Why I Hate the Imbalanced BE Schedule

[Oh My!]

While I am a fan of having 16 teams in the Big East, the inability to play everyone every year, and the inability to play everyone twice, has done the following:

--Removed longstanding rivalries from the annual schedule (see: GU/Syracuse). Since league inception, we could count on a home & home against this team that MANY Hoyas view as our biggest conference rival.

--Prevented young players from competing in some of the most hostile territories around. Within the Big East lie some of the most dreaded arenas of any player (the RAC, WVU Coliseum, and Carrier Dome). This year's freshmen will not play at WVU until January '08 at the EARLIEST. Now, the kicker:

Last night was the FIRST TIME that 50% of our roster had set foot (barring shootaround yesterday, of course) in the Carrier Dome. Yes, DaJuan & Jessie have been starting for months, but there really is very little that can prepare you for your first game there. First-time shooters notoriously have difficulty with the environment, whether it be due to the opposing fans, or the aggressive zone D, or the almost unnatural depth created in the arena outside the confines of the court. Add to that the Senior night mojo, the need for a statement win by SU, Karl Hess working the game, and the 48-hour turnaround with travel, and many of us could see last night's result coming.

Does it hurt? Obviously. Does it mean we are suddenly back at square one? Absolutely NOT. All the nay-sayers who are bashing the coaches & players really ought to pause & think.

I am ecstatic at our position on 2/27, and everyone else should be as well.

Go Hoyas!

[BigMike]

I think it is VERY likely Georgetown/Cuse will play twice a year from now on.

[williambraskyiii]

This is a very well-written post from a novel perspective vegasrain and I agree completely.

My only concern, and I know I sounds like a broken record, is our careless ballhandling and the fact that the NCAA leader in FG % gets 5 touches per game near the hoop. These are things that have been evident even in a lot of our wins. They must be corrected before the NCAAs if we are to make a serious run, especially the seemingly unavoidable double-digit TOs.

[The Stig]

Very intelligent post. Well done.

I agree about the scheduling part, and I wish we played our main Big East rivals in a home-and-home series, but there are only so many Big East games we can play. If we play half the Big East in a home-and-home series, that's 16 Big East games right there, and we haven't even touched 7 of the teams. The Big East season would have to start in December (maybe that's not a terrible idea).

Actually, before this year I thought the Big East should be a pure Round Robin, with everybody playing everybody else once. That would be the fairest way to have it, but it would have the same problems that vegasrain mentions.

[Oh My!]

Thanks for the compliments brayskiii & Stig. One thing I NEVER see happening is the Big East schedule changing to allot more than 16 regular season games. The reason is simply that the NCAA, as we all know, does put a good deal of weight on OOC games. I don't really have a solution, but perhaps the conference could lock up some "rivalries" & everyone else would be a home game year 1, and an away game year 2.

[Jack]

Um, the Big East is going to 18 games next year. 3 mirror games, play everyone at least once.

[Oh My!]

Call me blind then. & Happy to be so. At least I was 1/2 right. Now let's see how they rotate the single-game opponents & whether we'll still potentially go 3 full seasons without hitting a given venue.

[VelvetElvis]

JTJR said yesterday that he actually liked going into the Carrier Dome late every year b/c it did a good job preparing their players for the depth perception issues that occur when playing in the more cavernous venues of the tournament.

He also mentioned what was said somewhere on the board about getting the youngs a chance to play in that environment.

[GUJook97]

Yeh, even watching the Carrier Dome on TV, you can see the difference in depth perception. It is definitely a tough venue, and no surprise that they play very, very well there.

[HealyHoya]

gujook97 said:

Yeh, even watching the Carrier Dome on TV, you can see the difference in depth perception. It is definitely a tough venue, and no surprise that they play very, very well there.

I hear people cite the RAC and Petersen Events Center as the toughest places to play in the BE. IMO, the Carrier Dome has been and continues to be, hands down, the toughest roadie in the BE.

[Jack]

The Carrier Dome is a wretched hive of scum and villainy, and henceforth I shall refer to it as only that, or some derivation thereof.

[Bando]

jack said:

The Carrier Dome is a wretched hive of scum and villainy, and henceforth I shall refer to it as only that, or some derivation thereof.

Boehiem is totally the "he doesn't like you very much" guy. Devendorf is Greedo.

[hoyatables]

bando said:

jack said:

The Carrier Dome is a wretched hive of scum and villainy, and henceforth I shall refer to it as only that, or some derivation thereof.

Boehiem is totally the "he doesn't like you very much" guy. Devendorf is Greedo.

So long as Devendorf shoots first (and misses), I like the analogy.

[Jack]

I always thought Otto looked a bit like one of the Modal Nodes, only with a combination of jaundice and gigantism. How's that for nerdy?

[VictorSkyPage]

jack said:

I always thought Otto looked a bit like one of the Modal Nodes, only with a combination of jaundice and gigantism. How's that for nerdy?

jack, nerdy isnt the word -- however i am down to refer to the dome as Mos Isley.. I always support innovative nicknames

[VictorSkyPage]

velvetelvis said:

JTJR said yesterday that he actually liked going into the Carrier Dome late every year b/c it did a good job preparing their players for the depth perception issues that occur when playing in the more cavernous venues of the tournament.

He also mentioned what was said somewhere on the board about getting the youngs a chance to play in that environment.

I remember JT saying this as well.. and I would be inclined to agree with him, he knows his stuff.. I will maintain my position of only positive things coming from this game -- there are still a few things this team has to learn if it is to be final 4 worthy and I believe this game will help..


I am also pretty happy about the B.E. using the 18 game mirror rule format next year (although I personally think the B.E. should cut some of the fat out at some point).. only good things will come of this and I agree that we will probably be playing the Cuse twice annually.. it's good for both teams and good for the game

[FormerHoya]

jack said:

I always thought Otto looked a bit like one of the Modal Nodes, only with a combination of jaundice and gigantism. How's that for nerdy?

I bow to your nerdiness, that is something from the guy whose goal senior year was to perfect transporter technology and therefore create a holodeck in Village A.