Indiana ducking P4 non-conference foes?

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I'd be pissed if I was an Indiana fan but sort of understand the strategy. Both Indiana and Illinois benefitted greatly last year by having easy schedules.
 

Don't know if they'll get this done, but think it would make a ton of sense for both Big Ten and SEC to play nine conf games and then each school to commit to one more P5 (10 total), whether that's an in-state rivalry game (I think Wash and Oregon should be allowed to count their games against Wazzou and OR State) or a cross-over series.
 

Shaming programs over 9 or 8 conference games and non-conference scheduling is silly. I get wanting to be on the same schedule type for who gets a chance at a national championship, but I think non-conf power scheduling is misguided. I think playing those caliber teams during the season has maybe played a part in less players playing in the postseason. It makes those moments less special.

Add: Non-conference rivalries are the exception, but even then I do wonder why the rivalry isn't in the same conference.
 



Football is very different from basketball. You gotta get 6 wins in football. Basketball you get rewarded for losing to top 100 teams in non conference providing you win just half your conference games. You'll be in the NCAA if you are in the Big Ten SEC.
Play a crappy team and lose...you gotta win 12 or 13 conference games now. Don't get the unwillingness to schedule tough competition in non conference basketball.
 

Word said:
I'd be pissed if I was an Indiana fan but sort of understand the strategy. Both Indiana and Illinois benefitted greatly last year by having easy schedules.
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Yeah....with 9 conference games I don't really fault teams for ducking good teams in the non-conf portion. To me the ideal setup is 2 creampuffs and one power conference team but can understand 3 creampuffs.

The flip side to that though is that the team and fans have no right to complain when nobody takes them seriously until they actually beat a team with a pulse.

Indiana absolutely benefited from a super soft schedule last year. They didn't catch the same break this year in terms of conference schedule so will be interesting to see how they do in the upcoming season.
 

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