brooklyn brownstone said:

Also, isn't K. GIll heading the committee or something? A10 tourney tile or bust. August 29.

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Vice chair of committee 24-25'. Chair in 25-26'.

spiderman said:

looking back, our schedules are almost always pretty good. that hasn't led to a lot of tournaments.
this year's schedule will be light. maybe that's by design.

maybe the staff reads this board and sees us complain about the 57% winning percentage. "you want a better winning percentage ... ok we'll play an easier schedule".

and maybe it'll work. maybe we'll put up a gaudy record and generate some enthusiasm. maybe come conference time we'll have lines out to the parking lot of the RC.

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Lot of maybes. maybe that non D1 game will be the most exciting game of the year with back & forth crazy plays that get Top 10 of the week highligts on espn.

believe me I'll be rooting for the gaudy record.

I don't feel like our schedules are challenging enough. Some have been pretty good. But overall we should adjust the approach imo. so we disagree but no need to rehash we know where I stand there. But where I do agree with u and where we all agree (i think)....it hasn't led to a lot of tournaments. Fact. Which is another reason to go really challenging with our history showing it's the only way that works!

Also, fwiw Mooney et al has always said they want a challenging OOC, how challenging is certainly up for a debate. But sure it could be by design. That would just be a terrible mistake if true. Based on the radio reports by Legger that's not the reasoning. And the "I need to put up a great record to keep the media & fanbase wolves at bay" is just not close to reality. It doesn't exist with UR and Moon has the best job security in the country for our results anyway.

GKiller said:

I don't really agree that it's beyond our control. There r varied factors but scheduling is a core part of the job. Working out contracts goes on all the time. That's not a new thing. Every year there are games that almost happended. & most of us r in business. We all know when someone is wishy washy on not signing the deal. Ok it's not easy. and that's what we'll hear. But other similar teams r getting these games. We hear we are "one of the top basketball programs in the nation". should be easier. we hear it's only bottom 150 NET getting P5 road games. not true. We hear of other teams riding a scheduling high off good season. maybe we just f'd up badly this year. But stinks feeling like u have to almost run the table based on our schedule.

Idk if complaceny seeped into scheduling per se or not. I can admit it's possible we just did a poor job. But I do feel like there is a don't rock the boat mentality with Mooney. 1 NCAA going on 14 years I think it's well known. Frankly the 1 year he was truly under pressure he ultimately produced. Gilly went bonkers but whatever it counts. I think if u look at when he's gotten any extension the very next year we didn't do very well. So I don't dismiss complacency either. With all the job security he's had and how our traditional scheduling philosphy hasn't produced enough - I know I know JUST WIN MORE - well that doesn't work either, I think we'd go all out some year at least once. Tho it's been clear for a while it was not this season either.

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What I was referencing was beyond our control, is other teams wanting to follow through on the contract. I am sure there is an etiquette to approaching these things but ultimately it takes two to tango and we can’t force others to schedule us if they don’t want to. I know your comment about us running out of fax paper was facetious, but do you think our scheduling staff was sitting around twiddling their thumbs all day the past few months? Unfortunately plans that we thought were set, fell through. Like sman says above, this schedule needs to be an aberration. Please tell me if you disagree, but our prior schedules have been pretty solid for our program. One bad schedule in the last 10-15 years is going to happen, especially now with NET and larger conferences scheduling more conference games. Let’s make sure this is the exception and not the norm. I don’t see how this poor schedule is related to the notion of complacency with our on court performance. Again, other than this year, I believe our OOC schedule has been pretty good regardless on whether we came off a good or not so good year.

To your last point “I know I know JUST WIN MORE - well that doesn't work either, I think we'd go all out some year at least once”.

What would you say about our schedule in 2019-2020 when we played Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Auburn, Alabama, Boston College or 2009-2010 where we played Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Florida, Wake Forest or 2010-2011 where we played Purdue, Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Seton Hall, Wake Forest. I would definitely say those years we tried to go all out. Also on years we didn’t go all out we still tried to play against at least 2 power teams. Things didn’t go our way this year, but back to my original statement, which is our staff ought to get the benefit of the doubt this year given a decade plus long history of solid scheduling.

I’m not sure the 35th toughest OOC helps, I’m not sure the 235th helps.

I’ll also be interested in how all the A10 OOC schedules rank on NYE…

sman - we SHOULD have a gaudy OOC record this year, if what we are hearing is true and what we've seen so far in scheduling fills out the OOC the same way, there is no reason not to go into A10 play with anything but an awesome record. If it generates excitement for the league games, terrific, I'm all for that. Maybe that support will translate to an extra home win or two.

Will it garner support for an at large if UR doesn't win the A10 tournament? An entirely different discussion - exactly the one we are having.

No one wants to have to run the table from game 1, it's an impossibly high bar and ask, especially because a bunch of A10 road games like @Dayton are simply really tough. UR didn't get credit for winning some good A10 road games last year (@Loyola) and won't again this year. Even if those games become wins, the committee will compare UR's OOC schedule and wins vs other bubble teams and (again, speculation on the known facts at this time) unfortunately we are not winning any debates there.

Also, isn't K. GIll heading the committee or something? A10 tourney tile or bust. August 29.

GKiller said:

Idk if complaceny seeped into scheduling per se or not. I can admit it's possible we just did a poor job.

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looking back, our schedules are almost always pretty good. that hasn't led to a lot of tournaments.
this year's schedule will be light. maybe that's by design.

maybe the staff reads this board and sees us complain about the 57% winning percentage. "you want a better winning percentage ... ok we'll play an easier schedule".

and maybe it'll work. maybe we'll put up a gaudy record and generate some enthusiasm. maybe come conference time we'll have lines out to the parking lot of the RC.

SFspidur said:

Picking up a pitcher from Wagner, Ryan Bilka, with two years left. Worked out of the bullpen his frosh year with a couple of ROW honors. Was elevated to Sunday starter role a month into sophomore season and was named second-team All-NEC.

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Bilka was named a top-65 transfer pitcher by D1 Baseball.

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VT4700 said:

Great schedule. No question about it, but if you are asking why can't we have one like this, do u really think Missouri, Ole Miss, and Miss St would play us on our court?

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Not to put words in his mouth but Brownstone never said we can get 3 majors at home. Tho me personally I don't close the book on 1. Heck we've done it with Miss St. before too. I think he said take them on the road. I've said the same. Right now that's more doable for us. Also, there are 5 other games road/neutral. 5. 8 majors total. 0 cupcakes.

This is purposeful for Memphis, I don't think anyone can argue that. Different mentality. I respect it, not relying on AAC. I suspect they realize that would be futile. Am I saying we can do exactly what Memphis can do? No. They have a good bball brand. But Memphis ain't elite. I think they've won 1 NCAA game in 10 years.

spiderstudent17 said:

I am not intending this reply to lead to another debate/discussion on Mooney’s tenure here and the contract extensions he received, etc. I just don’t think that this idea of the 24 year job security or comfort with status quo is the reason why we had a poorer schedule this year. Sounds like contracts with bigger name teams didn’t go through, which was likely beyond our control among other factors that led to this outcome. It certainly wasn’t for a lack of trying. We have to make the most of what we got.

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I don't really agree that it's beyond our control. There r varied factors but scheduling is a core part of the job. Working out contracts goes on all the time. That's not a new thing. Every year there are games that almost happended. & most of us r in business. We all know when someone is wishy washy on not signing the deal. Ok it's not easy. and that's what we'll hear. But other similar teams r getting these games. We hear we are "one of the top basketball programs in the nation". should be easier. we hear it's only bottom 150 NET getting P5 road games. not true. We hear of other teams riding a scheduling high off good season. maybe we just f'd up badly this year. But stinks feeling like u have to almost run the table based on our schedule.

Idk if complaceny seeped into scheduling per se or not. I can admit it's possible we just did a poor job. But I do feel like there is a don't rock the boat mentality with Mooney. 1 NCAA going on 14 years I think it's well known. Frankly the 1 year he was truly under pressure he ultimately produced. Gilly went bonkers but whatever it counts. I think if u look at when he's gotten any extension the very next year we didn't do very well. So I don't dismiss complacency either. With all the job security he's had and how our traditional scheduling philosphy hasn't produced enough - I know I know JUST WIN MORE - well that doesn't work either, I think we'd go all out some year at least once. Tho it's been clear for a while it was not this season either.

spider fan said:

Phantom pass interference calls over the years has been the favorite when the game is close in the 4th quarter.

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The worst was 2001. I was there and expect u were too. We outplayed UVA and deserved to win. A lot of things went against us including missed extra point, but the refs did play an outsized role imo too. Possible PI in that game I don't remember but there was a phantom holding call that brought back a long TD reception by UR. Jim Reid was hot after that game.

spiderman said:

they get one good game in their MTE and they get that Hall of Fame neutral site game with VPI.
other than that their schedule is worse than ours.

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I suspect their in conference schedule may be better than ours…

GKiller said:

It will be interesting what quote we have in schedule release, maybe none. Probably something about how hard it is to schedule even tho peer schools r getting better games.

I feel like Penn State usually has weak schedule. Look at other side with Memphis. Yes Memphis has good bball brand but using OOC to enhance that brand. 8 majors. Not relying on AAC which is similar to A10. Also notice not 1 true cupcake at all (maybe Ark State?).

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Interesting quad prediction OOC and AAC

Goo Moos officially announce their schedule...Duke and an MTE at Marquette are the headliners. JMU was obviously highly rated last year based on a gaudy record and the season-opening win over Michigan State. One D-III opponent in Ferrum.

urfan1 said:

TY. Still same problem, cleared cache, rebooted, no help. Maybe my donation check got lost in mail./s

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both Chrome and Edge?

It is all a plan to have less activity on the Forum. No need for any at-large threads this year. /s

It is a major disappointment that the staff can’t seem to do more than one thing well. Seems to have improved on the recruiting side and then a slide backwards on OOC schedule. Promotions from within maybe the root cause. Getting a bit thin in the experience category to me.

Phantom pass interference calls over the years has been the favorite when the game is close in the 4th quarter.

this needs to be an aberation and not a future trend. the message needs to been heard by the staff that fans want and expect a more exciting OOC schedule.

I'm glad we moved up from the CAA to the A10. we play less weak teams in conference. but playing more weak teams in the OOC kinda defeats the purpose.

Hope it helps. Our bar-exam passage rates compared to our Virginia peers were abysmal in 2022, haven't checked the last couple years.

Wonder of they will name anything after Jenna Ellis, one of our more "famous" law-school grads.

GKiller said:

When u regularly give out unnecessary contract extensions like free candy u can get a lack of urgency or motivation. Human nature for some. We’ve seen it b4 at UR. They can accept a schedule like this…the “what can we do the contracts didn’t come in” attitude. Like that doesn’t happen every year to all teams. Maybe we r still using fax machines for our contracts & we r staring at the fax all day. Oh no guys we’re out of paper.

24 year job security, Queally with more time on his hands now using NIL to get us recruits, you’d think actually reasons to go after it with hard national type schedule. Nope.

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Yes our schedule is certainly going to be lackluster, yes it’s disappointing that we couldn’t have done better especially considering we just won A10 regular season, and yes the margin of error for an at-large shifted from small to very small, but I think the staff should get more benefit of the doubt here. Over the last 10-15 years we have had pretty solid schedules in my opinion and MTEs despite limiting ourselves to the Gazelle group. Also, our ability to get good games was overall pretty consistent despite prior season success. I am not making excuses about the difficulty of scheduling now as other teams have navigated it, but do want to acknowledge that the landscape of college basketball scheduling has changed the last 5 years with NET, and the forming of bigger conferences that are scheduling 20 conference games.

I am not intending this reply to lead to another debate/discussion on Mooney’s tenure here and the contract extensions he received, etc. I just don’t think that this idea of the 24 year job security or comfort with status quo is the reason why we had a poorer schedule this year. Sounds like contracts with bigger name teams didn’t go through, which was likely beyond our control among other factors that led to this outcome. It certainly wasn’t for a lack of trying. We have to make the most of what we got.

spiderman said:

we'll see if their schedule works out for them ... but that's a really fun schedule for the players and their fans.

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it may not! But at least you know where you are, and what you need to do to get there. All while providing excitement to your fanbase and players/recruits/alums of the program. And if they go 2-6 in those 8, it may be enough to get them in come selection day if they take care of business in the other 5 OOC games. Committee tends to look very favorably at teams who have top 5 OOC schedules, which I'd imagine this project to be.

brooklyn brownstone said:

Even tho I never actually said play 8 majors, those words were attributed to me and rebutted because no one, ever - with a capital E - plays 8 majors OOC. Yet here is Memphis, doing just that. How about that?

This is a schedule that gets them the benefit of the doubt if they get to 19 wins.

This is a schedule that tells recruits they will get exposure, that they will get experience against top teams and players, and will be able to test themselves.

This is a schedule of a school that thinks they should be considered one of the top teams in the country and aims to prove it on the court.

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Great schedule. No question about it, but if you are asking why can't we have one like this, do u really think Missouri, Ole Miss, and Miss St would play us on our court?

brooklyn brownstone said:

Even tho I never actually said play 8 majors, those words were attributed to me and rebutted because no one, ever - with a capital E - plays 8 majors OOC. Yet here is Memphis, doing just that. How about that?

This is a schedule that gets them the benefit of the doubt if they get to 19 wins.

This is a schedule that tells recruits they will get exposure, that they will get experience against top teams and players, and will be able to test themselves.

This is a schedule of a school that thinks they should be considered one of the top teams in the country and aims to prove it on the court.

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we'll see if their schedule works out for them ... but that's a really fun schedule for the players and their fans.

brooklyn brownstone said:

Even tho I never actually said play 8 majors, those words were attributed to me and rebutted because no one, ever - with a capital E - plays 8 majors OOC. Yet here is Memphis, doing just that. How about that?

This is a schedule that gets them the benefit of the doubt if they get to 19 wins.

This is a schedule that tells recruits they will get exposure, that they will get experience against top teams and players, and will be able to test themselves.

This is a schedule of a school that thinks they should be considered one of the top teams in the country and aims to prove it on the court.

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Their schedule does say that. Ironically we r already “one of the top basketball programs in the nation”. Mooney said so himself when he was extended again. Unfortunately our schedule does not say that.

Even tho I never actually said play 8 majors, those words were attributed to me and rebutted because no one, ever - with a capital E - plays 8 majors OOC. Yet here is Memphis, doing just that. How about that?

This is a schedule that gets them the benefit of the doubt if they get to 19 wins.

This is a schedule that tells recruits they will get exposure, that they will get experience against top teams and players, and will be able to test themselves.

This is a schedule of a school that thinks they should be considered one of the top teams in the country and aims to prove it on the court.