Future OOC scheduling philosophy

[RUHoopsHQ]

In his latest interview with Carino and Fonseca, Pikiell bitched about the OOC schedule this past season. Truth is, he should've been smarter in his approach. While I was on board with playing a road game or a neutral site game, it probably should've been against different opponents.

I don't care who you are, you don't schedule games and make promises to players like he did with the Kennesaw State game. Remember when Pikiell promised Eugene Omoruyi a game in Canada? Then EO bails on Rutgers, and the Scarlet Knights lost in embarrassing fashion to St. Bonaventure.

But, it really shouldn't surprise anyone that Pikiell wants to return to his old OOC scheduling philosophy. I stated this two weeks ago in mid-March. While Rutgers will appear in the Players Era Festival next season, their only true OOC road contest will be at Seton Hall and the rest will be low Q3/4 teams at The RAC. Rutgers will probably not play Princeton anytime soon after Mitch Henderson outcoached and embarrassed Rutgers the past two seasons. Pikiell is an absolute disaster of a coach in neutral site contests and road games, so those will be going away.

 

[bac2therac]

The Princeton game is ridiculous. The arguments for it are based on a time long gone...honestly the last RU-Princeton game that anyone truly cared about was in 91 where RU fell flat on espn losing 58-45. It has nothing to do with being afraid or winning or losing, its that the game means nothing to the resume. No matter how many try to spin this game, Pike doesnt want it and he should avoid any MSG games too this year.

I am a proponent of strong scheduling because its obvious it matters. That may change with consolidation but we shall see. However for what looks to be a rough year, next year should be cupcake city parade...3 vegas games where hopefully RU can catch an easier matchup with St Joes or UNLV and the road SHU game...then 7 ABSOLUTE sisters of the poor. No Merrimacks...i mean scour the 300-360 NET grouping.

 

[needmorecowbell]

The Princeton game is ridiculous. The arguments for it are based on a time long gone...honestly the last RU-Princeton game that anyone truly cared about was in 91 where RU fell flat on espn losing 58-45. It has nothing to do with being afraid or winning or losing, its that the game means nothing to the resume. No matter how many try to spin this game, Pike doesnt want it and he should avoid any MSG games too this year.

I am a proponent of strong scheduling because its obvious it matters. That may change with consolidation but we shall see. However for what looks to be a rough year, next year should be cupcake city parade...3 vegas games where hopefully RU can catch an easier matchup with St Joes or UNLV and the road SHU game...then 7 ABSOLUTE sisters of the poor. No Merrimacks...i mean scour the 300-360 NET grouping.

Bac,
You understand this better than most given you tourney analysis. What is the ideal schedule for Rutgers in your opinion? Which conferences, quad range and home vs away?

 

[The RUT]

The Seton Hall game is going to drop off. The future of Big Ten and SEC scheduling will NOT including Big East or basketball only schools.

 

[bac2therac]

The Seton Hall game is going to drop off. The future of Big Ten and SEC scheduling will NOT including Big East or basketball only schools.

maybe maybe not....fox does have the contract with big ten and fox and it was the big east included with the Crown arrangement.

but I agree there really is no reason to play Seton Hall anymore. College basketball has changed, its about money and paying kids and getting to the tournament, its not about perserving long standing rivalries or doing anything for fanbases. Its about power consolidation and weakening your competition if need be.

 

[bac2therac]

Bac,
You understand this better than most given you tourney analysis. What is the ideal schedule for Rutgers in your opinion? Which conferences, quad range and home vs away?

a vegas type tourney with 3 games, a Q1 neutral site at msg most likely, a home and home with a Virginia or Cincy type and then 6 home games in Q4.

this is a big boy schedule and how most schools with ncaa aspirations schedule, very disappointing scheduling by RU seemingly the past 35 years actually..they have never scheduled tough..ever.

Rutgers wants to be at the big boy plate but then has never stepped up to the plate with scheduling...and has never offered non conference big time games at the rac...and yes the rac is tough to play at but good lord there are home and homes now being scheduled between top schools.

the schedule this year was somewhere around 160 ooc maybe a tad higher...not bad for Rutgers standards but could be better and scheduling Princeton/Kennesaw was just plain stupid and I knew it right from the beginning.

Now next year this isnt going to work, its not an expected ncaa season, its about getting the most wins possible..can they go 9-2 ooc and then with 6-7 league games to not make it look like a train wreck ala Seton Hall.

 

[RUHoopsHQ]

Bac,
You understand this better than most given you tourney analysis. What is the ideal schedule for Rutgers in your opinion? Which conferences, quad range and home vs away?

If I may jump in

I agree with Bac, there is no reason to schedule Seton Hall and Princeton anymore. I was a proponent of playing Princeton, but Pikiell just looks like a fool when he plays Princeton. He can't figure out Henderson's schemes, and chances are he'll continue to lose to them if he continues to play them. As for Seton Hall, I get it that it's the Garden State Hardwood Classic Rivalry but Seton Hall is either a Q3 or Q4 game going forward. It's going to take serious legwork by Shaheen Holloway to get Seton Hall back to where they need to be. It's really a rivalry that's lost its luster. Again, Pikiell is an atrocious neutral/road coach, he probably should stay far away from these games and no more MSG games unless you're playing a big name OOC P4 opponent (i.e. - UConn, Villanova, etc.). Pikiell has got to stop playing Big Ten Conference games at MSG.

2025-26 schedule IMO

Q4 home
Q4 home
Q4 home
Q4 home
Q1/2 Players Era
Q1/2 Players Era
Q1/2 Players Era
Q4 home
at Seton Hall (Q3)
Q4 home
Q4 home

 

[RUJMM78]

Pikiell always favored a easy out of conference schedule so the team had a chance of 20 wins.Even with the easy out of conference games Rutgers had at least two losses combined with at least 10 B1G Ten losses.Bottom line Rutgers is no better than a 12-15 ranked B1G Ten team that won't get NCAA bids.Adding the four west coast teams has made Rutgers up hill climb even more difficult.

Sooner or later there will be further realignment with the top 30 basketball schools in a separate league with the status of a semi pro NBA league.Other teams like Rutgers will be placed in leagues based on location similar to the old Big East.Less travel ,more local rivalries and better chance of winning league championships.

 

[needmorecowbell]

a vegas type tourney with 3 games, a Q1 neutral site at msg most likely, a home and home with a Virginia or Cincy type and then 6 home games in Q4.

this is a big boy schedule and how most schools with ncaa aspirations schedule, very disappointing scheduling by RU seemingly the past 35 years actually..they have never scheduled tough..ever.

Rutgers wants to be at the big boy plate but then has never stepped up to the plate with scheduling...and has never offered non conference big time games at the rac...and yes the rac is tough to play at but good lord there are home and homes now being scheduled between top schools.

the schedule this year was somewhere around 160 ooc maybe a tad higher...not bad for Rutgers standards but could be better and scheduling Princeton/Kennesaw was just plain stupid and I knew it right from the beginning.

Now next year this isnt going to work, its not an expected ncaa season, its about getting the most wins possible..can they go 9-2 ooc and then with 6-7 league games to not make it look like a train wreck ala Seton Hall.

So don’t play anyone in the middle? I assume it’s too risky for the resume. Play top level teams at Neutral sites or home and away (1 for 1). Then fill the rest with teams they will easily beat at home.

 

[SF88]

maybe maybe not....fox does have the contract with big ten and fox and it was the big east included with the Crown arrangement.

but I agree there really is no reason to play Seton Hall anymore. College basketball has changed, its about money and paying kids and getting to the tournament, its not about perserving long standing rivalries or doing anything for fanbases. Its about power consolidation and weakening your competition if need be.

just another reason to lose fans. Those games do something for this fan. They are local rivalries. Personally, I enjoy them more than playing Mississippi State in Barclays, or some garbage bought game. As the premier school in NJ, we should play Princeton, SH and even Monmouth each year. We should be able to compete with and beat an Ivy school. If you can't, how do we expect to compete in the B1G. Both Princeton and SH are games that our fans can travel to for the away games. Those are trips I personally enjoy. Same with MSG. It's a great trip. The train is packed with RU fans. The bars are packed with RU fans. It's an event that brings out other fans/alumni, that don't have season tkts. Each of those games is what college basketball should be about. If you want to say the game has changed, and for getting in the NCAA we don't need them etc, then it's another reason to lose interest, at least for this long time fan.

 

[NJHoops17]

So don’t play anyone in the middle? I assume it’s too risky for the resume. Play top level teams at Neutral sites or home and away (1 for 1). Then fill the rest with teams they will easily beat at home.

Exactly. Look at Ohio State's OOC for example. Games against Kentucky, Auburn, Texas A&M, Texas, and Pitt, with the rest being Q3/4 at home. The idea is to have good metrics (NET, KenPom, etc.) before conference play starts.

For example, if RU was to schedule just Q4 games at home, at Seton Hall, and the Vegas tournament. If RU was to win the Q4 games, Seton Hall, and one game in Vegas, that would be a 9-2 OOC record, and would likely have RU in the top 30 or so metrics-wise to start conference play.

Even if Rutgers was to lose the Seton Hall game, it would be 8-3 OOC and still probably top 50 in NET, KenPom, etc.

 

[stribucher]

The big scheduling mistake was Kennesaw for Ace and J-Mike. That was a landmine as soon as it appeared on the schedule a few days before Vegas tournament. That was really stupid.

Less annoyed about Princeton game at Prudential Center. Of course, their coach outcoached Pike. Happens nearly every league game as well this year and league just got harder with new coaches at Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, maybe Maryland.

Quad 4 games at the RAC is probably the way but not incentivizing season ticket purchases as those are buy games and have little resale value. Only bad things like Lafayette game a few years ago can happen with these games. Seems like Rutgers drops to level of competition with these buy games.

 

[Mr Magoo]

Scheduling was the least of our worries this year. Losses to Alabama and A&M weren’t the problem…losses to Kennesaw and Princeton were (among others). Yes, they were dumb games but most B1G teams with two lottery picks win them. Pike has always been afraid of playing a tough OOC schedule. Even when he had good veteran teams, he’d rather have the padded record. This year, with zero big ten starters right now, he has no choice but to schedule as many cupcakes as possible. It truly won’t matter what he does this year.

 

[Degaz-RU]

I posted this a few days ago in another thread. In a normal year, the OOC scheduling strategy should be:

- 6 cupcakes AT HOME
- 3 games in Feast Week tournament
- Seton Hall - I like to continue this rivalry regardless of how good or bad SHU is.
- 1 additional P5 opponent
- ZERO mid-major or low-major opponents at road or neutral sites (which are typically going to be Quad 3 games that we have a big risk of losing) -- THESE are the games that have KILLED us during Pike's tenure, e.g., Fordham away, Depaul away, UMass away, St. Bonnies neutral, Temple neutral, Princeton neutral (twice), Kennesaw away.

 

[bac2therac]

just another reason to lose fans. Those games do something for this fan. They are local rivalries. Personally, I enjoy them more than playing Mississippi State in Barclays, or some garbage bought game. As the premier school in NJ, we should play Princeton, SH and even Monmouth each year. We should be able to compete with and beat an Ivy school. If you can't, how do we expect to compete in the B1G. Both Princeton and SH are games that our fans can travel to for the away games. Those are trips I personally enjoy. Same with MSG. It's a great trip. The train is packed with RU fans. The bars are packed with RU fans. It's an event that brings out other fans/alumni, that don't have season tkts. Each of those games is what college basketball should be about. If you want to say the game has changed, and for getting in the NCAA we don't need them etc, then it's another reason to lose interest, at least for this long time fan.

but thats not what the game is about anymore...and especially when the program isnt on the upswing.

im losing interest too given the climate. We brought back 3 players last year and 3 at most this year.

 

[soundcrib]

Can we just hire Mitch Henderson?

 

[LotusAggressor]

I posted this a few days ago in another thread. In a normal year, the OOC scheduling strategy should be:

- 6 cupcakes AT HOME
- 3 games in Feast Week tournament
- Seton Hall - I like to continue this rivalry regardless of how good or bad SHU is.
- 1 additional P5 opponent
- ZERO mid-major or low-major opponents at road or neutral sites (which are typically going to be Quad 3 games that we have a big risk of losing) -- THESE are the games that have KILLED us during Pike's tenure, e.g., Fordham away, Depaul away, UMass away, St. Bonnies neutral, Temple neutral, Princeton neutral (twice), Kennesaw away.

Here's a thought. Win the damn games.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Here's a thought. Win the damn games.

Honestly - our history is so bad against mid-majors at venues other than the RAC that we’re better off scheduling more top 10 types than those teams. I’d rather boost the schedule with slighter better mid-major opponents at home but those probably cost more than bringing the worst possible teams to us and clearly we’re on a tight budget.

 

[RUskoolie]

Seton Hall yes, Princeton hard no. It is so incredibly stupid of us to keep playing them. The 60s are gone, let it go guys.

 

[winfield102]

Play cupcakes and POUND them into the ground and then pound them some more. Hope we have a good net ranking at the end and enough wins.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

just another reason to lose fans. Those games do something for this fan. They are local rivalries. Personally, I enjoy them more than playing Mississippi State in Barclays, or some garbage bought game. As the premier school in NJ, we should play Princeton, SH and even Monmouth each year. We should be able to compete with and beat an Ivy school. If you can't, how do we expect to compete in the B1G. Both Princeton and SH are games that our fans can travel to for the away games. Those are trips I personally enjoy. Same with MSG. It's a great trip. The train is packed with RU fans. The bars are packed with RU fans. It's an event that brings out other fans/alumni, that don't have season tkts. Each of those games is what college basketball should be about. If you want to say the game has changed, and for getting in the NCAA we don't need them etc, then it's another reason to lose interest, at least for this long time fan.

I have been against playing Princeton …but with us playing a major league national schedule IN confrence….i really like exactly what you say, even if means playing Princeton

If we have to play vegas for NIL purposes …then our schedule should be

Vegas tourney 3 games
Home and home with Seton hall and Princeton
6 cupcakes (and two should be NJ locals ) at the RAC

And when we good enough , give up a cupcake ar the RAC for a stand alone game at the garden ….

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I have been against playing Princeton …but with us playing a major league national schedule IN confrence….i really like exactly what you say, even if means playing Princeton

If we have to play vegas for NIL purposes …then our schedule should be

Vegas tourney 3 games
Home and home with Seton hall and Princeton
6 cupcakes (and two should be NJ locals ) at the RAC

And when we good enough , give up a cupcake ar the RAC for a stand alone game at the garden ….

I’m not crazy about Princeton on the schedule, but I’d much rather a 2 for 1 home and away with them if they’d agree to that than a standing neutral game if we have to play them. I don’t want any more one off road or neutral games against non-local teams like Temple, St Bonnies, Kennesaw etc. but I’m ok with going to Princeton once every 3 years in place of 3 money games that we are paying for. Thats going to be a factor now too, by the way. The net of what it costs to bring an opponent to the RAC and the revenue from the game.

 

[bac2therac]

Stockholm syndrome with respect to Princeton

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Stockholm syndrome with respect to Princeton

I certainly don’t have it, but I’d be okay with a 2 for 1 with most halfway decent midmajors if they’d agree to it. Princeton would be attractive since we wouldn’t have to go far. I would not agree to a straight up home and home. That would be ridiculous.

 

[RUDivision]

Exactly. Look at Ohio State's OOC for example. Games against Kentucky, Auburn, Texas A&M, Texas, and Pitt, with the rest being Q3/4 at home. The idea is to have good metrics (NET, KenPom, etc.) before conference play starts.
You assume Pike doesn’t lose 1 or 2 of those Q4 games. History says other wise
For example, if RU was to schedule just Q4 games at home, at Seton Hall, and the Vegas tournament. If RU was to win the Q4 games, Seton Hall, and one game in Vegas, that would be a 9-2 OOC record, and would likely have RU in the top 30 or so metrics-wise to start conference play.

Even if Rutgers was to lose the Seton Hall game, it would be 8-3 OOC and still probably top 50 in NET, KenPom, etc.

 

[cm_13]

I will never understand why we decided to make our first true road game with a freshmen led team a Q3 game in what was basically a high school gym.

 

[RUHoopsHQ]

I posted this a few days ago in another thread. In a normal year, the OOC scheduling strategy should be:

- 6 cupcakes AT HOME
- 3 games in Feast Week tournament
- Seton Hall - I like to continue this rivalry regardless of how good or bad SHU is.
- 1 additional P5 opponent
- ZERO mid-major or low-major opponents at road or neutral sites (which are typically going to be Quad 3 games that we have a big risk of losing) -- THESE are the games that have KILLED us during Pike's tenure, e.g., Fordham away, Depaul away, UMass away, St. Bonnies neutral, Temple neutral, Princeton neutral (twice), Kennesaw away.

Only play additional P5 opponent if you have a home-and-home agreement or a name brand at MSG

But with the team likely to be down this season, Pikiell should prioritize playing Q3/4 teams at The RAC

 

[ru8081]

The Seton Hall game is going to drop off. The future of Big Ten and SEC scheduling will NOT including Big East or basketball only schools.

This is not going to be a popular reply but basketball only schools should not be invited to the big dance! They can have their own tournament

 

[King of S]

I will never understand why we decided to make our first true road game with a freshmen led team a Q3 game in what was basically a high school gym.

Because on paper we should of beaten them 30 points.

 

[Joey Bags]

This is not going to be a popular reply but basketball only schools should not be invited to the big dance! They can have their own tournament

This. March Madness in its current form is ridiculous anyway, it’s a dead concept. Half of the teams have no business playing for a National Championship, if that is the real point of the tournament.

This is big boy ball now. SEC, ACC, BIG, BIG 12 play for the Natty. Everyone else can hold their D1-AA tournament or disband. Money needs to be concentrated into the power conferences for the current model to succeed.

 

[ScarletDave]

Next year the team is going to SUCK. Like we will have 0 chance of making the NCAAs. Do not kid yourself, we are not gonna find 3-4 magic players in the portal, let lone even 1-2 (PJ Hayes “3 pt cant miss” and “conference POY Dercack”) … SO, why play medium challenging games and have groundhog day 3 years in a row … at least give the fans at the RAC some happiness and wins. We don’t need more “close games” with medium teams, that’s what the Big Ten home games are for

 

[RUJMM78]

Here's a thought. Win the damn games.

Its embarrassing that Rutgers couldn't defeat Kennesaw State and Princeton with two elite freshmen.

 

[RUHoopsHQ]

Seton Hall yes, Princeton hard no. It is so incredibly stupid of us to keep playing them. The 60s are gone, let it go guys.

No reason to keep playing Seton Hall either, low P4 school likely a Q3/4 team year in and year out

 

[RutgersClassof2004]

Next year the team is going to SUCK. Like we will have 0 chance of making the NCAAs. Do not kid yourself, we are not gonna find 3-4 magic players in the portal, let lone even 1-2 (PJ Hayes “3 pt cant miss” and “conference POY Dercack”) … SO, why play medium challenging games and have groundhog day 3 years in a row … at least give the fans at the RAC some happiness and wins. We don’t need more “close games” with medium teams, that’s what the Big Ten home games are for

We need 5 Eastern Europeans who speak no English but can ball out. Pike is currently in Romania checking out the landscape.