Don't know if anyone else heard Jay Bilas last night prior to the OK vs. TX game. The subject came up of mid-majors and scheduling. (ie. Just who do
they play and who have they beaten?) The basic argument was who should be given higher tourament consideration, middle of the pack major conference teams or
the better mid-majors. Bilas, in a very indignant tone, basically said the "it is a myth" that major conference teams will not schedule the better
mid-majors. I mean, he repeated "myth" about three times. Then, at the very end of his rant, he went on to say, sort of as an afterthought, that
the majors will play the mid-majors, but " the mid-major might have to go on the road" to play them. Gee Jay, isn't that the issue. The
"majors" have such a huge advantage to begin with, with basketball budgets 4 and 5 times greater, first class facilities, TV contracts, exposure, all
kinds of recruiting advantages, and an automatic pass to the tournament if you finish .500 in your conference. And now Bilas says that mid-majors should also
give them a home court advantage as well if they want to play them.
My question is, didn't Brad say at one time that we routinely contact several of the major schools each year for a home-and-home and that we routinely get turned down? Does anyone know if we still make a practice each year of calling schools like Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame, etc., and still get the same old answer? I think all anyone has to do is look at the pre-conference schedules of the majority of these majors. In recent years, it appears that they prefer to schedule mostly lower rated schools (200's and 300's), and always at home. The objective of the majors is to pile up a bunch of wins and hope to break even in the conference. Instant tournament bid. I think Bilas and his comments were completely unfounded. He probably consulted with Coach K who, up until this year, never played any game away from home until after Christmas, and always scheduled a healthy bunch of cupcakes.
My question is, didn't Brad say at one time that we routinely contact several of the major schools each year for a home-and-home and that we routinely get turned down? Does anyone know if we still make a practice each year of calling schools like Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame, etc., and still get the same old answer? I think all anyone has to do is look at the pre-conference schedules of the majority of these majors. In recent years, it appears that they prefer to schedule mostly lower rated schools (200's and 300's), and always at home. The objective of the majors is to pile up a bunch of wins and hope to break even in the conference. Instant tournament bid. I think Bilas and his comments were completely unfounded. He probably consulted with Coach K who, up until this year, never played any game away from home until after Christmas, and always scheduled a healthy bunch of cupcakes.
