McCafferey says non-conference schedule to improve next year

[bcl20]

OOC games are nice but it is the improvement in conference play that counts in showing improvement, playing a couple cupcakes to start the OOC is a goodway to get the kinks out to start the season,

Is that what ESPN says?

 

[herbyhawk]

nope, its what people with a brain knows is a common rule of standards, as far as i know and most that are not trying to start a arguement, can see that the conference play means more than a few OOC game, i mean that is why the play 18 conference games?

 

[bcl20]

nope, its what people with a brain knows is a common rule of standards, as far as i know and most that are not trying to start a arguement, can see that the conference play means more than a few OOC game, i mean that is why the play 18 conference games?

I see, so is it the bad department at ESPN that says otherwise? I'm assuming the recruiting department at ESPN believes that conference season is meaningless.

 

[ssckelley]

What difference does it make if it's conference vs. non-conference?

It sounds like you're saying that in the Big Ten, Iowa can compete. But if it's an OOC game against a Big XII opponent, it's going to be an L, so don't schedule the game.

Because you use the OOC to prepare for the conference schedule. Iowa is playing Michigan no matter what, that is not up for debate it is scheduling those tougher teams that are in other conferences that we are debating here.

The only thing I would say is that Iowa may be a better team in January than in November or December, but you could potentially say the same thing about any of our opponents.

I would hope Iowa is a better team by the time they get into conference play.

Bottom line they need to use the OOC to help prepare them for conference play, be able to work on things against an opponent you should be able to beat. Yeah a few challenging ones along the way is good.

We go around and around about this in football as well. In football they sometimes use the OOC to help get bowl eligible and in basketball you use it to help get you into the tournament. Had Iowa taken care of the OOC this year and went 10-3 instead of 8-5 we would be looking at Iowa as a bubble team at 15-10 overall.

 

[AdamHawk]

I think some people had a little comprehension problem when they read that article. Fran did not come out and say he wants to schedule Kansas and Arizona next year. He didn't even say that he wanted to ramp up the schedule at all yet. In fact, he said the same thing a lot of you guys are. He said if they are not very good, 'then you back it down a little bit and give yourself a chance to get some momentum, get some wins and develop your young guys.'

If (hypothetically) Iowa were to win 20 games next year, THEN maybe ramp the schedule up a bit. Say a few years down the road and Iowa has put together a few NCAA tourney teams on the court (again, hypothetically), at that point maybe schedule a Kansas or Arizona, etc. Some of you guys make it sound like he wants to have a top 10 SOS next year. Relax.

 

[IowaHawk24]

Am I the only who thinks we don't need a tougher schedule yet? I am skeptical we finish this season over .500. Let's accomplish that, then worry about bolstering our SOS.

No, you're not. I took something different out of the scheduling portion of his presser. Fran wants to schedule based on his team. He clearly noted that its good to avoid a tough non-conf schedule with a young team. We have 5 freshman coming in next year who will play a large role on the team.

There will be several easy games (similar to this year) that will allow him to try different combinations and strategies. These games provide a great setting for the young guys to gain experience and for the team to build chemistry. Most players will have different roles next year; there will be some ugly stretches early on while those roles are defined.

The goal next year will be to take another step up in the conference standings and to make the big dance. If the team goes 10-3 or 11-2 pre-conference then they will be squarely on the bubble with an 8-10 B1G record. I expect them to finish better than 8-10 in the conference next year (barring defections).

In order to get to 10-3/11-2 they will need an appropriate schedule. Fran will probably get rid of some of the real cupcakes with more marginal teams (still easy wins) so the team's SOS doesn't take such a hit. He won't want that to come back to haunt them on Selection Sunday.

I expect next year's non-conf schedule to be marginally better but wins will be vital. In a year or two, once its clear we are a tourney team before the season begins , then he will start adding some marqee teams so we can build our resume and fight for a higher seed.

 

[IowaHawk24]

You don't need to schedule a bunch of really good teams as much as eliminate teams without a pulse.

This.

 

[hawkfan33]

No, you're not. I took something different out of the scheduling portion of his presser. Fran wants to schedule based on his team. He clearly noted that its good to avoid a tough non-conf schedule with a young team. We have 5 freshman coming in next year who will play a large role on the team.

There will be several easy games (similar to this year) that will allow him to try different combinations and strategies. These games provide a great setting for the young guys to gain experience and for the team to build chemistry. Most players will have different roles next year; there will be some ugly stretches early on while those roles are defined.

The goal next year will be to take another step up in the conference standings and to make the big dance. If the team goes 10-3 or 11-2 pre-conference then they will be squarely on the bubble with an 8-10 B1G record. I expect them to finish better than 8-10 in the conference next year (barring defections).

In order to get to 10-3/11-2 they will need an appropriate schedule. Fran will probably get rid of some of the real cupcakes with more marginal teams (still easy wins) so the team's SOS doesn't take such a hit. He won't want that to come back to haunt them on Selection Sunday.

I expect next year's non-conf schedule to be marginally better but wins will be vital. In a year or two, once its clear we are a tourney team before the season begins , then he will start adding some marqee teams so we can build our resume and fight for a higher seed.

If Iowa goes 8-10 in the B10 they aren't going to be on the bubble if they haven't beat anybody in the non-conference portion of the season. This isn't 1992, 20 wins doesn't mean a thing if you don't have quality wins. If we play a garbage non-conference schedule and go about .500 in conference we will find ourselves in a situation similar to Va Tech's usual spot on the outside looking in.

 

[IowaHawk24]

If Iowa goes 8-10 in the B10 they aren't going to be on the bubble if they haven't beat anybody in the non-conference portion of the season. This isn't 1992, 20 wins doesn't mean a thing if you don't have quality wins. If we play a garbage non-conference schedule and go about .500 in conference we will find ourselves in a situation similar to Va Tech's usual spot on the outside looking in.

I disagree with you. On the bubble means you are on the edge of making the tournament. VaTech just missing the tournament is the definition of being on the bubble.

8-10 in the best conference in the nation will easily put you on the bubble if you have 20 wins. There might be an 8-10 B1G team that gets in this year. Minny, Illinois, NW are all currently 5-8 in conference. If they get to 8-10 then they will have 20, 19, and 18 total wins respectively. (Prior to the conference tourney). All 3 of those teams will be on the bubble with those records.

I never said anything about not having a quality win in the non-conference. At the very least Iowa will play ISU, an ACC team, and 1 or 2 quality teams in the Cancun tournament. They are good for multiple quality wins in conference, especially if they win 8 games. If they win 8 conference games you can almost guarantee they beat 1 or 2 ranked teams at home and get a quality win on the road.