Schedule 22-23

[ORU40]

1 hour ago, GoldenEagleFan said:

2017-18… #10 toughest
2018-19… #56 toughest
2019-20… #6 toughest
2020-21… #4 toughest
2021-22… #82 toughest

For anyone to question whether or not ORU plays a hard non conference schedule, just look at where they have ranked in Coach Mills’ 5 seasons. Top 30 toughest schedule (average) in the country in 5 years. 

It sounds like you would be perfectly content winning the conference tournament and playing a 1 or 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, when you could win the exact same conference tournament and be a 12-13 seed based on strategic scheduling. 

If you read the reasoning behind 2 extra non D1 games, you would realize that ORU is not replacing Quad 1 and Quad 2 teams with non d1 teams. They are replacing Quad 4 teams (ranked 300 and higher) with non D1 teams.
 

At the end of the day, ORU is going to be favored by double digits against a Quad 4 team at home, and get hurt on the net ranking. Or they can be favored by double digits against a non D1 team at home, and not get hurt on the net ranking.  Why would anyone choose the former?

You're right! you got me. Excellent points!!! Based on our strategic scheduling and conference championships in those 5 years we got great seeds in those 5 NCAA tournaments! 

Oh, hold on... we were a #15 seed the only one of those strategic scheduling years that we actually made the tournament and apparently, we had the #4 toughest OOC schedule in the country that year. But still a #15 seed????

I just want to see us play good games, where we can see what works and what doesn't against good competition that's how you improve. We all want to be Joe Lunardi and we all watch selection Sunday, but if you aren't doing the basics, playing D, rebounding, etc... all the NCAA stuff is absolutely irrelevant. ORU needs to focus on being a good solid fundamental team that can win the summit tourney. Then we can worry about how to improve our seeding.

And yes, I would be perfectly content winning the conference tournament and playing a 1 or 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, because it would mean we won the conference tournament! Once we've done that for a few years then we can worry about our seeding. 

 

 

[GoldenEagleFan]

10 hours ago, ORU40 said:

Oh, hold on... we were a #15 seed the only one of those strategic scheduling years that we actually made the tournament and apparently, we had the #4 toughest OOC schedule in the country that year. But still a #15 seed????

Ok that’s my fault for assuming you knew that you can’t go 0-5 against that #4 OOC schedule and you can’t finish 4th in a weak conference and expect to be anything higher than a #15/16 seed. 
 

Do you think SDSU wishes it scheduled a non D1 game at home last year instead of doing a series with the 324th worst team in the country in Idaho? They would have been a single digit seed had they done that and not scheduled and lost that game. 

I look at this OOC schedule and I see 7 home games. 8 games in the city of Tulsa, and 10 games in the states of Oklahoma and Texas. I see a road game against a consensus top 3 team in the country. I see three other road games against mid major teams that are consistently NCAA tournament teams. 

At the end of the day, the Summit League, like it or not, is 75% full of bad teams on paper. Which means there’s a good chance you end up having a “Bad Loss” on the résumé, which would void out any OOC scheduling in the eyes of the committee. But IF you can make it through the Summit League without a Bad Loss, and you win the conference tournament, wouldn’t you be kicking yourself as a coaching staff for not doing everything in your power to give your kids the best chance possible to win a game (or games) in the NCAA Tournament? And if that is simply by playing two more local D2 schools and helping their programs out with a check, wouldn’t you do it? I guess you wouldn’t, but I would. 

[oruvoice]

The argument that "nobody will play us", is simply nonsense. Show me one other D-1 program that is playing 4 NAIA/D-2 teams. I'll wait.

Yes, it may be difficult to make the schedule, but that's why these people are being paid. 

But, I guess the good news is that we are already 4-0 before the season begins and when we get to 20 wins, everyone can pound their chest and brag about a "20-win season". 

[theeagleman5]

TheEagleman kind of sides with Voice on this one....hard to believe Top 150 schools are afraid of ORU.....we show some decent potential this season but aren't THAT good.....

[GoldenEagleFan]

21 minutes ago, oruvoice said:

Yes, it may be difficult to make the schedule, but that's why these people are being paid. 

I’ve never seen anyone fired for not making a good schedule. But I’ve seen plenty of coaches fired for not winning. So tell me again “why these people are being paid”. 

[GoldenEagleFan]

30 minutes ago, oruvoice said:

But, I guess the good news is that we are already 4-0 before the season begins and when we get to 20 wins, everyone can pound their chest and brag about a "20-win season". 

To take this point a little further, I bet no one on this board, or better yet I bet no casual fan of ORU remembers that during our Sweet Sixteen season, we did not get our first D1 win until Jan 2. Yet we were 3-5 going into conference play that year. What I’m trying to say is exactly what you said: no one says at the end of a 20-win season “but wait… some of those 20 wins were against D2 schools.” 
 

Actually I guess the only ones that do are the same ones who whine and moan about everything, so just par for the course!

[oruvoice]

20 minutes ago, GoldenEagleFan said:

To take this point a little further, I bet no one on this board, or better yet I bet no casual fan of ORU remembers that during our Sweet Sixteen season, we did not get our first D1 win until Jan 2. Yet we were 3-5 going into conference play that year. What I’m trying to say is exactly what you said: no one says at the end of a 20-win season “but wait… some of those 20 wins were against D2 schools.” 
 

Actually I guess the only ones that do are the same ones who whine and moan about everything, so just par for the course!

Some people see what they want to see, about any subject. 

Some people see things as they are. 

My main point is the narrative that "we just couldn't get anyone to play us", set forth by those in charge, is simply not true. It's lazy and disingenous. But, in this case...not surprising. 

[Old Titan]

TU released their non-conference schedule today, and it's a bit of a dumpster fire.

• Only 12 games scheduled before Jan 1 (compared to ORU's ambitious 16 games over that same time). 
• Lone home game in November is 11/12 vs. Jackson State, then it's four road games spread over the next three weeks before ORU visits the Reynolds Center on 12/3. 
• Last game before hosting ORU is 8 days earlier on Black Friday vs. OSU in Stillwater. 

Bold Prediction:  since the Hurlicane have only 29 games currently scheduled, with NO non-D1 games, I will wager they eventually announce a Bacone-ish warm-up home game some time that week between facing the Cowboys and the Golden Eagles.

[Keenan Henderson]

ORU's opening night opponent St. Mary's finished last year ranked #20.  Was kind of surprised by that but they did go 16-0 at home including knocking off #1 Gonzaga and Mark Few.

[theeagleman5]

ORU at St. Mary has ESPN2 written all over it...... vs. 

But then again...TheEagleman has always been an optimist....Maybe if the game was in December but November is still the heart of college football season for ESPN....

[Bogus Smith]

Toughness....Coach teaches well, for sure!

 

[Bogus Smith]

On 9/25/2022 at 3:22 PM, Keenan Henderson said:

ORU's opening night opponent St. Mary's finished last year ranked #20.  Was kind of surprised by that but they did go 16-0 at home including knocking off #1 Gonzaga and Mark Few.

This will be a tougher opener than Colorado State, but we are also tougher than last year without KO.  It will be a great look at the new team and its rotation of players.

[GoldenEagleFan]

On 9/18/2022 at 8:56 PM, ORU40 said:

I just want to see us play good games, where we can see what works and what doesn't against good competition that's how you improve.

 Another Top 12 Strength of Schedule for the Golden Eagles! 

[Old Titan]

15 minutes ago, GoldenEagleFan said:

 Another Top 12 Strength of Schedule for the Golden Eagles! 

Iron Sharpens Iron:  ORU "helping" St. Mary's to No. 1 on this list. 

[EagleManiac]

I thought our non-con schedule was weak, though?

[Old Titan]

50 minutes ago, EagleManiac said:

I thought our non-con schedule was weak, though?

Non D1 games don't figure into this equation.

[GoldenEagleFan]

1 minute ago, Old Titan said:

Non D1 games don't figure into this equation.

Just like the metric used for NCAA seeding

[Keenan Henderson]

The schedule may not be super exciting but still should be competitive for the Eagles.  Most of the teams they face early on are very good defensively.  So, ORU will have to play defense and not just hope to win by scoring 85-90 points.

The Eagles face three NCAA tournament teams (St. Mary's, UH, and Texas Southern), two NIT teams (Utah State and Missouri State) and Liberty (won over 20 games last year).  Also, when ORU faces Houston early on, they will most likely be going against a top five team.  Yes, it is missing the big-name schools but overall, the schedule is pretty solid.