Conference USA changing scheduling format

SelectionSunday

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Conference USA changing scheduling format, thinking outside the box

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I love this idea.

Not sure it will help, but mid-major conferences like Conference USA have to think outside the box and try something to improve their best teams' at-large chances. There is sound thought & reasoning behind this scheduling. Have your best teams playing one another toward the end of the season, and avoid having those best teams playing RPI killers.
 

Another read on C-USA's scheduling move

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Awesome idea. Glad someone is trying something different
 

B1G should do this. Would have helped Nebraska and Penn State this year for sure.
 





Like it. Kind of a season within a season.
Reminds me of the Tier I and Tier II Minnesota State High School hockey tournament debacle. It makes a lot more sense here. It's a de facto playoff system (for the top tier) to see who wins the regular season conference title.
 



Goofiest thing I have ever heard of. Season ticket holders do not know the dates (much less opponents) for multiple home games? Only dumber basketball idea I have seen was the Big 10 starting their conference tourney in February.
 

Goofiest thing I have ever heard of. Season ticket holders do not know the dates (much less opponents) for multiple home games? Only dumber basketball idea I have seen was the Big 10 starting their conference tourney in February.

I like it. You play everyone once. The curious thing is if your designated partner (team that you play twice) finishes in the same group, you would play a 3rd reg. season game? I assume that they will reverse the location of the second matchup, but what if you are #1 and played 2-5 at home in 1st trip through? You get 2 home games against 2 teams in the same year w/o a return trip?

Overall, I think it will help that league and makes as much sense as randomly getting certain teams twice. That first game might be a nightmare as far as travel if it happens too quick, but I imagine they can schedule it so they have a Saturday through Thursday gap to accommodate.
 

Not sure this would work all that well for major conferences. For a league that typically only puts one or two teams in the NCAAs it makes some sense. But for a league like the B1G where you typically get 6-7 teams in the dance it could actually prevent those 6th and 7th place teams from getting in if they lose opportunities to play against higher ranked opponents. Heck, sometimes it is better for a team to lose to the first place team than to beat the tenth place team, at least from a RPI and SOS standpoint. (Though, IMO, that speaks more to what a joke RPI has become.)
 

Not sure this would work all that well for major conferences. For a league that typically only puts one or two teams in the NCAAs it makes some sense. But for a league like the B1G where you typically get 6-7 teams in the dance it could actually prevent those 6th and 7th place teams from getting in if they lose opportunities to play against higher ranked opponents. Heck, sometimes it is better for a team to lose to the first place team than to beat the tenth place team, at least from a RPI and SOS standpoint. (Though, IMO, that speaks more to what a joke RPI has become.)


Exactly. Its great for CUSA to try.

Would be a brutal idea for major conferences
 



Sun Belt also changing scheduling format

Starting in 2019-20 season.

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So, just thinking about this more, I'm not sure how either works.

The CUSA has pods of 5. Being an odd number, you have 1 team getting a "bye" when the other 4 are playing. So most teams play the last 4 games over a 2 week stretch (2 midweek, 2 weekends). With this proposal, either you are shortening the travel times to get 5 gamedays into a 11-12 day window or you push the season back.

The sun belt is worse. There you have 3 teams playing twice each at the others home site twice. That means while 1 plays 2, team 3 waits. So now if you are going to fit this into the last 2 weeks, you are talking about playing Wed-Fri-Sun, Tue-Thr-Sun with each team getting one of those as a bye. That seems like a lot of craziness added to a difficult schedule for students.
 




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