Why the emphasis on OOC scheduling?

BYU and other teams were obviously rewarded (BYU, along with Gonzaga) or punished (Louisville and SMU) for OOC strength of scheduling. This has been emphasized by the committee for several seasons (and the committee generally stays the same for a period of time), and they really put the hammer down this year.



So why is this happening? Previous committees obviously had different focuses. Awhile ago, last 10 games mattered a ton. Other committees focused on the RPI to qualify a team and then used the "eye test" for seeding (hence BYU getting 12 seeds with top 30 RPIs).



I believe the reason this is happening is basically the NCAA wants better games for television in the pre-season. I think this is purely a financial move by the NCAA. And it's effective. The NCAA tournament is the biggest hammer the NCAA carries. If teams want in, they have to play by the rules of the committee.



SMU can complain all they want about how no one will go play them on their home court. Had they just scheduled games on the road or neutral site to get them in the top 100 of OOC schedules, they'd be in the tournament and someone else would be out even if they lost those games.

Yep, they're rewarding teams for the part of their schedule they can control.

stuckinbig10country wrote:
BYU and other teams were obviously rewarded (BYU, along with Gonzaga) or punished (Louisville and SMU) for OOC strength of scheduling. This has been emphasized by the committee for several seasons (and the committee generally stays the same for a period of time), and they really put the hammer down this year.



So why is this happening? Previous committees obviously had different focuses. Awhile ago, last 10 games mattered a ton. Other committees focused on the RPI to qualify a team and then used the "eye test" for seeding (hence BYU getting 12 seeds with top 30 RPIs).



I believe the reason this is happening is basically the NCAA wants better games for television in the pre-season. I think this is purely a financial move by the NCAA. And it's effective. The NCAA tournament is the biggest hammer the NCAA carries. If teams want in, they have to play by the rules of the committee.



SMU can complain all they want about how no one will go play them on their home court. Had they just scheduled games on the road or neutral site to get them in the top 100 of OOC schedules, they'd be in the tournament and someone else would be out even if they lost those games.

Last year the committee came out and said it. They wanted better non-con scheduling. They backed it up this year with a bracket that rewarded people that listened. funny how that works ;)

I think it will have broader, positive ramifications.



Eventually, schools with great OOC schedules will get better seeds in the tournament. Will force schools from power conferences to stop scheduling cream puffs at the beginning of the season and hiding in their own gyms.



Mid majors will be able to put together better and deeper runs in the tourney. Talent will be dispersed a bit more and the quality of games improved.



Yes, the NCAA capitalizes on schools having better, more entertaining OOC schedules, but so do the schools.



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Gunk wrote:
I think it will have broader, positive ramifications.



Eventually, schools with great OOC schedules will get better seeds in the tournament. Will force schools from power conferences to stop scheduling cream puffs at the beginning of the season and hiding in their own gyms.



Mid majors will be able to put together better and deeper runs in the tourney. Talent will be dispersed a bit more and the quality of games improved.



Yes, the NCAA capitalizes on schools having better, more entertaining OOC schedules, but so do the schools.



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I agree that it will indeed help the schools, but that's secondary for the NCAA. It's all about the money for them.



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SpiffCoug wrote:
Yep, they're rewarding teams for the part of their schedule they can control.

How wonderful to have the ability to actually affect our position. Such a significant breath of fresh air!

I think Non Conference schedules is one of several factors. OP mentioned RPI and last 10 games. BYU and Gonzaga finished strong and had decent RPI. Non Con will affect small conferences much more than the 5 major ones.



I did not see major conference teams getting snubbed. U did not miss out because of the cupcakes - they missed out by being 1 loss away from 10th place as they tied for 8th in PAC.



If SMU had played 5 tough road games early and lost every single one of them - that would not help



BYU beat Stanford and Texas on the road. Beat them. That counted.



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Cougarbib wrote:
I think Non Conference schedules is one of several factors. OP mentioned RPI and last 10 games. BYU and Gonzaga finished strong and had decent RPI. Non Con will affect small conferences much more than the 5 major ones.



I did not see major conference teams getting snubbed. U did not miss out because of the cupcakes - they missed out by being 1 loss away from 10th place as they tied for 8th in PAC.



If SMU had played 5 tough road games early and lost every single one of them - that would not help



BYU beat Stanford and Texas on the road. Beat them. That counted.



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I agree on all but one point. Louisville got hosed in their seeding (they were a higher rated conference than the WCC). The only explanation is poor OOC schedule.

stuckinbig10country wrote:

I think Non Conference schedules is one of several factors. OP mentioned RPI and last 10 games. BYU and Gonzaga finished strong and had decent RPI. Non Con will affect small conferences much more than the 5 major ones.



I did not see major conference teams getting snubbed. U did not miss out because of the cupcakes - they missed out by being 1 loss away from 10th place as they tied for 8th in PAC.



If SMU had played 5 tough road games early and lost every single one of them - that would not help



BYU beat Stanford and Texas on the road. Beat them. That counted.



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I agree on all but one point. Louisville got hosed in their seeding (they were a higher rated conference than the WCC). The only explanation is poor OOC schedule.

We may agree even on that. Check my 3rd sentence. Louisville is headed for a better conference but is currently in a relatively watered down one. Conspiracy theorists think the committee intentionally kept Louisville back at a 4 seed to help make Iit impossible for Wichita State to run the table. A lot of very big names have a vested interest in making sure a little guy never gets the distinction of doing what the big boys cannot accomplish. Undefeated.



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