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Purdue Tops Big Ten’s Non-Conference Scheduling Efforts, Boilers One of 5 Teams Projected to Finish 10-1
By Buzz King
Purdue Tops Big Ten’s Non-Conference Scheduling Efforts, Boilers One of 5 Teams Projected to Finish 10-1 - GopherHole.com
ROAD TO SELECTION SUNDAY, MN – If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a tad on the nutso side when it comes to analyzing college basketball non-conference scheduling, especially as it pertains to the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the conference they inhabit, the Big Ten. So it should come as...
ROAD TO SELECTION SUNDAY, MN – If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a tad on the nutso side when it comes to analyzing college basketball non-conference scheduling, especially as it pertains to the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the conference they inhabit, the Big Ten.
So it should come as no surprise that to introduce my 2023-24 column writing for GopherHole, we start there. Some of you may have noticed, there’s also a relatively new kid in town (er, state) beginning its third year in Division 1, the University of St. Thomas Tommies (my alma mater). Like the Gophers and the Big Ten, UST will receive lots of attention in my musings as we cover all things college basketball from now until my favorite day on the sporting calendar, Selection Sunday.
At this writing, all but only a few of the 362 Division 1 teams have released their non-conference schedule, including the Gophers, Tommies, and all 80 Power 6 (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big XII, Pac 12, SEC) programs. I have broken down each Power 6 team’s slate and ranked them from #1 to #80. In the interests of time and space, we’ll take a (extended) capsule look at only the Big Ten schedules, plus St. Thomas.
Please note, opponents with an asterisk (*) are projected beyond the first round of a bracketed tournament. We’ll start at the top of the Big Ten with the best projected schedule (Purdue) and then work our way down to the worst (the Gophers), then finishing with the Tommies.
Opening Night (November 6) is just around the corner. I have the Big Ten going 123-31 in non-conference play, a projected 79.9 winning percentage. What do you think? Are you taking the over or the under? Let’s get to it!
Purdue Boilermakers
Power 6 Non-Conference Schedule Ranking: #1
Opponents Average NET Ranking: 104.484
Home/Road/Neutral Split: 6/0/5
Projected NCAA Qualifiers (8): Morehead State, Gonzaga, Tennessee, Kansas, Texas Southern, Alabama, Arizona, Eastern Kentucky
Key to Building NCAA Tournament Resume: Win 2 in Maui Invitational (open with Gonzaga) + 2 of Xavier/Alabama/Arizona
Projected Record: 10-1
Samford – W
Morehead State – W
Xavier – W
vs. Gonzaga – W
vs. *Tennessee – W
vs. *Kansas – L
Texas Southern – W
vs. Alabama – W
vs. Arizona – W
Jacksonville – W
Eastern Kentucky – W
Michigan Wolverines
Power 6 Non-Conference Schedule Ranking: #12
Opponents Average NET Ranking: 135.068
Home/Road/Neutral Split: 5/2/4
Projected NCAA Qualifiers (4): Saint John’s, Memphis, Texas Tech, Florida
Key to Building NCAA Tournament Resume: Win 2 in Battle 4 Atlantis (open with Memphis), win 2 of Saint John’s/Oregon/Florida
Projected Record: 7-4
UNC-Asheville – W
Youngstown State – W
@ Saint John’s – L
Long Beach State – W
vs. Memphis – L
vs. *Stanford – W
vs. *Texas Tech – W
@ Oregon – L
Eastern Michigan – W
vs. Florida – L
Indiana Hoosiers
Power 6 Non-Conference Schedule Ranking: #18
Opponents Average NET Ranking: 141.681
Home/Road/Neutral Split: 7/0/4
Projected NCAA Qualifiers (4): UConn, Auburn, Kansas, Morehead State
Key to Building NCAA Tournament Resume: Win 2 of UConn/Auburn/Kansas
Projected Record: 8-3
Florida Gulf Coast – W
Army – W
Wright State – W
vs. UConn – L
vs. *Louisville – W
vs. Harvard – W
vs. Auburn – L
Kansas – L
Morehead State – W
North Alabama – W
Kennesaw State – W
Wisconsin Badgers
Power 6 Non-Conference Schedule Ranking: #22
Opponents Average NET Ranking: 140.59
Home/Road/Neutral Split: 7/2/2
Projected NCAA Qualifiers (6): Tennessee, Providence, Virginia, West Virginia, Marquette, Arizona
Key to Building NCAA Tournament Resume: Win 2 of Tennessee/Marquette/Arizona
Projected Record: 8-3
Arkansas State – W
Tennessee – W
@ Providence – L
Robert Morris – W
vs. Virginia – W
vs. *West Virginia – W
Western Illinois – W
Marquette – L
@ Arizona – L
Jacksonville State – W
Chicago State – W
Illinois Fighting Illini
Power 6 Non-Conference Schedule Ranking: #2
Opponents Average NET Ranking: 171.727
Home/Road/Neutral Split: 8/1/2
Projected NCAA Qualifiers (5): Marquette, FAU, Tennessee, Colgate, FDU
Key to Building NCAA Tournament Resume: Split Marquette/FAU/Tennessee/Missouri
Projected Record: 8-3
Eastern Illinois – W
Oakland – W
Marquette – L
Valparaiso – W
Southern U – W
Western Illinois – W
vs. FAU – L
@ Tennessee – L
Colgate – W
vs. Missouri – W
FDU – W
Ohio State Buckeyes
Power 6 Non-Conference Schedule Ranking: #40
Opponents Average NET Ranking: 180.636
Home/Road/Neutral Split: 7/0/4
Projected NCAA Qualifiers (5): Texas A&M, Merrimack, Alabama, UCLA, West Virginia
Key to Building NCAA Tournament Resume: Split with Texas A&M/Alabama/UCLA/West Virginia
Projected Record: 9-2
Oakland – W
Texas A&M – W
Merrimack – W
Western Michigan – W
vs. Alabama – L
vs. *Santa Clara – W
Central Michigan – W
Miami-Ohio – W
vs. UCLA – L
New Orleans – W
vs. West Virginia – W
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Power 6 Non-Conference Schedule Ranking: #43
Opponents Average NET Ranking: 197.636
Home/Road/Neutral Split: 7/2/2
Projected NCAA Qualifiers (1): Wake Forest
Key to Building NCAA Tournament Resume: Win 4 of Princeton/Georgetown/Wake Forest/Seton Hall/Mississippi State
Projected Record: 10-1
vs. Princeton – W
Boston U – W
Bryant – W
Georgetown – W
Howard – W
Saint Peter’s – W
@ Wake Forest – L
@ Seton Hall – W
LIU – W
vs. Mississippi State – W
Stonehill – W
Michigan State Spartans
Power 6 Non-Conference Schedule Ranking: #45
Opponents Average NET Ranking: 153.09
Home/Road/Neutral Split: 8/0/3
Projected NCAA Qualifiers (3): Duke, Arizona, Baylor
Key to Building NCAA Tournament Resume: Win 3 of Duke/Butler/Arizona/Baylor
Projected Record: 10-1
JMU – W
Southern Indiana – W
vs. Duke – W
Butler – W
Alcorn State – W
vs. Arizona – L
Georgia Southern – W
vs. Baylor – W
Oakland – W
Stony Brook – W
Indiana State – W
Maryland Terrapins
Power 6 Non-Conference Schedule Ranking: #64
Opponents Average NET Ranking: 176.363
Home/Road/Neutral Split: 7/2/2
Projected NCAA Qualifiers (3): Clemson, Villanova, UCLA
Key to Building NCAA Tournament Resume: Win 3 of Davidson/Clemson/Villanova/UCLA
Projected Record: 9-2
Mount Saint Mary’s – W
vs. Davidson – W
vs. *Clemson – L
@ Villanova – L
UMBC – W
South Alabama – W
Rider – W
Alcorn State – W
Nicholls – W
@ UCLA – W
Coppin State – W
Penn State Nittany Lions
Power 6 Non-Conference Schedule Ranking: #69
Opponents Average NET Ranking: 215.181
Home/Road/Neutral Split: 7/0/4
Projected NCAA Qualifiers (2): Morehead State, Texas A&M
Key to Building NCAA Tournament Resume: Win ESPN Events Invitational (open with Texas A&M)
Projected Record: 8-3
Delaware State – W
Lehigh – W
Saint Francis – W
Morehead State – L
vs. Texas A&M – L
vs. *Butler – W
vs. *Virginia Tech – L
Bucknell – W
vs. Georgia Tech – W
Le Moyne – W
Rider – W
Iowa Hawkeyes
Power 6 Non-Conference Schedule Ranking: #70
Opponents Average NET Ranking: 197.318
Home/Road/Neutral Split: 6/2/3
Projected NCAA Qualifiers (2): Creighton, USC
Key to Building NCAA Tournament Resume: Split Creighton/Oklahoma/USC/Iowa State
Projected Record: 8-3
North Dakota – W
Alabama State – W
@ Creighton – L
Arkansas State – W
vs. Oklahoma – W
vs. *USC – L
North Florida – W
@ Iowa State – L
vs. Florida A&M – W
UMBC – W
Northern Illinois – W
Northwestern Wildcats
Power 6 Non-Conference Schedule Ranking: #77
Opponents Average NET Ranking: 211.09
Home/Road/Neutral Split: 7/1/3
Projected NCAA Qualifiers (0)
Key to Building NCAA Tournament Resume: Win Hall of Fame Tip-Off (open with Rhode Island) + win 2 of Dayton/DePaul/Arizona State
Projected Record: 10-1
Binghamton – W
Dayton – W
Western Michigan – W
vs. Rhode Island – W
vs. *Mississippi State – W
Northern Illinois – W
Detroit – W
Chicago State – W
@ DePaul – W
vs. Arizona State – L
Jackson State – W
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Power 6 Non-Conference Schedule Ranking: #79
Opponents Average NET Ranking: 216.727
Home/Road/Neutral Split: 9/1/1
Projected NCAA Qualifiers (2): Creighton, Kansas State
Key to Building NCAA Tournament Resume: Win 3 of Oregon State/Duquesne/Creighton/Kansas State
Projected Record: 8-3
Lindenwood – W
Florida A&M – W
Rider – W
Stony Brook – W
vs. Oregon State – W
Duquesne – L
Cal State-Fullerton – W
Creighton – L
@ Kansas State – L
North Dakota – W
South Carolina State – W
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Power 6 Non-Conference Schedule Ranking: #80
Opponents Average NET Ranking: 244.727
Home/Road/Neutral Split: 10/0/1
Projected NCAA Qualifiers (0)
Key to Building NCAA Tournament Resume: Go 10-1, but the win must be Missouri & the loss can’t be anyone other than San Francisco
Projected Record: 10-1
Bethune-Cooman – W
UTSA – W
Missouri – W
USC-Upstate – W
Arkansas-Pine Bluff – W
vs. San Francisco – L
New Orleans – W
Florida Gulf Coast – W
IUPUI – W
Ball State – W
Maine – W
St. Thomas Tommies
Opponents Average NET Ranking: 254.333
Projected NCAA Qualifiers (1): Marquette
Home/Road/Neutral Split: 6/7/2
Projected Record: 10-5
@ Cal – L
Idaho State – W
Non-Division 1 – W
vs. Cal Poly – W
@ Cal Baptist – L
vs. Portland State – L
@ Green Bay – W
@ Western Michigan – L
Milwaukee – W
@ Chicago State – W
@ Marquette – L
Non-Division 1 – W
Non-Division 1 – W
@ Idaho – W
Sacramento State – W
Look for our next Road to Selection Sunday column (including my final preseason Field of 68 projection) in early November.
And one last thing. … beat Iowa & bring Floyd of Rosedale home!