WSU VERSUS ALABAMA A&M

[SubGod22]

Agreed about the RPI killer being played in mid December.

It's a game like this that totally cancels out the RPI benefactors of a UConn or SDSU.

The real sad part is that Drake and Bradley are projected to hurt our RPI twice as bad.

There are only 4 Valley teams currently in the RPI 150 and 4 that are 200+. That's not good at all. I know there's still some time for things to fluctuate but conference play starts in a couple weeks and I'm not sure how much "big" movement is left.

Not a strong conference this year. Shox must take care of business as we aren't going to get much help.

[KC Shox]

This game stinks, I'd rather GM schedule another D2 program that would not count against the RPI than this freakin game. It will do nothing to prepare us for harder teams. If we don't win by 50 I'll throw a brick at my new Sony LED-LCD flat screen! :D

[ShockTalk]

I know there are different services out there, but CBS Sportsline RPI has AA&M ranked 345 out of 346 Division I teams. The only team lower, New Orleans, is 5-0, but hasn't played another DI team yet.

RealTimeRPI shows 348 teams but 3 (New Orleans, Morris Brown, Winstom-Salem) have yet to play any D1 games. This is one of those games that does nothing for us and at this point in the season we should be playing better teams than a SWAC reject.

Teams like this should not be scheduled in December. We can do better than this. I've mentioned possible H/H teams in a previous thread somewhere that I feel we'd have good chances of winning and against teams that won't kill our RPI. It can be done.

My previous score prediction may have been kind the more I think about this. We could very well double up this team without trying.

You and I are on the same page, Sub. Do 2 H/H, alternating, and you lose only one home game, but 2 of these games. Much better for the team, much better for the fans. And It Can Be Done!

[The Mad Hatter]

For the record, I don't think that fans going into meltdown mode over a loss to a top 25 team on the road does anything to help encourage the coaching staff or administration to schedule home and home series against quality opposition.

If the fan dismay is greater over losing to a good team on the road than beating a bad team at home, guess what you will get on your schedule.

[SubGod22]

There's been plenty of dismay over our crap home schedule too.

Again, it wasn't losing to SDSU, it was the meltdown by the team against SDSU.

[ShockTalk]

For the record, I don't think that fans going into meltdown mode over a loss to a top 25 team on the road does anything to help encourage the coaching staff or administration to schedule home and home series against quality opposition.

If the fan dismay is greater over losing to a good team on the road than beating a bad team at home, guess what you will get on your schedule.

So you're saying that the coaching staff reads and heeds SN. In the words of Kung Wu..... brah, ha, ha, ha. ;-)

I do agree with Sub on the first part of his post about the poor home schedule.

Heh, if the team can't beat medium range RPI teams on the road, so be it. That will just be the level of the team.

As for SDSU, I was warning people not to think a double digit loss would be as bad as they were making it out to be. This was a road game against a quailty team. We played very well against them for a very large part of the game. We had a couple of bad hicups and that's all it takes against that kind of team.

[SHOXAAC]

This game stinks, I'd rather GM schedule another D2 program that would not count against the RPI than this freakin game. It will do nothing to prepare us for harder teams. If we don't win by 50 I'll throw a brick at my new Sony LED-LCD flat screen! :D

Best Buy has some great deals on all LED-LCD brands. Sounds like you are going to need a new TV.
:D

[pie n eye]

I know there are different services out there, but CBS Sportsline RPI has AA&M ranked 345 out of 346 Division I teams. The only team lower, New Orleans, is 5-0, but hasn't played another DI team yet.

RealTimeRPI shows 348 teams but 3 (New Orleans, Morris Brown, Winstom-Salem) have yet to play any D1 games. This is one of those games that does nothing for us and at this point in the season we should be playing better teams than a SWAC reject.

Teams like this should not be scheduled in December. We can do better than this. I've mentioned possible H/H teams in a previous thread somewhere that I feel we'd have good chances of winning and against teams that won't kill our RPI. It can be done.

My previous score prediction may have been kind the more I think about this. We could very well double up this team without trying.

You sound very knowledgable when it comes to scheduling, what school did you serve as schedule guru for? And why can we not get you to work @ WSU? I'm sure someone w/ your knowledge and experience would be a great asset to the staff. I'd love more insight as to how a college basketball schedule comes together if you have the time. I mean, how do we end up playing a game like this in December? What hurdles keep us from scheduling a better school from a similar conference? What can the existing staff do better to attract schools that aren't dead last in RPI?

[GoShockers89]

For starters, they can decline the team's offer to play us and go with one or two less home games for the season. I doubt season ticket holders would be in an uproar if we had to forego one less cream puff each season.

Similar to the series we used to be habitually subjected to against Howard in baseball. Those were just brutal.

I don't understand why scheduling is such an incredibly touchy issue on this board. It seems like a very legitimate gripe. I know that easy solutions are not readily apparent, but my goodness, you would think posters have attacked the coach's immediate family members from the sensitivity of some to the topic.

[shockmonster]

The only answers for the poor scheduling is that the coaching staff and GM are incompetent or don't care. It has to be because it isn't that hard. Everyone should know that.

[jdmee]

This game stinks, I'd rather GM schedule another D2 program that would not count against the RPI than this freakin game. It will do nothing to prepare us for harder teams. If we don't win by 50 I'll throw a brick at my new Sony LED-LCD flat screen! :D

Best Buy has some great deals on all LED-LCD brands. Sounds like you are going to need a new TV.
:D

He just said that he would throw a brick AT his TV, he didn't say he was going to hit it with the brick.

[ShockerFever]

Tonight's game is one of a multitude of examples on why we shouldn't be playing this crap.

[SHOXAAC]

This game stinks, I'd rather GM schedule another D2 program that would not count against the RPI than this freakin game. It will do nothing to prepare us for harder teams. If we don't win by 50 I'll throw a brick at my new Sony LED-LCD flat screen! :D

Best Buy has some great deals on all LED-LCD brands. Sounds like you are going to need a new TV.
:D

He just said that he would throw a brick AT his TV, he didn't say he was going to hit it with the brick.

He's in the bonus...i'll give him 2 shots.

[MadDog]

I dislike this home schedule as much as anyone, but if I'm HCGM, this schedule is a no-brainer. If you're HCGM, ask yourself the following questions:

If I win 20-23 games per year, will I ever get fired? - No
If I win 17-19 games per year, could I get fired? - Yes
Which scenario looks best on my resume? - Duh!
Shockenetters aside, does the "average" fan know the difference between
Alabama A&M and San Diego State? - No

If I'm ADES, which makes more sense? 4 buy in games where we make money, or two home and homes where I only make money on two of the games? Seeing that we're going to make twice as much money with the buy-ins, and seeing that mens basketball funds the entire athletic department, its a pretty easy decision.

So we can go for the entertaining schedule and put ourselves at a competitve and finanacial disadvantage, or we can act like the big boys we aspire to be. Unfortunately, the ones that have to suck it up to act like the big boys are the fans and boosters. I don't know why people put up with it, but we do.

By the way, I also have KSU season football tickets, and its just as screwed up. How about putting your biggest game of the year (Nebraska) on a Thursday night so the out of town ticket holders can take a day off work then drive home from 11:00 to 2:00 am and get up and go to work the next day? We love all the sports on TV, but there is a price to be paid for all the exposure. College basketball, now like college football, is no longer about the fans. Its only about $$$.

[ShockerFever]

MadDog, you are now channeling the Tim Jankovich way of thinking in too much of that post. Do we really wanna go that route?

Come on. San Diego State or Alabama A&M? Really?