Two things I don't like about this schedule:
1. No big road trips early in the season. No tourneys or classics. No time for the team to bond on a big trip.
Agree. Tourneys are great opportunities because you get to play strong teams on neutral courts on occasion. And teams can get noticed early in the season e.g. Ohio won the Pre-NIT, the Syracuse Invite (‘Cuse first loss in that tourney) and the Rainbow Classic come to mind. Let’s do it every year if it can be worked out.
2. No trips to alumni-heavy locales. Missed opportunity to grow the alumni fan base in other areas.
Yep. That’s places like Florida and Chicago where many opportunities reside. I like the regional games with Clev. St., Marshall and WKU for home-home games. This should be a constant. Instead of Samuel Houston, Southern, Urbana, how about Duquesne, Butler, Belmont, Wright St., etc. And let’s play 1 or 2 biggies on their home court when we have strong teams like now, not just for a money game but for the big upset or at least the experience. OSWho?, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan? Only way to beat them is to play them.
And Bryant? Love it! TOS to OHIO!
Couple thoughts here:
-Agree on the Wright State thoughts. They would be a good team, in my opinion, to have a home and home with consistently. Also agree on Duquesne the same way.
-Also agree that, selectively, it would be nice to have another bigger conference opponent in the schedule every year.
-I'm pretty confident in saying that I don't think Ohio Athletics schedules to accommodate potential alumni area's when looking for a strong basketball or football schedule. I think they're more worried about getting solid schedules.
-Tourney's and Classics only have so many openings. They're also probably expensive to travel to. Given that the last two years we've played in them, maybe that's a factor?
-Lastly, we all have to remember that it takes two teams to schedule. What Ohio Basketball wants, isn't necessarily what Wright State or Butler want regarding their schedule. AND, it's key to recognize that many schools want a lot of home games, making it even more difficult.