Syracuse has the #10 SOS

[Rocco]

Enough of the critics already...

 

[SkanSU]

There are certain people on the board who will say, "The SOS is meaningless this early" ... and that we should be playing at least 5 BCS teams early on and the entire top 10 for the OOC ...

 

[NKR1978]

We're hurt this year because the pre-season NIT had no big names except for us. Cal and UNC were probably just as good/bad as VT and Stanford, but next to their names was a 12 and a 4. Had one of those teams been ranked, along with Florida and @ NC State, I doubt we would be getting as many complaints about our schedule.

 

[SkanSU]

Stanford is presently 8-1 losing to us on a neutral court. They will win the PAC-12, be ranked,and go to the NCAA tourny.

 

[BlackSquirrels]

I'm sorry, but the RPI is not a very accurate metric right now.

Just look at the RPI rankings themselves. A few jump off the page: #3 Northern Iowa, #5 Murray St., #9 Seton Hall, #11 St. Mary's, #12 Southern Miss, #16 Ohio U.

Yes, some of the above teams are good and may make noise in the tournament. However, these rankings don't pass the smell test at this time.

 

[NKR1978]

Stanford is presently 8-1 losing to us on a neutral court. They will win the PAC-12, be ranked,and go to the NCAA tourny.

That will be a big win by the end of the year. The inverse of what Carolina ended up being. In 09-10 no one really brought up the fact that we got highly ranked after drubbing UNC, which ended up being a pretty bad team.

 

[Knicks411]

I'm sorry, but the RPI is not a very accurate metric right now.

Just look at the RPI rankings themselves. A few jump off the page: #3 Northern Iowa, #5 Murray St., #9 Seton Hall, #11 St. Mary's, #12 Southern Miss, #16 Ohio U.

Yes, some of the above teams are good and may make noise in the tournament. However, these rankings don't pass the smell test at this time.

Yeah, this kind of gets me.

Duke is #1 in the RPI. So if we're going to use the SOS, which is 75% of the RPI formula, then this board should be arguing for Duke to be #1, not us. (We're #2, btw).

Honestly, to me, there is no difference between playing #150 in the RPI and #250 at home. We're going to win either game. I am concerned about a combination of A) where we play, and B) the upper echelon teams that we play. And can anyone confirm how the SOS treats home road games? I know they adjust it for your win%, but do they do it for SOS? IOW, does the SOS see a game against Duke at home the same as playing Duke in Cameron?

There are certain people on the board who will say, "The SOS is meaningless this early" ... and that we should be playing at least 5 BCS teams early on and the entire top 10 for the OOC ...

I have definitely said the first one. I don't see a problem with the second one, you act as if playing 5 BCS teams in the first 10-12 games is something unprecedented or ridiculous to even suggest. No one has said the third one.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Kenpom: SOS 234 http://kenpom.com/

Sagarin SOS 240 http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin.htm

But hey, let's cherry pick the ranking (and the most flawed one at that). It has Syracuse ranked the highest, so it must be right.

FTR I think playing in the Big East will be balance things out and overall our schedule is fine. But UF, Stanford, VT, NCSU, and a slew of bunnies, with NCSU being the only real road game of the lot is weak and it's sad people feel the need to spin it otherwise. It is what it is. But we play UCONN and Lville x2, Gtown, Marquette, and Pittsburgh. So who cares?

 

[HOFCeluck]

we should be playing ... the entire top 10 for the OOC ...

Yeah um...NO ONE has ever said this.

 

[PoppyHart]

Kenpom: SOS 234 http://kenpom.com/

Sagarin SOS 240 http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin.htm

But hey, let's cherry pick the ranking (and the most flawed one at that). It has Syracuse ranked the highest, so it must be right.

FTR I think playing in the Big East will be balance things out and overall our schedule is fine. But UF, Stanford, VT, NCSU, and a slew of bunnies, with NCSU being the only real road game of the lot is weak and it's sad people feel the need to spin it otherwise. It is what it is. But we play UCONN and Lville x2, Gtown, Marquette, and Pittsburgh. So who cares?

Additionally, JB knew he had a very good team, unlike, say '09-'10 when the loss of Flynn, Devo, Harris presented question marks. There is no justification for not scheduling up to the competition. Most of the teams that knew they would be very very good (OSU, UK, Lou, UF, Vandy, Duke, UNC) stepped up to the plate. Only a few (SU, UCONN, Pitt, Baylor) did not answer the bell.

 

[CorduroyG]

Additionally, JB knew he had a very good team, unlike, say '09-'10 when the loss of Flynn, Devo, Harris presented question marks. There is no justification for not scheduling up to the competition. Most of the teams that knew they would be very very good (OSU, UK, Lou, UF, Vandy, Duke, UNC) stepped up to the plate. Only a few (SU, UCONN, Pitt, Baylor) did not answer the bell.

Seriously, do you ever say ANYTHING positive about syracuse?

And JB schedules the same way every year, its got nothing to do with whether he thinks theyre gonna have a good team or not. Pre-season tourny in nov, usually a game at msg, maybe 1 "true road game", and a bunch of mid majors at the dome. Its not gonna change, which is why this schedule talk that we have every year is stupid.

And im pretty sure JB talked up the 09-10 team before the season started, he knew how good wes was

 

[PoppyHart]

Seriously, do you ever say ANYTHING positive about syracuse?

And JB schedules the same way every year, its got nothing to do with whether he thinks theyre gonna have a good team or not. Pre-season tourny in nov, usually a game at msg, maybe 1 "true road game", and a bunch of mid majors at the dome. Its not gonna change, which is why this schedule talk that we have every year is stupid.

And im pretty sure JB talked up the 09-10 team before the season started, he knew how good wes was

So because its such a tradition to schedule weak you have to agree with it? Solid logic.

 

[HoustonCuse]

I don't understand the animosity? Couple perspectives I've seen here and my thoughts:

1. Need BCS Teams, not mid-majors: This is flawed. If we played a 10 game round robin with DePaul, Boston College, and Iowa that would not be better. The BCS tag is largely useless in basketball.

2. Need more ranked teams: Possibly, but what ratio is acceptable? Syracuse has been playing 10-15 games against ranked teams over the past few seasons. That's absolutely sick. 30-40% of our games should be against ranked teams?? I'm not sure I agree with that. Maybe 2 ranked teams out of the pre-conference slate is more appropriate, but we have one and it was a Top 10 team. The NIT let us down in this respect. It was a pitiful field this year, one not chosen by JAB.

3. Boeheim is doing something wrong: I seriously doubt it. His team has earned a #1 ranking. How can you take shots at what he's done?? The hand wringing is hilarious.

In the final analysis, what should be the purpose of the non-conference schedule? This is not lacrosse where SU really does play the entire top 10. We play in one of the most arduous conferences on the planet. Not only that, but we play 18 games against them. We are virtually guaranteed another game against ranked team in the first round of the BET. If we make it to the championship, you can add three more games against ranked teams. The first 12-15 games of the season, for a team in Syracuse's position are for:

1. Establishing the team (offensive sets, defenses, rotations, chemistry, etc)
2. Essentially practice and tune up for the conference slate.
3. Some exposure for recruiting purposes.
4. To GET WINS. We need to bank wins to ensure a post-season bid if things don't go as well as they'd like during BE play.
5. To generate athletic department revenue to make up for the pitiful football team. (the bball team not only pays the AD budget but legal fees now too).

JAB has created a schedule this year that meets all the above criteria.

 

[kirbivore]

Additionally, JB knew he had a very good team, unlike, say '09-'10 when the loss of Flynn, Devo, Harris presented question marks. There is no justification for not scheduling up to the competition. Most of the teams that knew they would be very very good (OSU, UK, Lou, UF, Vandy, Duke, UNC) stepped up to the plate. Only a few (SU, UCONN, Pitt, Baylor) did not answer the bell.

You want a better hoops schedule. Buy more football tickets. Unlike most schools, SU's mens basketball team carries the financial burden for the athletic department. Until football starts pulling more weight you are going to see the same schedules for basketball.