The weak schedule is to insure that the Gophers have enough wins to get into post season play. Historically, 20 wins gets you into post season. We are half way there but where are the other 9 wins coming from? The lack of Away games so far will bite them in the butt. The seeding committee will recognize the weak schedule and treat them accordingly. When the Gophers made out the schedule, they probably knew it was soft but maybe not as pitifully weak as it has turned out. A few years from now, the number of wins will look nice on the Gopher's record and will strengthen Coach P's overall record. The WNIT will probably love to have them back.
Pathetic Schedule
- Thread starter MaxyJR1
- Start date
FWIW from a Purdue writer today:
PRESSING QUESTION
Would you prefer Gearlds assemble a non-conference schedule similar to Minnesota's? The Gophers went 12-0 against the 357th-ranked non-conference schedule in the country, including 10 [really 8] home games. They won 12 non-conference games for the first time in program history. Will Minnesota get punished by the selection committee if it’s on the bubble because of the weak schedule? That’s the risk. Purdue’s out-of-conference games this season included Notre Dame, South Carolina, and Kentucky, but the challenging opponents didn’t pay off against Big Ten teams. Once the conference season began, the competition increased, and the Boilermakers were buried throughout January. Purdue’s overall strength of schedule ranks No. 8 in the nation, a commendable number, but only if it helps win enough games and play competitive basketball. One goal is to challenge your team to prepare for league play, but winning games may take priority going into next season. If the program is headed toward a hard reset, finding as many wins as possible should be part of the plan, along with improving the overall talent on the roster.
mikecarmin.substack.com
PRESSING QUESTION
Would you prefer Gearlds assemble a non-conference schedule similar to Minnesota's? The Gophers went 12-0 against the 357th-ranked non-conference schedule in the country, including 10 [really 8] home games. They won 12 non-conference games for the first time in program history. Will Minnesota get punished by the selection committee if it’s on the bubble because of the weak schedule? That’s the risk. Purdue’s out-of-conference games this season included Notre Dame, South Carolina, and Kentucky, but the challenging opponents didn’t pay off against Big Ten teams. Once the conference season began, the competition increased, and the Boilermakers were buried throughout January. Purdue’s overall strength of schedule ranks No. 8 in the nation, a commendable number, but only if it helps win enough games and play competitive basketball. One goal is to challenge your team to prepare for league play, but winning games may take priority going into next season. If the program is headed toward a hard reset, finding as many wins as possible should be part of the plan, along with improving the overall talent on the roster.
Purdue women's basketball report: Minnesota preview, running out of time and more
Only two home games remain for the Boilermakers, who need a strong finish to qualify for the Big Ten tournament
mikecarmin.substack.com
thatjanelpick
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2016
- Messages
- 971
- Reaction score
- 536
- Points
- 93
Well, Purdue is a much worse team than the Gophers. And there is a middle ground...
Strength of schedule (SOS) numbers updated through Big Ten tourney. Teams that played USC & UCLA late in the year got a schedule boost, otherwise not much change. On a NET basis, the Gophers had the 69th hardest overall schedule. There are 68 power 4 conference teams, only 1 of which (Okie State at 70) finished ranked lower than Minnesota. The 12 BIG teams that appear poised to make the Big Dance all had top 40 schedules (10 had top 30 schedules).
On a NET basis, the Gophers finished with the 357th hardest non-conference schedule (out of 362), the worst of all 68 power 4 conference teams.
On a NET basis, the Gophers finished with the 357th hardest non-conference schedule (out of 362), the worst of all 68 power 4 conference teams.
thatjanelpick
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2016
- Messages
- 971
- Reaction score
- 536
- Points
- 93
Weird how the this-nonconference-schedule-is-what-the-Gophers-need people seem to have vanished now that what many of us were saying all along has proved true: The awful non-con did not prepare the Gophers for conference play, provide an opportunity to give new players more time on the court or assure the Gophers of the NCAA berth we're now all but certain they will not get.
MaroonMagic
Member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2024
- Messages
- 43
- Reaction score
- 93
- Points
- 18
I was just always of the mind that when you're in a demanding conference already, the extra bit that prepares you to compete happens in practice (or completely off the court) and the rest will follow as you get into conference play. Maybe that was wrong, maybe they weren't doing the right things in practice to be able to compete, and maybe the challenges were just insurmountable without Braun. We'll never know for sure.
But I bet the non-conference schedule will be tougher next season now that many of the key players will have had two years of experience under Coach P's system and now that they showed they could keep games against ranked opponents relatively close even without Braun.