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Which brings the question up, did Pitt know to make plans or not? This E8 trip seemed to be an anomaly. Did the sleep on the team bus? In a Hooverville type set up? ND might be confused as well but like I said ND doesn't really think they are good thus may not plan at all. I wanted to know how it worked for a team that thought they were good(but aren't). You're really being less than helpful here. Do you have the Pitt AD's digits?Comment
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LOL at counting a Big East conference tournament win as a conference championship. I guess by that logic, Dixon has won 3 BE championships out of a possible 18. Not bad, but not great.
But I'm not really looking at statistics. Its more of a general "I can't believe people think Pitt is good"...I feel the same way about Texas bball and football, too. Pitt's style of play is terrible, their games are terrible to watch, etc.
Thought this was interesting:
Jamie is a member of the Screen Actors Guild. He starred in various commercials as a child and into his early twenties, including ads for Volvo, Rice Krispies, Mattel and Bud LightComment
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You are missing my point. You are counting both the regular season and the conference tournament as Big East champions, so what I said was correct...when you say Dixon's won 3 BE championships over a ten year period, its really 3 out of 20.
So, if a Big East team were to win both the regular season and the conference tournament this year, are they automatically "Two-time Big East Champions of the 2012 season?"Comment
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LOL @ praising Dixon for "scheduling efficiency" and saying he is "far more shrewd than anybody else in the country". If Dixon was so concerned with RPI, he would schedule tougher opponents, particularly on the road and at neutral sites since that's what raises your RPI easier than anything else.
And LOL @ you buying Dixon's lame explanation of seeking out "teams that we think are the best picks to win the non-BCS conferences". Dixon is never going to admit that his schedules are shit, so what do you think he's going to say? Last year he lucked out and many of the teams they played ended up being title contenders in their leagues, and he ended up LOSING some of the games lol.
Another LOL @ your lame "Also, the need to play tough opponents when he knows he'll be playing in the toughest league most years doesn't make sense" excuse. Look at the rest of the Big East. Jim Calhoun for years always scheduled UCONN in the toughest preseason tournaments and seeked out big name opponents. Same for Syracuse, who always play in a rugged preseason tournament. John Thompson III always scheduled yearly series with the likes of Duke & Memphis, and Georgetown is going to play Kansas for the next four years. This year, Georgetown plays Florida, Tennessee, Texas, and is in a tournament where they play UCLA and will face Indiana if they win. Those coaches don't use the "toughest league schedule excuse" like Dixon does, they go out and play real opponents.
Not to mention coaches like Coach K & Bill Self who also aren't afraid to play anybody and always play tough preseason tournaments.
Calhoun, Boeheim, Self, and Coach K all have multiple national titles, and we can throw in JT3, who went to a final four. So you have all of these coaches with more success than Dixon, yet we are supposed to believe Dixon is the genius who has figured out how to beat the system and is the "master manipulator", and we are supposed to be impressed because he seeks out the best scrubs?
Pitty, this spin is lame, Dixon's schedules are shit, and he's pretty much the last 'big time' coach who schedules this way.Comment
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^
VSN Post of the Year, 2012Comment
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Here are some other Big East schedules from the same article I pulled the Pitt schedule breakdown in the OP from:
A team like Vermont would be the best team Pitt faces, but UCONN stacks the deck with teams like Michigan St & NC State. So imagine that, you can schedule tough mid majors AND top ten programs. Huh.CONNECTICUT
Toughest: vs. Michigan State (Nov. 9 in Germany), vs. NC State (Dec. 4 in NYC), Washington (Dec. 29)
Next-toughest: Paradise Jam (Nov. 16-19), Harvard (Dec. 7)
The rest: Vermont (Nov. 13), Stony Brook (Nov. 25), New Hampshire (Nov. 29), Maryland-Eastern Shore (Dec. 17), Fordham (Dec. 21)
Toughness scale: 8 -- Welcome to the hot seat, Kevin Ollie. Jim Calhoun has done you little in the way of a favor, leaving a Huskies team in the midst of reconstructing itself a tough schedule. The Armed Forces Classic with the Spartans on the base in Germany will be a spectacle in the best sense of the word, but followed just four days later with a not-so-easy game against perennial America East contender Vermont. And that’s just the first week. There's also a preseason top-10 team in NC State and a decent field in the Virgin Islands that includes New Mexico and several dangerous mid-majors.
Once again, Hoyas play in arguably the toughest preseason tournament (last year they played in the stacked Maui field with Kansas, Duke, Memphis, Michigan, etc), with a game against UCLA & a potential showdown with Indiana. Plus neutral court games against Florida & Texas. Next year they start a four year series against Kansas.GEORGETOWN
Toughest: vs. Florida (Nov. 9 in Jacksonville), Legends Classic (Nov. 19-20 in Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Next-toughest: Tennessee (Nov. 30), vs. Texas (Dec. 4 in New York)
The rest: Duquesne (Nov. 11), Liberty (Nov. 14), Mount St. Mary’s (Nov. 24), Towson (Dec. 8), Longwood (Dec. 10), Western Carolina (Dec. 15), American (Dec. 22)
Toughness scale: 8 -- This schedule is potentially even better. If the Hoyas beat UCLA in Brooklyn, they'll likely take on preseason No. 1 Indiana the next day. That's after the opener against Florida and before tough games against Tennessee and Texas. Georgetown, looking for a second straight better-than-expected season, will be well-tested by the beginning of December. If they aren’t beaten up or beaten down, the Hoyas will come out the stronger for it in time for Big East play.
Pitino isn't scared to test his Top 5 team, playing @ Memphis, Kentucky, and the tough Battle for Atlantis field. And again, note that the tough mid major matchups like Western Kentucky provide depth, and are not the marquee matchups like on the lame Pitt schedule (and even Pitt's good "mid majors" are lower mid majors like RMU - sorry Woy).LOUISVILLE
Toughest: Battle 4 Atlantis (Nov. 22-24), at Memphis (Dec. 15), Kentucky (Dec. 29)
Next-toughest: Illinois State (Dec. 1), vs. Western Kentucky (Dec. 22 in Nashville)
The rest: Manhattan (Nov. 11), Samford (Nov. 15), Miami-Ohio (Nov. 18), at Charleston (Dec. 4), UMKC (Dec. 8), Florida International (Dec. 19)
Toughness scale: 8 -- The beauty in this schedule is what you don’t see -- namely the Battle 4 Atlantis schedule after the first-round date with Northern Iowa. Missouri, Stanford, Memphis, VCU, Duke and Minnesota round out the field of heavy hitters, all of whom will give the top-5 Cards plenty to handle. And the date with Kentucky is always a nice friendly little waltz, too.
Marquette has a death schedule - Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio St, AND they go to Maui to play Butler in what is another loaded Maui field no matter who else they draw after that.MARQUETTE
Toughest: vs. Ohio State (Nov. 9 in Charleston, S.C.), Maui Invitational (Nov. 19-20), at Florida (Nov. 29), Wisconsin (Dec. 8)
Next-toughest: LSU (Dec. 22)
The rest: Colgate (Nov. 11), Southeastern Louisiana (Nov. 13), UMBC (Nov. 26), Savannah State (Dec. 15), at Green Bay (Dec. 19), North Carolina Central (Dec. 29)
Toughness scale: 8 -- Another schedule with a hidden gem -- that would be a potential tango with North Carolina in Maui. But only if the Golden Eagles get past Butler, no easy task. Even without that, though, Buzz Williams has set his team up nicely, with not just some big names but a good mix of contrasting styles -- from uptempo Florida to no-tempo Wisconsin. You can even forgive Marquette for its dose of supposed ‘easy’ games. There's enough heft here, including that opener against the Buckeyes, to excuse any number of softies.
Syracuse, same thing, neutral site games against San Diego St & Temple, plus Arkansas, and two teams that "highlighted" the Pitt schedule last season, Long Beach St & Detroit.
Do these teams not face the same grueling Big East schedule Dixon faces? What am I missing here? These coaches aren't scared to test their teams and possibly have 2 or 3 losses by the time league plays rolls around. Dixon is.Comment
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I think your rankings are overlooking Pitt's game against Duquesne on December 5th. Looks easy on paper, but its at the Consol Energy Center.
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Look at Billy Donovan's schedule....Georgetown & Marquette don't even qualify for the "toughest" line, and a neutral site game against a tricky Air Force team is lumped in with the garbage:
FLORIDA
Toughest: Wisconsin (Nov. 14), at Florida State (Dec. 5), at Arizona (Dec. 15), Kansas State (Dec. 22 in KC)
Next-toughest: vs. Georgetown (Nov. 9 in Jacksonville), UCF (Nov. 23), Marquette (Nov. 29)
The rest: Alabama State (Nov. 11), vs. Middle Tennessee (Nov. 18 in Tampa), Savannah State (Nov. 20), Southeastern Louisiana (Dec. 19), vs. Air Force (Dec. 29 in Sunrise, Fla.), at Yale (Jan. 6)
Toughness scale (1-10): 10 -- More than half of Billy Donovan’s nonconference schedule includes games that the Gators could lose. They’ll face Wisconsin, Georgetown and Central Florida in November. Then, there’s a three-week stretch that includes Marquette, Florida State (road), Arizona (road) and Kansas State (in Kansas City), which would be dangerous for any team in the country. They’ll either hit their stride during that run or they’ll crash.
If anybody can skate by with a garbage schedule and get away with it, it's Calipari. But look at his schedule:
You think they need to be playing Duke?! Speaking of Duke...KENTUCKY
Toughest: Duke (Nov. 13 in Atlanta), Baylor (Dec. 1), at Notre Dame (Nov. 29), at Louisville (Dec. 29)
Next-toughest: vs. Maryland (Nov. 9 in Brooklyn), Marshall (Dec. 22)
The rest: Lafayette (Nov. 16), Morehead State (Nov. 21), LIU-Brooklyn (Nov. 23), Samford (Dec. 4), Portland (Dec. 8), Lipscomb (Dec. 15), Eastern Michigan (Jan. 2)
Toughness scale (1-10): 9 -- John Calipari recruits big and he plays big, too. His latest one-and-done crew won’t catch any breaks with a neutral-site matchup against Duke in the Champions Classic and a home game against Baylor. In-state rival Louisville could be the favorite to win the national title, plus the Wildcats travel to Notre Dame as part of the SEC/Big East Challenge. Baptism by fire for the youngsters.
DUKE
Toughest: vs. Kentucky (Nov. 13 in Atlanta), Battle 4 Atlantis (Nov. 22-24), Ohio State (Nov. 28)
Next-toughest: Delaware (Dec. 1), Temple (Dec. 8 in East Rutherford, N.J.), vs. Davidson (Jan. 2 in Charlotte)
The rest: Georgia State (Nov. 9), Florida Gulf Coast (Nov. 18), Cornell (Dec. 19), Elon (Dec. 20), Santa Clara (Dec. 29)
Toughness scale (1-10): 9 -- Coach Mike Krzyzewski does not want another early exit from the NCAA tournament, and he’s preparing his team early with a grueling mix of Final Four contenders and mid-major talent. Kentucky (Champions Classic) and Ohio State (ACC/Big Ten Challenge) will be two early measuring sticks, and they sandwich in a challenging trip to the Bahamas, where the Blue Devils open against Minnesota, and then face either Memphis or VCU in a stacked tourney that could very well end up placing all eight participants in the Big Dance.Comment
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