you wanted local games with Stanford or Cal... Doable.  Play North Carolina at home - done that...

Today, maybe only a Papal appeal can make those happen.

The real world of NCAA Men's Basketball scheduling is more like "hold-em" poker.  It's all about the RPI, W's, and Benjamin's...

As Season Ticket Holders and Fans, we're like really, we play Lipscomb and Arkansas-Pine Bluff?  Who are these guys???

Students looking at the schedule and seeing the likes of Pacific Union, opt for the library or the couch.   Pretty sad.

Guess what?  Every school plays patsies.

Duke plays Livingston, Central Mission, Fairfield, Furman, and Elon.  Impressive. 

Stanford plays division 3 Carroll and - no joke - Cal plays Incarnate Word...I get chills when I think of that game.

And Yes, Gonzaga plays St. Martin's and Eastern Oregon.  Awesome!

Why?  

NCAA tournament qualification has become the holy grail in Men's Basketball.  The value and prestige both monetarily and in public perception is off the charts. 

So when it comes to scheduling - patsies rule.  RPI baby...

Here's one formula:  

Play at home as much as possible early in the schedule.  

Win the first 5-6 against your patsies.  

Play 1-2 competitive teams with < 100 RPI and beat them or at worst lose 1.

Do that and Bingo - you're a sub 60 RPI.

Last year, Stanford beat their patsies at home and lost on the road in New York City to Duke - boom - RPI 57.

Gonzaga is one of the few teams that doesn't need to play it so safe because they currently own the WCC and the automatic bid.  It's their annuity...

Therefore, every coach is holding their cards close to the vest.

  

Want to play UCLA in a home and home?  I mean Kerry knows UCLA.  No way.  Not enough money and the risk of losing to SCU is a huge RPI hit.  

OK, how about Xavier or Vanderbilt?  Surely, they want to play nice.  Uh-Uh.  

How about local?  Stanford.  Nope.  They still remember our 2006 62-46 beat-down on their court.

Coaches all know about Jared Brownridge now and the daggers he can stick to their RPI.  So, they "hold-em" until the last flop to see what games give them the best odds for an NCAA bid. 

On it goes.  So we end up playing the Denvers and Milwaukees who have lower RPI's, but like their chances vs SCU on the road. We'll take the home win and they'll take the payday and be OK with a lot of empty seats.

It's a rut we must break out of...

Given the above, we have been successful in securing invitations to big stage tournaments - Made for Television (MTE) events.  It's a tough gig to get.  This year it's the Wooden Legacy in Anaheim. We play Arizona, then possibly Providence or Evansville, all NCAA tourney teams.  On the way down, we play UC Irvine; a 2015 NCAA qualifier.  This will be our third try to knock off perennial tournament teams.  

In the 2016-17 season we'll be in a Las Vegas MTE event with more high profile teams.

We get invited to these due to Coach Keating's persistence.  Right now, we are at the level where Arizona and Michigan State aren't that worried about the upset and subsequent RPI hit.

The other "big" thing about scheduling, that all Coaches know, is that it is huge in recruiting.  Simply put, better players want to play against better competition.  

Given all this, how do we break out?  How do we "rise" to be NCAA worthy?  

Of the many iterations, to me, four scenarios are out there for us to be "national" - in an NCAA - before the 2020 first phase plan due date.

First: Win enough games with our current scheduling to be an At-Large NCAA consideration in the next two seasons.  Dramatic changes to our schedule won't happen fast, so we have to "win with what we've got."  It will take a minimum of 24 wins, one "big" upset, AND take Gonzaga to the brink in the WCC tourney final.

Second:  Take out the ZAGS or whoever is in the WCC tourney final game.  That's the only "automatic" in. We could use a "lucky draw" here in our "hold-em" hand....

Third:  Pull off a recruiting "coup" and get the guy we're not supposed to get - Nash-like, who propels us to accomplish one of the two above scenarios. 

Fourth:  Get the students to support the team in their quest to rise to national competitiveness.  If they don't "show up" and represent, why should the team?   How about PRIDE....Do your part...This mentality of "we don't play anybody" or "I don't like the coach" just doesn't fly.  It's like a class where you don't do anything but you expect an "A".  Such an "entitlement" tude.  Lame...

The cards will be dealt starting November 6th with a practice hand against Notre Dame de Namur and then for real November 13 vs Lipscomb.  

SCU is placing big bets for Men's Basketball to go national. The Season Ticket Holders have "anted" up.  

Now, we need the students to rally around as the cards play out and tip the "odds" in our favor.

Next Up:  Season Preview and Predictions

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