Strength of Schedule

A good deal of scheduling is done 2 years ahead of time,

False.

And I know exactly what your point is, to pick a topic and be negative. 

False

OOC is somewhat like spring training, lets see what we have. 

False. If that's the case nobody would play other good teams

False.

False

False. If that's the case nobody would play other good teams

Its all about money.  No good team, a team like VSU that is good but from a 2nd rate conference being the exception, wants to come to Alumni Hall for a small check.  Getting MSG for an early season game is virtually impossible  because of our indifferent fan base so we are essentially limited to primarily cupcakes.  ANd a good deal of scheduling is done early, see Duke.  Other teams, see Creighton, have good home arenas and a fan base.  We do not.  I was at Tuesday's game, had great seats for $35, and saw a half-filled arena in a year which should be exciting the fans.

How can anyone defend this schedule? Give me a break. The power conf teams we have played are horrible and will be exposed greatly come conf play. Let’s focus on the final 5 games before BE play.  There is absolutely no reason to not challenge ourselves with one game with a team like a ST Louis or get a road game vs someone who can move SOS needle.  Yes we have Duke but we are not wining that game, so when we look at OOC schedule, there will end up being 0 good wins.

That’s inexcusable for this roster!

Its all about money.  No good team, a team like VSU that is good but from a 2nd rate conference being the exception, wants to come to Alumni Hall for a small check.  Getting MSG for an early season game is virtually impossible  because of our indifferent fan base so we are essentially limited to primarily cupcakes.  ANd a good deal of scheduling is done early, see Duke.  Other teams, see Creighton, have good home arenas and a fan base.  We do not.  I was at Tuesday's game, had great seats for $35, and saw a half-filled arena in a year which should be exciting the fans.

I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about here. To say we are limited to cupcakes because of our home court is flat out wrong. We can schedule good teams to neutral or road games. We've had far better schedules the past few years

Its not surprising you have no idea what Im talking about.  MSG or even Barclays will not schedule us for any but the top games because our gate is small.  What neutral courts do you suggest?  We played in 2 preseason torneys and that would be about the limit.  Kids have to go to class and prep for finals, cant travel excessively, bad enough the teams has to go to Creghton and Butler and Depaul.   

You're acting like we're a CAA team and need a super strong OOC schedule in order to qualify for the dance because our conference schedule won't move the needle.

We're in the Big East and that schedule will peg us to be top 40 by default. The job is get wins and avoid bad losses which so far we have.

When Cal was put on the schedule you would have thought that would have been a tougher game. You can't predict them having a down year, coaching changes, etc. Regardless the schedule imo is not as bad as some have made it out to be.

Actually, I said the opposite.  I said that because we are in the BE, a respectable record (9-9) would still get us in, despite the weak OOC schedule.

Its not surprising you have no idea what Im talking about.  MSG or even Barclays will not schedule us for any but the top games because our gate is small.  What neutral courts do you suggest?  We played in 2 preseason torneys and that would be about the limit.  Kids have to go to class and prep for finals, cant travel excessively, bad enough the teams has to go to Creghton and Butler and Depaul.   

You're only allowed one preseason tournament. Ours was bad this year so the staff should have been more proactive in finding other games to improve the strength of the schedule. The staff found a way to put together very respectable schedules in past years so no reason they couldn't do it this year as well.

I'm surprised how wrong you are here Dave. First off, if the goal for BE teams is to just pick up easy Ws, why does every single other good BE team have a much better schedule than us this year? Why is Marquette, Butler, Creighton, Xavier, Seton Hall etc all going out of their way to play far better games than us? Why wouldn't they just load up on cupcakes also, get their 12-13 OOC wins and move on to the BE schedule? They don't do that because it's not the right strategy.

As for Cal, there is no reason to think that would have been a tougher game that it turned it to be when the schedule was made. Remember, college basketball isn't like college football in terms of when scheduling is done. We agreed to that Barclays tournament last year after it was clear Cal would be in a multi-year rebuild

Who said these are easy wins? I'm sorry but road and neutral games against Big 10, ACC, Pac 12 schools are not easy.

Who said these are easy wins? I'm sorry but road and neutral games against Big 10, ACC, Pac 12 schools are not easy.

Right?!
He thinks we should be kicking their dicks in by 30. That not the way it works. Ga Tech had as much if not more physical talent than us. We had more skill and knew how to finish. That's the difference.

And none of this matters because we are #20 in the NET and that is what the selection committee will be using.

Ironically, it may be our competive conference slate that hurts us in the NET.

And none of this matters because we are #20 in the NET and that is what the selection committee will be using.

Ironically, it may be our competive conference slate that hurts us in the NET.

The NET is only one thing the committee will be using out of many. Similar to how the RPI has been used in the past. Not the be-all-end-all

Who said these are easy wins? I'm sorry but road and neutral games against Big 10, ACC, Pac 12 schools are not easy.

Nowhere did I say they were easy Ws, but you said our goal should be to just pick up Ws. I said if that's the case why are Marquette, Creighton, Butler, Xavier etc going out of their way to play tough games that they will be underdogs in? Why does any good team in a power conference play other good teams if all they have to do pick up Ws. Why are Maui, Atlantis and other preseason tournaments loaded every year?

Who said these are easy wins? I'm sorry but road and neutral games against Big 10, ACC, Pac 12 schools are not easy.

And please stop with the Big 10, ACC, Pac 12 teams etc when those teams would stink no matter what conference they are in. Just because these teams are in good conferences doesn't make them any better. Teams like Liberty, Belmont, Utah State and UNC Greensboro are better than those teams and would be better resume wins

This is hilarious. Why does everyone care so much about the schedule these kids play? Give me a OOC schedule that YOU want. Don't keep saying this one sucks. Give me 12 teams you want to play. Tell me tournaments you want to be in. Then tell me how much money is in the budget to accommodate your schedule. And then tell me what the class schedules are like for the kids and the types of restrictions/requirements the school demands on them. Tell me about the psyche of the team. Most of you think Mullin has no clue, so tell me how you scheduling Michigan and Duke and Louisville and then flying out to Hawaii is good for this team. You're sure early season nationally televised losses will motivate this team to play in a top 5 conference? Oh right, I forgot. You do. Because you know these kids. You go to their practices. You help them with their homework. You travel with Mustapha to see his mom. You know what motivates them and what doesn't. I forgot....you know all of those things. Since everyone knows so much about scheduling and you're so sure this team failed miserably at it, prove to me you can make a better one. Prove to me that THIS schedule isn't what's best for THIS team.

Oh, when you've finished, I would also like to know about the schools that said no to you and your imaginary schedule .... Was it because they couldn't play in the Garden? Was it because they wouldn't commit to a home and home? Because they had other opportunities or commitments? Did the dates not work out? Is it because they didn't want to risk a loss on their schedule against a more talented St. John's team than they've seen in the past? They can't all possibly say yes...even in your imaginary world, surely someone has to say no.....

And don't give me this whole, "Yeah but we have too many cupcakes...." Duke plays Stetson, Army, Hartford, Yale, Eastern Michigan and a terrible Sand Diego State team that lost by 30 to Iowa State. Everyone has their own cupcakes and plenty of them.

This is hilarious. Why does everyone care so much about the schedule these kids play?

They don't - except maybe one well-meaning poster and he can guess who he is if he ever stops beating the dead horse - and here's where you're wrong, and I say that begrudgingly, because you're new and rapidly becoming one of my favorite posters. Which albeit is not saying much, but still.

It's not hilarious. It's sad. SJU is 7-0, they're led by one of the most talented players SJU has ever had, they're coached by the most astute player SJU has ever had and they put on the floor the most talented roster SJU has had since forever. But they have to complain about something because that's what they do. Hence the constant rehashing of the schedule.

If the schedule was tougher and they'd lost to Saint Louis on the road or whoever wherever they'd be whining like little bitches. When they beat cupcakes by what they deem an insufficient margin in games they "should win" they whine like little bitches. And if they lose for get fuggedaboutit. Because that's what they do: they whine like little bitches. Because they are in fact little bitches. Something is always wrong; the sky is always falling; the ship be constantly sinking. SJU wins despite Mullin and loses because of him. If Ponds dominates he's being selfish, if he doesn't he's being too passive. Four years into Mullin's tenure, I mean sure they have four NBA players on the roster but what about the sort of four year players every program needs, and by the way why aren't the freshmen, who all stink, why aren't they getting more time?

Proof positive: last year SJU beat Dook and Nova back to back on there way to four in a row and half these clowns disappeared for two weeks. And then miraculously they reappeared when Mullin managed to lose a road game.

"The scorpion asks the frog for a ride on his back across the river. The frog says "yes, if you promise not to sting me". Half way across the river, the scorpion stings the frog. The frog says "Why did you do that? Now we will both die."

The scorpion responds: "It is my nature."   

tl;dr: forget it Jake, it's Chinatown.

They don't - except maybe one well-meaning poster and he can guess who he is if he ever stops beating the dead horse - and here's where you're wrong, and I say that begrudgingly, because you're new and rapidly becoming one of my favorite posters. Which albeit is not saying much, but still.

It's not hilarious. It's sad. SJU is 7-0, they're led by one of the most talented players SJU has ever had, they're coached by the most astute player SJU has ever had and they put on the floor the most talented roster SJU has had since forever. But they have to complain about something because that's what they do. Hence the constant rehashing of the schedule.

If the schedule was tougher and they'd lost to Saint Louis on the road or whoever wherever they'd be whining like little bitches. When they beat cupcakes by what they deem an insufficient margin in games they "should win" they whine like little bitches. And if they lose for get fuggedaboutit. Because that's what they do: they whine like little bitches. Because they are in fact little bitches. Something is always wrong; the sky is always falling; the ship be constantly sinking. SJU wins despite Mullin and loses because of him. If Ponds dominates he's being selfish, if he doesn't he's being too passive. Four years into Mullin's tenure, I mean sure they have four NBA players on the roster but what about the sort of four year players every program needs, and by the way why aren't the freshmen, who all stink, why aren't they getting more time?

Proof positive: last year SJU beat Dook and Nova back to back on there way to four in a row and half these clowns disappeared for two weeks. And then miraculously they reappeared when Mullin managed to lose a road game.

"The scorpion asks the frog for a ride on his back across the river. The frog says "yes, if you promise not to sting me". Half way across the river, the scorpion stings the frog. The frog says "Why did you do that? Now we will both die."

The scorpion responds: "It is my nature."   

tl;dr: forget it Jake, it's Chinatown.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Thank you.

Foad, Mirillac and HowCanUBeSoHarckless......you make me feel better.

The NET is only one thing the committee will be using out of many. Similar to how the RPI has been used in the past. Not the be-all-end-all

Of course, Captain Obvious, but it's the main tool.  I can tell you what they won't be using...Goredmen's index of tough games. 

This is the team’s best start since 94-95 season, in which they ended up with a .500 record. June of 94 St. John’s changed the name from Redmen to Redstorm.

From that time on SJU has been mediocre to bad, except for some good season. The only way to explain this is by the Redmen curse.

The only way to break this curse is by having multiple winning seasons with the same coach that last more than five seasons. Or, by winning the whole damn thing!

If this schedule helps breaks he curse than all the better. Until than I will be keeping my fingers in my ears and keep repeating Redmen curse until I am proven right.

They don't - except maybe one well-meaning poster and he can guess who he is if he ever stops beating the dead horse 

I've tried multiple times to move on from the schedule talk and it appeared that we had until the guy who runs this site started this all up again with this thread. I guess we know his motivations for that.

Will boil down my points here in no particular order and try to quell any misconceptions and then I'm done. For future reference:

- My main gripe with this whole schedule is that it's important to pick up a couple quality wins in the OOC to help your seeding/selection. Our only opportunity to pick up a real quality win is if we win @Duke. This doesn't mean having to play a bunch of top 10 teams, but games against teams like Florida, Clemson, Nebraska, Buffalo, Miami, Oklahoma etc. are winnable games that would move the needle in March. I understand that means risking losing a couple of them but losing games like that don't hurt all that much by themselves. Whereas if you slip up against a Cal or VCU, that will come back to bite you later on.

- I don't want 13 games against great opponents. I have no problem scheduling 5-6 cupcakes. Every team does it and there are reasons to do it. Scheduling 9 of them is a bit much though.

- Just because Georgia Tech, Rutgers and Cal play in good conferences doesn't make them good teams. Those wins will mean 0 in March.

- If scheduling nothing but average to bad teams to rack up Ws in OOC is the most prudent strategy, every team would do it. Our staff didn't crack the scheduling code here ahead of coaches/programs that have been doing this for years.

- I'm certainly not the only person that believes our schedule is awful and that it will hurt us later in the season. Rothstein has mentioned it multiple times. Zach wrote an entire article about it. It's pretty much common sense to see if you can step out of the SJU bubble and look at it.

- At the time, Marillac and Dave said Bowling Green was a good team and is not a cupcake. LOL.


Alright, that's it. I promise I'm done.

I've tried multiple times to move on from the schedule talk

Just because the horse is dead doesn't mean you have to continue to beat it.

[...]

Whereas if you slip up against a Cal or VCU, that will come back to bite you later on.

Not trying to belabor this, but they didn't slip up so no one's biting anyone later. They've beaten everyone they've played and lost to no one they haven't. If they were 5-2 or 4-3 at this point they'd have some bad losses. They're not. They're 7-0. They have no bad losses. If they run the table - god willing - they'll have no bad losses the entire year (which is not an original point, some wise poster made it earlier). If as you say bad losses are worse than expected wins then this OOC schedule worked out balls. And as I said at some point earlier, if they don't perform well in conference the OOC schedule doesn't matter. If they go 2-16 in the BE they could have beaten Kansas and dooK in November, it doesn't matter. If they go 16-2 in the BE no one's going to be asking what their quality wins were in November. If they're 9-9 it matters and if they're 9-9 who cares, maybe they'll squeak their way into the play in game and they'll get bounced the first weekend and Mullin will get fired and they'll hire some other incompetent dope. Except at the margins how good or bad is the November schedule is how many angels can dance on the head of a pin stuff. PS, the answer is seven, unless the angels are gluttons, in which case 5.5.