"as well as Southern Illinois and North Texas as members of the Missouri Valley Conference."
Is it just me??
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
James Madison
Austin Peay Home game is Friday November 12th.
https://twitter.com/GovsMBB/status/1427365719247921155
SIU @ San Francisco on December 22nd
Missouri State announced its noncon schedule today and they landed a nice home game against BYU. Overall, though, the Bears have the weakest non-con schedule among the expected league contenders (Drake, Loyola and UNI have very strong ones).
Speaking of home schedules, I'm a bit concerned that with the Saint Louis game bumped, Southern's home slate is going to look like some of the ones from the previous regime. The Salukis' MTE (Paradise Jam) and road slate (at Tulsa, at San Francisco, etc.) are pretty solid, but it would be really nice if they could somehow get at least one marquee-sh non-con home game.
Missouri State announced its noncon schedule today and they landed a nice home game against BYU. Overall, though, the Bears have the weakest non-con schedule among the expected league contenders (Drake, Loyola and UNI have very strong ones).
Speaking of home schedules, I'm a bit concerned that with the Saint Louis game bumped, Southern's home slate is going to look like some of the ones from the previous regime. The Salukis' MTE (Paradise Jam) and road slate (at Tulsa, at San Francisco, etc.) are pretty solid, but it would be really nice if they could somehow get at least one marquee-sh non-con home game.
Let us remember the SLU home game was canceled due to the leadership of MVC, not BM’s fault.
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
James Madison
Missouri State announced its noncon schedule today and they landed a nice home game against BYU. Overall, though, the Bears have the weakest non-con schedule among the expected league contenders (Drake, Loyola and UNI have very strong ones).
Speaking of home schedules, I'm a bit concerned that with the Saint Louis game bumped, Southern's home slate is going to look like some of the ones from the previous regime. The Salukis' MTE (Paradise Jam) and road slate (at Tulsa, at San Francisco, etc.) are pretty solid, but it would be really nice if they could somehow get at least one marquee-sh non-con home game.
Let us remember the SLU home game was canceled due to the leadership of MVC, not BM’s fault.
That's true. Furthermore, it's always been hard to get teams to come to Carbondale, and getting teams from peer-or-better conferences to play on a midmajor's floor has only become more difficult as the power conferences have gotten even more "business-minded" in recent years. It's made the sport worse and stacked the deck to an obnoxious extent.
That said ... other MVC schools have gotten some decent home games here and there, and it's on the Saluki Athletic Dept. to do whatever they can (which I'm sure they are) to try and do the same. It can't be SLU-or-bust every year when it comes to bringing a quality opponent to town.
I don't want to ruffle anyone's feathers, because I am EXTREMELY high on this team in the near future, if not THIS season, but we must remember that this team is under .500 over the last 2 seasons. It's not like we have earned the right to play the big boys just yet. Teams much weaker than us get games bc it's a pretty easy win. Mid Major teams much better than us get games bc a loss to them is not a crushing blow to their NCAA tourny hopes or seeding. SIU, unfortunately, is in between those teams.
That being said, I fully expect, after a successful season where they knock off a couple of the top teams in the league and look near dominant at times, you'll see a much better schedule next season and thereafter.
I am OK with an easier schedule after COVID season and a half.
But hopefully next year's features a few buy games at P5 schools and hopefully this is the last year they have a non-D1 school on the schedule.
SIU needs to win games so I’m fine with an easier schedule as long as they’re winning those easy games. Drake played a cupcake schedule last year and gained a ton of momentum for their program. That’s not to say Drake isn’t talented at all, they won an NCAA Tourney game, but their schedule last year was no better than this schedule.
A schedule like this would be unacceptable if SIU was coming off a great season and trying to build further momentum. Or like the last regime was doing and padding wins just to save their jobs to make up for the poor recruiting/coaching.
SIU needs to win games so I’m fine with an easier schedule as long as they’re winning those easy games. Drake played a cupcake schedule last year and gained a ton of momentum for their program. That’s not to say Drake isn’t talented at all, they won an NCAA Tourney game, but their schedule last year was no better than this schedule.
A schedule like this would be unacceptable if SIU was coming off a great season and trying to build further momentum. Or like the last regime was doing and padding wins just to save their jobs to make up for the poor recruiting/coaching.
I'm guessing most Saluki fans would generally agree with this, and I don't entirely disagree, but I'm going to push back a bit because:
1. Drake won a gazillion games in a row last year and still barely got into the field. It's certainly no scheduling model to follow for a team that wants to play meaningful basketball in March.
2. This year should be about more than building momentum for the program, IMO. Yes, that's part of what you'd like to see, but you also have Marcus Domask and Lance Jones as juniors, and quite a few promising pieces around them. I'm hopeful a longer window of success is coming under Mullins, but you can't take for granted in this era that those two will both be around and healthy for fourth (or fifth because of COVID) seasons, and while there seems to be young talent to work with, those guys have to prove themselves. Oh, and by the way, it's been a LONG time since SIU played postseason basketball ... there needs to be some urgency.
3. My earlier point was about the home schedule in particular, which seems like it will be quite soft, from what we know. If we're talking about building momentum, giving the fans a home game or two to be excited about before Valley play would be part of that equation. It also would help boost attendance.
I think some of the fanbase does not know/understand/appreciate the mindset of Bryan Mullins. As he puts it, "we expect to win every game that we play". It's just that simple. The coach who sold BQUE sauce in the lobby of the Arena was always full of BS excuses for losing (none of which involved his coaching ability). We are not in that place anymore. Bryan Mullins is not afraid to schedule anyone.
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
James Madison
Does anyone have an idea of when the final schedule might be published?
Does anyone have an idea of when the final schedule might be published?
Has to be coming soon. I think 233 of 358 teams have released schedules as of now according to @TheD1Docket on Twitter.
I saw that, which is why I was asking. Not that it's a bad thing the schedule isn't finalized but I think most posters would agree, and my wife would champion the fact, that I lack patience at times. LOL
