There should be no concern about next years team taking it on the chin if we play a challenging OCC schedule. We will win our share against any schedule. We have every reason in the world to try to put together one of the top 10 toughest OCC schedules in the country. If there is one thing the committee has been consistent on through the years is they will reward a a team for playing a tough OCC schedule. Also, look at the resume of teams like Kansas and Duke this year, they have a insane amount of top 25 and top 50 RPI wins, if you want to compete on the top seed lines you have to have a bunch of big wins and the only way to do that is give yourself the opportunity at those big wins.
This is important because this is our best chance at a Final Four since the title team. Let's not have that chance hindered by being stuck in the same region with the best team in the country (like this year, assuming the best team isn't us). There is only one way you can assure the committee won't put you in the same region with the best team and that's be a 1 seed yourself! Being a 1 seed next year is a attainable goal, but scheduling is a big part of reaching that goal.
So far our OCC schedule looks like
-Cancun event playing 2 of 3 of Illinois State, TCU and Rhode Island (Rhode Island should be a tournament team next year, TCU and Illinois State should be alright)
-Villanova on a neutral court (Villanova might be preseason top 5)
-TBD ACC opponent in ACC-BIG challenge (likely a quality ACC opponent given our preseason expectations)
-TBD Big East opponent on neutral court in the new Dave Gavitt event (rumors are Georgetown)
It's a good start, but we need 1 or 2 more marquee opponents to have a truly elite schedule.
This is important because this is our best chance at a Final Four since the title team. Let's not have that chance hindered by being stuck in the same region with the best team in the country (like this year, assuming the best team isn't us). There is only one way you can assure the committee won't put you in the same region with the best team and that's be a 1 seed yourself! Being a 1 seed next year is a attainable goal, but scheduling is a big part of reaching that goal.
So far our OCC schedule looks like
-Cancun event playing 2 of 3 of Illinois State, TCU and Rhode Island (Rhode Island should be a tournament team next year, TCU and Illinois State should be alright)
-Villanova on a neutral court (Villanova might be preseason top 5)
-TBD ACC opponent in ACC-BIG challenge (likely a quality ACC opponent given our preseason expectations)
-TBD Big East opponent on neutral court in the new Dave Gavitt event (rumors are Georgetown)
It's a good start, but we need 1 or 2 more marquee opponents to have a truly elite schedule.
