SelectionSunday
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A perfect Gophers non-conference schedule should have 9 home games, 2 road games, and 2 neutral-site games. This coming season my best guess is the Gophers, will go 10, 2, and 1, in part because they're giving up one of their conference home games (Ohio State) to play in Madison Square Garden. That likely means an extra home game in November or December.
Last season the Gophers scheduled 11, 1, and 1, playing more non-conference home games than any team in the country. That should not happen again. That's too many home games, especially for a program that appears poised to make a run toward the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Here's a sample 2017-18 schedule I think would look pretty reasonable for coaches, players, and season-ticket holders alike. Final RPI rankings are noted in parentheses, and include all games played in the postseason (NCAA, NIT, CBI, CIT).
2017-18 Sample Non-Conference Schedule (in order of 2016-17 RPI)
1 Louisville (11) -- ACC Challenge
2 @ Arkansas (28) -- back end of home & home
3 vs. Nevada (35) -- neutral site (Target Center/Des Moines/Sioux Falls/Las Vegas?)
4 New Mexico State (55) -- quality mid-major
5 @ Marquette (67) -- Gavitt Games
6 Alabama (82) -- front end of home & home (perhaps as part of 5-team multi-team event?)
7 Ohio (117) -- Saul Phillips brought his NDSU teams to The Barn quite a bit
8 South Dakota (120) -- are 'Yotes still Summit favorite after Trey Dickerson's transfer? (regional foe)
9 North Dakota (133) -- defending Big Sky champs & regional foe
10 Missouri State (211) -- with Wichita State departure, Bears might be the MVC favorite
11 UIC (238) -- Midwest school, RPI 200-250 range
12 Eastern Kentucky (252) -- former assistant Dan McHale's squad, RPI 200-250 range
13 FIU (337) -- Pitino's former school & and a delicious cupcake (perhaps season opener?)
Average RPI of All Opponents: 129.692
Average RPI of Home Opponents: 155.6
Power 6 Opponents (4): Alabama, Arkansas, Louisville, Marquette
2017 NCAA Qualifiers (6): Arkansas, Louisville, Marquette, Nevada, New Mexico State, North Dakota
Projected 2018 NCAA Qualifiers With Seed, per Joe Lunardi (6): #1 Louisville, #10 Alabama, #11 Arkansas, #11 Nevada, #13 New Mexico State, #15 South Dakota
2016-17 Non-Conference Schedule (in order of RPI)
@ Florida State (15)
Arkansas (28)
Texas-Arlington (40)
vs. Vanderbilt (42)
Arkansas State (113)
Louisiana (114)
Mount Saint Mary's (137)
Georgia Southern (144)
Southern Illinois (147)
Saint John's (148)
LIU (222)
Northern Illinois (242)
NJIT (293)
Average RPI of All Opponents: 129.615
Average RPI of Home Opponents: 148
Power 6 Opponents (4): Arkansas, Florida State, Saint John's, Vanderbilt
NCAA Qualifiers (4): Arkansas, Florida State, Mount Saint Mary's, Vanderbilt
Last season the Gophers scheduled 11, 1, and 1, playing more non-conference home games than any team in the country. That should not happen again. That's too many home games, especially for a program that appears poised to make a run toward the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Here's a sample 2017-18 schedule I think would look pretty reasonable for coaches, players, and season-ticket holders alike. Final RPI rankings are noted in parentheses, and include all games played in the postseason (NCAA, NIT, CBI, CIT).
2017-18 Sample Non-Conference Schedule (in order of 2016-17 RPI)
1 Louisville (11) -- ACC Challenge
2 @ Arkansas (28) -- back end of home & home
3 vs. Nevada (35) -- neutral site (Target Center/Des Moines/Sioux Falls/Las Vegas?)
4 New Mexico State (55) -- quality mid-major
5 @ Marquette (67) -- Gavitt Games
6 Alabama (82) -- front end of home & home (perhaps as part of 5-team multi-team event?)
7 Ohio (117) -- Saul Phillips brought his NDSU teams to The Barn quite a bit
8 South Dakota (120) -- are 'Yotes still Summit favorite after Trey Dickerson's transfer? (regional foe)
9 North Dakota (133) -- defending Big Sky champs & regional foe
10 Missouri State (211) -- with Wichita State departure, Bears might be the MVC favorite
11 UIC (238) -- Midwest school, RPI 200-250 range
12 Eastern Kentucky (252) -- former assistant Dan McHale's squad, RPI 200-250 range
13 FIU (337) -- Pitino's former school & and a delicious cupcake (perhaps season opener?)
Average RPI of All Opponents: 129.692
Average RPI of Home Opponents: 155.6
Power 6 Opponents (4): Alabama, Arkansas, Louisville, Marquette
2017 NCAA Qualifiers (6): Arkansas, Louisville, Marquette, Nevada, New Mexico State, North Dakota
Projected 2018 NCAA Qualifiers With Seed, per Joe Lunardi (6): #1 Louisville, #10 Alabama, #11 Arkansas, #11 Nevada, #13 New Mexico State, #15 South Dakota
2016-17 Non-Conference Schedule (in order of RPI)
@ Florida State (15)
Arkansas (28)
Texas-Arlington (40)
vs. Vanderbilt (42)
Arkansas State (113)
Louisiana (114)
Mount Saint Mary's (137)
Georgia Southern (144)
Southern Illinois (147)
Saint John's (148)
LIU (222)
Northern Illinois (242)
NJIT (293)
Average RPI of All Opponents: 129.615
Average RPI of Home Opponents: 148
Power 6 Opponents (4): Arkansas, Florida State, Saint John's, Vanderbilt
NCAA Qualifiers (4): Arkansas, Florida State, Mount Saint Mary's, Vanderbilt