Jamie Dixon once again constructs an embarrassing schedule

[Warner2BruceTD]

Also, LOL at this chart from the article Pitty posted, which is supposed to back the idea of Dixon's "savvy" scheduling, but does the opposite:

Season Team Eff. NCSOS RPI NCSOS Gap
2008 Pittsburgh 129 90 39
2009 Pittsburgh 44 15 29
2010 Pittsburgh 158 49 109
2011 Pittsburgh 223 100 123
2012 Pittsburgh 209 119 90

2009, the only year with a schedule strength in the top 50 , was also the only year Pitt finished in the top 20 in RPI! So imagine that, tougher schedule = higher RPI. Amazing!

Look at the rest of those shitty RPI's. The teams i've listed in the above posts would be embarrassed and probably fire the coaches if they finished with RPI's in the 90's & 100's. How is this part of the argument supporting Dixon's awful schedules?

If anything, Dixon is hurting his NCAA seeding with his shitdick scheduling.

[Len B]

I was curious how this thread made it to two pages, 40 posts per page.

Now I know.

[Pitty]

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.

Or if you'd go to SI and read the article, you'd see that scheduling road and neutral games against mid-majors are better than playing simply 1 or 2 marquee neutral games.

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.

Dixon has never defended his schedule, because he hasn't had the need to. Anyone with half a brain and basic understanding of math can manipulate the RPI, don't hate the player, hate the game buddy.

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.

Oh, you mean the Big East teams playing in the SEC-BE Invitational, which Pitt was kicked from because they're leaving the conference? LMFAO, they joined the Pre-Season NIT too, they can't choose the other teams, what a retarded counter-point.

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?

Funny you mentioned Boeheim, who doesn't leave his fucking state until December every year. Let's also neglect the fact that these are programs that are bringing in Top 15 classes every single year, compared to Pitt, in particular this year, who is starting three new players coming off a down year. Why would they schedule Duke in the first month, when Dixon doesn't even have a concrete lineup yet? Again re-fucking-tarded.

Pitty, this spin is lame, Dixon's schedules are shit, and he's pretty much the last 'big time' coach who schedules this way.

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.




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.




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).




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.


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.

Again most of these quality games, Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky all part of the Invitational, and again neglecting the fact that Pitt searched high and low for a neutral opponent from a power conference after they knew they were kicked from the Invitational before settling on the NIT because no one took the offer.

Also, LOL at this chart from the article Pitty posted, which is supposed to back the idea of Dixon's "savvy" scheduling, but does the opposite:


2009, the only year with a schedule strength in the top 50 , was also the only year Pitt finished in the top 20 in RPI! So imagine that, tougher schedule = higher RPI. Amazing!

Look at the rest of those shitty RPI's. The teams i've listed in the above posts would be embarrassed and probably fire the coaches if they finished with RPI's in the 90's & 100's. How is this part of the argument supporting Dixon's awful schedules?

If anything, Dixon is hurting his NCAA seeding with his shitdick scheduling.

Holy shit fail, how do you not understand that is out of conference RPI. Remember when I brought up the Big East being tough? That's because from 2007-2011, Pitt finished with FINAL RPI's of 5, 17, 2, 19, and 12. So please tell me again, how this hurt their seeding? I love when people post bullshit, especially something easily researched like this.

Great post of the year, get this guy a fucking medal.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Or if you'd go to SI and read the article, you'd see that scheduling road and neutral games against mid-majors are better than playing simply 1 or 2 marquee neutral games.

Ok. Why can't Dixon do both? You know, like nearly every other coach in the country does?

Dixon has never defended his schedule, because he hasn't had the need to. Anyone with half a brain and basic understanding of math can manipulate the RPI, don't hate the player, hate the game buddy.

So you concede his schedules are shit? Great. Why are we are 40+ posts here?

Oh, you mean the Big East teams playing in the SEC-BE Invitational, which Pitt was kicked from because they're leaving the conference? LMFAO, they joined the Pre-Season NIT too, they can't choose the other teams, what a retarded counter-point.

My god. So take away the SEC/Big East Challenge game from these schedules, and you still see games against Florida, UCLA, Kentucky, etc etc littered all over Big East schedules.

As for the Pre-Season NIT being weak, i'm not sure you understand how these tournaments work. Some coaches choose weak tournaments like this year's preseason NIT (where as a top four seed Pitt was guaranteed a "home" bracket vs lower mid majors in round one & two), other coaches choose to go to Maui or the new Battle 4 Atlantis or a host of other tournaments where they are guaranteed a strong field, because they want to face quality teams. Dixon pretends to want to face quality teams by cherry picking lower mid majors and hoping a few have a decent year (then loses to them).

How often does Dixon take his team to Maui or any of the other loaded tournaments? That's rhetorical, don't bother.

Funny you mentioned Boeheim, who doesn't leave his fucking state until December every year. Let's also neglect the fact that these are programs that are bringing in Top 15 classes every single year, compared to Pitt, in particular this year, who is starting three new players coming off a down year. Why would they schedule Duke in the first month, when Dixon doesn't even have a concrete lineup yet? Again re-fucking-tarded.

This is gold. Apparently poor ol' Jamie Dixon can't recruit either, so he's "forced" to make these shit schedules.

Concerning your Duke point, St John's (another Big East team who could easily use the lame league strength argument you are making) played Duke for like 5 straight years, all during a down period where they were a bad team that wasn't getting big recruits. Didn't stop them for playing top OOC teams.

Your spinning misses the mark again.

Again most of these quality games, Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky all part of the Invitational, and again neglecting the fact that Pitt searched high and low for a neutral opponent from a power conference after they knew they were kicked from the Invitational before settling on the NIT because no one took the offer.

No, "most" of the games are not from the SEC/Big East Challenge. ONE game from each schedule is. And unlike Pitt, the other teams still actively scheduled other top games ON TOP of the SEC opponent.

Holy shit fail, how do you not understand that is out of conference RPI. Remember when I brought up the Big East being tough? That's because from 2007-2011, Pitt finished with FINAL RPI's of 5, 17, 2, 19, and 12. So please tell me again, how this hurt their seeding? I love when people post bullshit, especially something easily researched like this.

Ok, I missed this, but probably because the article didn't explain that they were dealing with OOC RPI.

The bottom line is this - Why are you jumping through hoops to defend these blatantly shitty schedules? You look like a retard trying to spin these schedules into some sort of savvy strategy, when what we are simply dealing with is a coach who consistently refuses to schedule decent games. This is why you are labeled a hopeless homer. Dixon's schedules are dogshit. Just admit it and move on. You'll live.

[Pitty]

Ok. Why can't Dixon do both? You know, like nearly every other coach in the country does?



So you concede his schedules are shit? Great. Why are we are 40+ posts here?



My god. So take away the SEC/Big East Challenge game from these schedules, and you still see games against Florida, UCLA, Kentucky, etc etc littered all over Big East schedules.

As for the Pre-Season NIT being weak, i'm not sure you understand how these tournaments work. Some coaches choose weak tournaments like this year's preseason NIT (where as a top four seed Pitt was guaranteed a "home" bracket vs lower mid majors in round one & two), other coaches choose to go to Maui or the new Battle 4 Atlantis or a host of other tournaments where they are guaranteed a strong field, because they want to face quality teams. Dixon pretends to want to face quality teams by cherry picking lower mid majors and hoping a few have a decent year (then loses to them).

How often does Dixon take his team to Maui or any of the other loaded tournaments? That's rhetorical, don't bother.



This is gold. Apparently poor ol' Jamie Dixon can't recruit either, so he's "forced" to make these shit schedules.

Concerning your Duke point, St John's (another Big East team who could easily use the lame league strength argument you are making) played Duke for like 5 straight years, all during a down period where they were a bad team that wasn't getting big recruits. Didn't stop them for playing top OOC teams.

Your spinning misses the mark again.



No, "most" of the games are not from the SEC/Big East Challenge. ONE game from each schedule is. And unlike Pitt, the other teams still actively scheduled other top games ON TOP of the SEC opponent.



Ok, I missed this, but probably because the article didn't explain that they were dealing with OOC RPI.

The bottom line is this - Why are you jumping through hoops to defend these blatantly shitty schedules? You look like a retard trying to spin these schedules into some sort of savvy strategy, when what we are simply dealing with is a coach who consistently refuses to schedule decent games. This is why you are labeled a hopeless homer. Dixon's schedules are dogshit. Just admit it and move on. You'll live.

Simply put, you're crabby that Dixon found a loophole, and can still manage top 20 RPI seasons every year. There's no evidence that what he is doing is detrimental.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Simply put, you're crabby that Dixon found a loophole, and can still manage top 20 RPI seasons every year. There's no evidence that what he is doing is detrimental.

Nobody is "crabby". It's not even a big deal. It's just pathetic that Dixon is the last big time coach around who is scared to play a tough OOC teams. Nobody is asking him to play five top ten teams. But his schedules, particularly the last three years or so, are really lame.

As a fan, you should be more upset than anybody else. I remember when John Thompson (the dad) was coaching Georgetown, and the fanbase would rip him for never playing anybody with a pulse preseason. The team would go 10-0 every year, and yet you would have no clue where they stood.

And please, for gods sake, stop acting like Dixon sat in a lab and concocted some brilliant RPI scheme. He just doesn't want his teams tested against the top competition. That's pretty much all there is to it. Be fair.

[FirstTimer]

at Pitty defending this shit.

[Jayrock]

OH MY GOD.

Seriously Pitty? SERIOUSLY?

Mike Brey has two coach of the year awards, in 07 and 08. He should have won last year too, but overrated child rapist enabler Jim Beohim won.

Let's also not forget that ND has won the past 5 meetings in basketball head-to-head matchups against Pitt.

OMG Dixon got a 5 star recruit!!!111!!

Brey got Torin Francis about 10 years ago and has Demetrius Jackson coming in next year. Both 5 star recruits.

Get the fuck out of here trying to say Pitt bball is anything near ND.

[Villain]

Homers being homers thread of the week.

[Pitty]

OH MY GOD.

Seriously Pitty? SERIOUSLY?

Mike Brey has two coach of the year awards, in 07 and 08. He should have won last year too, but overrated child rapist enabler Jim Beohim won.

Let's also not forget that ND has won the past 5 meetings in basketball head-to-head matchups against Pitt.

OMG Dixon got a 5 star recruit!!!111!!

Brey got Torin Francis about 10 years ago and has Demetrius Jackson coming in next year. Both 5 star recruits.

Get the fuck out of here trying to say Pitt bball is anything near ND.

Reading comprehension: 0

How is getting 5 star recruits and never winning anything (A BE Championship or Tournament achievement) a qualifier for a COY award?

[Senser81]

I heard Michael Lewis is writing a book about Jamie Dixon, whose Sabermetric approach to college basketball scheduling has been proven to be revolutionary. From the liner notes:

Dixon's ability to schedule games against middling Division II programs usually result in wins for the Pitt program. Other NCAA basketball coaches have been slow to catch on to Dixon's ingenius plan, as they continue to schedule non-conference games against other Division I opponents. So while Pitt continues to crank out routine 10-0 starts, other programs struggle to go 9-1 or 8-2. Why such resistence to change?

[Warner2BruceTD]

I hate to beat this dead horse, but let's take a look at Villanova. Another Big East team that can use the "tough Big East schedule" excuse if they like, plus they are coming off a terrible season and nobody would blame them for a soft schedule.

To take it a step further, they could use the always tough annual Big 5 games (La Salle, Penn, St Joe's, Temple) as another excuse to schedule soft. But in addition to the four Big 5 games, and automatic SEC Challenge opponent Vanderbilt, Nova went out of their way to schedule Marshall & Purdue. This despite five "automatic" quality games plus the rugged Big East slate.

LOL PITT

[Pitty]

I hate to beat this dead horse, but let's take a look at Villanova. Another Big East team that can use the "tough Big East schedule" excuse if they like, plus they are coming off a terrible season and nobody would blame them for a soft schedule.

To take it a step further, they could use the always tough annual Big 5 games (La Salle, Penn, St Joe's, Temple) as another excuse to schedule soft. But in addition to the four Big 5 games, and automatic SEC Challenge opponent Vanderbilt, Nova went out of their way to schedule Marshall & Purdue. This despite five "automatic" quality games plus the rugged Big East slate.

LOL PITT

Remember when you posted this, not realizing that Pitt plays in a stronger OOC Tournament than Nova? Pretty sure when March rolls in, games against Michigan, Lehigh, and possibly Kansas State will look alot better on the Resume than Marshall and Purdue.

[Senser81]

Dear Bitches,

Last I checked, Pitt was 7-1 on the year, with their only loss coming to #4 Michigan. I think if Pitt can sweep their next 5 games, they should crack the top 5 in the polls. But it could be tough...

Duquesne
North Florida
Bethune-Cookman
Delaware St.
Kennesaw St.

[Pitty]

Dear Bitches,

Last I checked, Pitt was 7-1 on the year, with their only loss coming to #4 Michigan. I think if Pitt can sweep their next 5 games, they should crack the top 5 in the polls. But it could be tough...

Duquesne
North Florida
Bethune-Cookman
Delaware St.
Kennesaw St.

I know that VSN sits waiting for Pitt to lose something, but I'm lol'ing that it's at the point where they get criticized for winning. 12 wins before conference play in a league where 20 season wins = NCAA bid. I'll take it.