I found this both hilarious and pathetic

[Marsh01]

Mostly looking at Pitt

PITTSBURGH

Toughest: vs. Cincinnati (Dec. 17 in New York)
Next-toughest: N/A
The rest: Savannah State (Nov. 8), Fresno State (Nov. 12), Howard (Nov. 17), Lehigh (Nov. 20), Legends Classic (Nov. 25-26 in Brooklyn), Duquesne (Nov. 30), Penn State (Dec. 3), Loyola Marymount (Dec. 6), Youngstown State (Dec. 14), Cal Poly (Dec. 21), Albany (Dec. 31)

Toughness scale (1-10): 1. In recent seasons, few coaches have proven as good at gaming the Ratings Percentage Index as Jamie Dixon. This is not a criticism; the NCAA's current system is made to be gamed, and by this point coaches who don't at least try to use the faulty system to their advantage are leaving potential seed-line improvements on the table. So I'm guessing that, by the end of the season, Pitt's RPI will be in solid shape. (And maybe the new-look ACC will take care of that on its own.) But that aside, this is a straight-up awful basketball schedule. Just … ugh. Cincinnati in Madison Square Garden is the only "marquee" game on the list, and that's a generous application of the term. The Legends Classic features an opening game against Texas Tech and a second-round matchup against either Stanford or Houston. None of those teams is truly awful -- same goes for Penn State on Dec. 3 -- but they're hardly inspiring opponents, either.

SYRACUSE

Toughest: Maui Invitational (Nov. 25-27), Indiana (Dec. 3)
Next-toughest: Villanova (Dec. 28), at St. John's (Dec. 15)
The rest: Cornell (Nov. 8), Fordham (Nov. 12), Colgate (Nov. 16, St. Francis-N.Y. (Nov. 18), Binghamton (Dec. 7), High Point (Dec. 20), Eastern Michigan (Dec. 31)

Toughness scale (1-10): 6 -- This score is awarded mostly for the Maui Invitational, which boasts a typically deep, if not vintage, field (Gonzaga, Baylor, Minnesota, Cal, Dayton, Arkansas, Chaminade). But it's worth noting that Indiana game at the Carrier Dome, which will be more of a test for the young Hoosiers, sure, but is nonetheless a big rematch of Syracuse's dominant Sweet 16 win in March. There are also two fixtures against former Big East foes Villanova and St. John's. The former is an improving, defensive group that took down the Orange in Philly last season; the latter is a road game against a talented but disjointed Red Storm.

 

[Alsacs]

Mostly looking at Pitt

PITTSBURGH

Toughest: vs. Cincinnati (Dec. 17 in New York)
Next-toughest: N/A
The rest: Savannah State (Nov. 8), Fresno State (Nov. 12), Howard (Nov. 17), Lehigh (Nov. 20), Legends Classic (Nov. 25-26 in Brooklyn), Duquesne (Nov. 30), Penn State (Dec. 3), Loyola Marymount (Dec. 6), Youngstown State (Dec. 14), Cal Poly (Dec. 21), Albany (Dec. 31)

Toughness scale (1-10): 1. In recent seasons, few coaches have proven as good at gaming the Ratings Percentage Index as Jamie Dixon. This is not a criticism; the NCAA's current system is made to be gamed, and by this point coaches who don't at least try to use the faulty system to their advantage are leaving potential seed-line improvements on the table. So I'm guessing that, by the end of the season, Pitt's RPI will be in solid shape. (And maybe the new-look ACC will take care of that on its own.) But that aside, this is a straight-up awful basketball schedule. Just … ugh. Cincinnati in Madison Square Garden is the only "marquee" game on the list, and that's a generous application of the term. The Legends Classic features an opening game against Texas Tech and a second-round matchup against either Stanford or Houston. None of those teams is truly awful -- same goes for Penn State on Dec. 3 -- but they're hardly inspiring opponents, either.

SYRACUSE

Toughest: Maui Invitational (Nov. 25-27), Indiana (Dec. 3)
Next-toughest: Villanova (Dec. 28), at St. John's (Dec. 15)
The rest: Cornell (Nov. 8), Fordham (Nov. 12), Colgate (Nov. 16, St. Francis-N.Y. (Nov. 18), Binghamton (Dec. 7), High Point (Dec. 20), Eastern Michigan (Dec. 31)

Toughness scale (1-10): 6 -- This score is awarded mostly for the Maui Invitational, which boasts a typically deep, if not vintage, field (Gonzaga, Baylor, Minnesota, Cal, Dayton, Arkansas, Chaminade). But it's worth noting that Indiana game at the Carrier Dome, which will be more of a test for the young Hoosiers, sure, but is nonetheless a big rematch of Syracuse's dominant Sweet 16 win in March. There are also two fixtures against former Big East foes Villanova and St. John's. The former is an improving, defensive group that took down the Orange in Philly last season; the latter is a road game against a talented but disjointed Red Storm.

Without looking which idiot wrote this Myron or Eammon? Both of those guys are an embarrassment to ESPN.com and Andy Katz their boss if they honestly think our OOC schedule is a 6. Nova, Indiana, @St. John's, Maui. LOL what a joke.

 

[Marsh01]

Without looking which idiot wrote this Myron or Eammon? Both of those guys are an embarrassment to ESPN.com and Andy Katz their boss if they honestly think our OOC schedule is a 6. Nova, Indiana, @St. John's, Maui. LOL what a joke.

Brennan

 

[Alsacs]

VIRGINIA

Toughest: VCU (Nov. 12), Wisconsin (Dec. 4), at Tennessee (Dec. 30)
Next-toughest: Northern Iowa (Dec. 21)
The rest: James Madison (Nov. 8), vs. Davidson (Nov. 16 in Charlotte), Navy (Nov. 19), Liberty (Nov. 23), Hampton (Nov. 26), Corpus Christi Challenge (Nov. 29-30), at Green Bay (Dec. 7), Norfolk State (Dec. 23)

Toughness scale (1-10): 7 -- VCU and Virginia don't have much of a historical basketball rivalry, because why would they? But now that Shaka Smart's program has become the state's most notable, it makes sense for Tony Bennett to schedule the Rams, whose pressure defense will be a huge stylistic test for the slow-and-steady Cavaliers in Charlottesville. Wisconsin, which lost to Virginia in Madison last season, won't be that, but will be a tough home date during the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and a road trip at Tennessee rounds out the slate. UVa missed the tournament last season mostly thanks to a) a bad noncon schedule and b) a bunch of really bad noncon losses. This slate should help nullify both concerns.


UVA is good but their schedule isn't tougher than ours. This made me laugh @St. John's is basically @Tennessee IMO. Even though MSG will be a de facto home game because every game in NY is a home game for SU this guy is hilariously bad.

 

[SoBeCuse]

VIRGINIA

Toughest: VCU (Nov. 12), Wisconsin (Dec. 4), at Tennessee (Dec. 30)
Next-toughest: Northern Iowa (Dec. 21)
The rest: James Madison (Nov. 8), vs. Davidson (Nov. 16 in Charlotte), Navy (Nov. 19), Liberty (Nov. 23), Hampton (Nov. 26), Corpus Christi Challenge (Nov. 29-30), at Green Bay (Dec. 7), Norfolk State (Dec. 23)

Toughness scale (1-10): 7 -- VCU and Virginia don't have much of a historical basketball rivalry, because why would they? But now that Shaka Smart's program has become the state's most notable, it makes sense for Tony Bennett to schedule the Rams, whose pressure defense will be a huge stylistic test for the slow-and-steady Cavaliers in Charlottesville. Wisconsin, which lost to Virginia in Madison last season, won't be that, but will be a tough home date during the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and a road trip at Tennessee rounds out the slate. UVa missed the tournament last season mostly thanks to a) a bad noncon schedule and b) a bunch of really bad noncon losses. This slate should help nullify both concerns.


UVA is good but their schedule isn't tougher than ours. This made me laugh @St. John's is basically @Tennessee IMO. Even though MSG will be a de facto home game because every game in NY is a home game for SU this guy is hilariously bad.

No question. Myron and Eamonn are tools. I won't even read what they write or watch Eamonn's silly little videos. No way UVA is a 7, lol.

 

[OrangeTown]

the latter is a road game against a talented but disjointed Red Storm.

Brennan doesn't know crap. When's the last time a St. John's game was a road game?

 

[Marsh01]

Brennan doesn't know crap. When's the last time a St. John's game was a road game?

exactly

 

[Quazzum69]

Maybe the rating is relative to the team, not relative to all teams. It could be interpreted that Virginia will be slightly more challenged playing VCU, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Northern Iowa, etc. than SU will be playing Maui, Indiana, Villanova, St. John's and the rest. I buy that.

 

[Full_Rebar]

I think that's correct. BC's schedule was a 7 and they have UConn, Harvard, VCU and possibly Indiana as their four toughest games.

 

[AWMKY]

Mostly looking at Pitt

PITTSBURGH

Toughest: vs. Cincinnati (Dec. 17 in New York)
Next-toughest: N/A
The rest: Savannah State (Nov. 8), Fresno State (Nov. 12), Howard (Nov. 17), Lehigh (Nov. 20), Legends Classic (Nov. 25-26 in Brooklyn), Duquesne (Nov. 30), Penn State (Dec. 3), Loyola Marymount (Dec. 6), Youngstown State (Dec. 14), Cal Poly (Dec. 21), Albany (Dec. 31)

Toughness scale (1-10): 1. In recent seasons, few coaches have proven as good at gaming the Ratings Percentage Index as Jamie Dixon. This is not a criticism; the NCAA's current system is made to be gamed, and by this point coaches who don't at least try to use the faulty system to their advantage are leaving potential seed-line improvements on the table. So I'm guessing that, by the end of the season, Pitt's RPI will be in solid shape. (And maybe the new-look ACC will take care of that on its own.) But that aside, this is a straight-up awful basketball schedule. Just … ugh. Cincinnati in Madison Square Garden is the only "marquee" game on the list, and that's a generous application of the term. The Legends Classic features an opening game against Texas Tech and a second-round matchup against either Stanford or Houston. None of those teams is truly awful -- same goes for Penn State on Dec. 3 -- but they're hardly inspiring opponents, either.

SYRACUSE

Toughest: Maui Invitational (Nov. 25-27), Indiana (Dec. 3)
Next-toughest: Villanova (Dec. 28), at St. John's (Dec. 15)
The rest: Cornell (Nov. 8), Fordham (Nov. 12), Colgate (Nov. 16, St. Francis-N.Y. (Nov. 18), Binghamton (Dec. 7), High Point (Dec. 20), Eastern Michigan (Dec. 31)

Toughness scale (1-10): 6 -- This score is awarded mostly for the Maui Invitational, which boasts a typically deep, if not vintage, field (Gonzaga, Baylor, Minnesota, Cal, Dayton, Arkansas, Chaminade). But it's worth noting that Indiana game at the Carrier Dome, which will be more of a test for the young Hoosiers, sure, but is nonetheless a big rematch of Syracuse's dominant Sweet 16 win in March. There are also two fixtures against former Big East foes Villanova and St. John's. The former is an improving, defensive group that took down the Orange in Philly last season; the latter is a road game against a talented but disjointed Red Storm.

"You know, this Final Four trip was impressive, but the games we played in November weren't that tough. :noidea:"

 

[HoustonCuse]

Maybe the rating is relative to the team, not relative to all teams. It could be interpreted that Virginia will be slightly more challenged playing VCU, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Northern Iowa, etc. than SU will be playing Maui, Indiana, Villanova, St. John's and the rest. I buy that.

In all fairness, VCU is supposed to be very tough this year. Wisconsin is always a tough opponent, although they got blown out by Carleton, I'm not sure if that tells us anything really. Tennessee, I dunno. A major conference team, certainly not a tougher team than Nova.

 

[BlackKnight76]

Second year in a row Pitt played absolutely no one, but they don't get any real flack for it. Last year I don't know if they played one major conference team OOC.

 

[reedny]

Maybe the rating is relative to the team, not relative to all teams. It could be interpreted that Virginia will be slightly more challenged playing VCU, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Northern Iowa, etc. than SU will be playing Maui, Indiana, Villanova, St. John's and the rest. I buy that.

Hmmmm, so the worst team always has the toughest schedule .. because it "feels" the most challenged?

 

[HoustonCuse]

Hmmmm, so the worst team always has the toughest schedule .. because it "feels" the most challenged?

Virginia is picked to finish Top 3 in the conference this year.

 

[Quazzum69]

Hmmmm, so the worst team always has the toughest schedule .. because it "feels" the most challenged?

I don't know. I didn't look at the lists, except the three posted here. I don't know how good any of the teams will turn out to be (except one, of course) so it seems like a futile, pre-season space-filling exercise by ESPN's finest. I guess you could look at some ranking (RPI, Pomeroy, etc.) from last year, make some sort of adjustment based on recruits and see who was the hardest schedule. Or you could see which team has the largest difference between their rating and their opponents to get a relative toughness. If I were to make some sort of toughness scale, I would give team like Colgate a higher rating for playing Ole Miss than SU playing Indiana, even though Indiana is probably better than Ole Miss.

 

[Trueblue25]

I found this article BEAUTIFUL.

It shows me that we've knocked Indiana out of national relevance. We took there moment of triumph, guilded glory and excitement... and lit in into an inferno.

Indiana's chance was last year, now they are just the 2nd wave sent against the mighty walls of the Syracuse zone...

impenetrable

last year Indiana and Maui would've assuredly garnered us at least a 7 or 8.

 

[pfister1]

Maybe the rating is relative to the team, not relative to all teams. It could be interpreted that Virginia will be slightly more challenged playing VCU, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Northern Iowa, etc. than SU will be playing Maui, Indiana, Villanova, St. John's and the rest. I buy that.

That would be higher order thinking that I doubt they are capable of.

 

[DNABB5]

@St. John's

There is no such thing as @ St. John's for Syracuse now is there?

 

[SaltLakeOrange]

Our OOC schedule is as good as its ever been. Maui, one Big 10 and two BE teams...then the assorted cupcakes that JB plays every year to give them a payday. At the end of the day, I'm ultra excited about playing Duke twice, and UNC at the Dome. When we win the conference, the only thing EPSN will be debating is how far we will go in the Tournament. Bring it on!