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Kevin Willard rips Big Ten scheduling, says it’s responsible for conference’s national championship drought

Anyone who has kept an eye on SHU the past few years knows this is par for the course for Willard. His teams were notorious for a January/February swoon and he would ALWAYS whine about scheduling. For him to be all nostalgic for the Big East is dumbfounding.
 
Can you believe this bum? Why don’t you get i don’t know, a season under your belt before throwing the conference under the bus.

Weird statement to make less than halfway through your first season coaching in the conference

The guy's been coaching in the B1G for all of a hot minute and already eyeing the commissioner's job. Get in line, Willard.
 
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I’d rather have Willard and other coaches at least start a conversation and maybe acknowledge the poor performance and talk about the possible reasons.

Most on this message board have disagreed with me. We hit a wall at the end of the year. The team vs. Notre Dame was not the same one we saw most of the year. Any Ranger fan will tell you the team hit a wall vs Tampa Bay in the eastern conference final.

We now are adding a trip to California every year. Airplane rides and sleeping in a hotel room have an impact. The level of the opponent have an impact too.

There is a reason in todays NBA players take off for rest. There is a reason that stud Denver center plays 32 MPG.
 

Compared to the other Big conferences, the Big 10 consistently lacks as much NBA talent at the guard positions. Great guard play rules the tournament. Plus, generally, there is a lack of overall NBA talent in the Big 10 Compared to other big conferences. The ACC has the most players currently in the league with 84 while the SEC has 81 and the PAC 12 is third with 69. Big 10 has only 45. In the ACC and SEC, those great players are heavily concentrated in 3 teams - Duke, UNC and Kentucky- which have all had theit share of national championships. The BIg 10 lacks that concentration of exceptional talent on any one team.
 
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I’d rather have Willard and other coaches at least start a conversation and maybe acknowledge the poor performance and talk about the possible reasons.

Most on this message board have disagreed with me. We hit a wall at the end of the year. The team vs. Notre Dame was not the same one we saw most of the year. Any Ranger fan will tell you the team hit a wall vs Tampa Bay in the eastern conference final.

We now are adding a trip to California every year. Airplane rides and sleeping in a hotel room have an impact. The level of the opponent have an impact too.

There is a reason in todays NBA players take off for rest. There is a reason that stud Denver center plays 32 MPG.
NBA players that are “resting” are still playing more minutes per week for more weeks than any college player
 
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The reason the big ten hasn’t won a lot of championships recently is
(1) random chance, even 20 years is only a sample size of 20 and lots of just random stuff can happen
(2) the conference often looks a lot like this year; it’s strength is that almost every team is good or great but it doesn’t necessarily contain a truly elite team

The American athletic conference is more likely to produce this years champions than the big ten is but that doesn’t make the AAC a better conference
 
The man has some points. Look at Marylands schedule. Their next two are on the road. That will be 3 in a row on the road and 4 out of 5 on the road to start conference play. Wtf
We’ve always talked about how wacky the B1G schedule is.
Marc Cuban would do this all the time in the early 2000s. He’s criticize the officiating and the way the NBA did things. He’d take his medicine when he got fined, but guess what he eventually got some change.
I think we can all admit the B1G scheduling is horrid.
You can’t tell me it’s a coincidence that Nebraska opened with Indiana and Purdue. That’s brutal
 
If we want to really discuss this …here is my take

1.) with respect to the other conferences …there isn’t a confrence that consistently that has every road game be a fight for your lives to win …and we have 10, going on 11

2.) as a result of the confrence schedule …and then depth of the confrence, I just think a lot of teams are worn out down come March

3.) I love the confrence tourments. But I wonder if the depth and the competitiveness and then having a confrence tourney makes sense. Big ten was one of the last to actually play a tournament . Maybe the league is better off scraping it . Or, if. Nothing else , maybe ending the scheduke on Thursday and Giving the weekend off before the tourney to recharge for March, the confeence tourney and the big dance. And maybe ending the tourney on Satuday
This is such an old lazy narrative imo

1. Big 12

2. Big 12

3. Big 12
 
To be fair, they play an 18 game conference schedule
The 2 extra games are during the non conference schedule. And the big 12 is a stronger conference and each team gets everyone twice not unbalanced schedules like the big.
 
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The 2 extra games are during the non conference schedule. And the big 12 is a stronger conference and each team gets everyone twice not unbalanced schedules like the big.
Yeah I’m not saying 20 game schedules are the culprit. Just that the big 12 doesn’t really refute that point
 
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Yeah I’m not saying 20 game schedules are the culprit. Just that the big 12 doesn’t really refute that point
His point didn’t mention 20 game schedules. He said “conference schedule…and depth of the conference”. Big 12 has been a tougher conference schedule all the way around for a while now. Clearly big 12 refutes that point not arguable with reason.
 
His point didn’t mention 20 game schedules. He said “conference schedule…and depth of the conference”. Big 12 has been a tougher conference schedule all the way around for a while now.
“His” meaning Kevin Willard? He may not have said that but other people around here have. But regardless I generally agree with you that the people looking for “one weird trick” why the Big Ten hasn’t won a championship in a while are mostly just grasping at straws.
 
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The man has some points. Look at Marylands schedule. Their next two are on the road. That will be 3 in a row on the road and 4 out of 5 on the road to start conference play. Wtf
We’ve always talked about how wacky the B1G schedule is.
Marc Cuban would do this all the time in the early 2000s. He’s criticize the officiating and the way the NBA did things. He’d take his medicine when he got fined, but guess what he eventually got some change.
I think we can all admit the B1G scheduling is horrid.
You can’t tell me it’s a coincidence that Nebraska opened with Indiana and Purdue. That’s brutal
Boo Hoo....
 
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The man has some points. Look at Marylands schedule. Their next two are on the road. That will be 3 in a row on the road and 4 out of 5 on the road to start conference play. Wtf
Okay, but they also get three in a row at home from 1/25 to 1/31 which is part of 4 out of 5 at home from 1/19 to 1/31. So what?
We’ve always talked about how wacky the B1G schedule is.
Marc Cuban would do this all the time in the early 2000s. He’s criticize the officiating and the way the NBA did things. He’d take his medicine when he got fined, but guess what he eventually got some change.
I think we can all admit the B1G scheduling is horrid.
You can’t tell me it’s a coincidence that Nebraska opened with Indiana and Purdue. That’s brutal
Yes I can.

What does the conference even supposedly gain by screwing over Nebraska?
 
“His” meaning Kevin Willard? He may not have said that but other people around here have. But regardless I generally agree with you that the people looking for “one weird trick” why the Big Ten hasn’t won a championship in a while are mostly just grasping at straws.
His meaning shack
 
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Okay, but they also get three in a row at home from 1/25 to 1/31 which is part of 4 out of 5 at home from 1/19 to 1/31. So what?

Yes I can.

What does the conference even supposedly gain by screwing over Nebraska?
Exactly his point!! That’s a completely unbalanced schedule and no reason why you should have 3 straight conference road games. Yeah, we hate Kevin Willard, I get it, but let’s not pretend that this isn’t an issue.
I would love to see the board if conference schedules were released and we opened with
Home Illinois
At Wisconsin
At Umich
At Maryland
Home OSU
At Iowa

It gains nothing from screwing over Nebraska, but at least make an attempt that you’re trying to give teams a fair/balanced schedule. This used to happen to us all the time when we were lousy.
 
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Exactly his point!! That’s a completely unbalanced schedule and no reason why you should have 3 straight conference road games. Yeah, we hate Kevin Willard, I get it, but let’s not pretend that this isn’t an issue.
Why is it an issue?
It gains nothing from screwing over Nebraska, but at least make an attempt that you’re trying to give teams a fair/balanced schedule. This used to happen to us all the time when we were lousy.
We don't have a balanced schedule. Other than that, how is Nebraska's schedule unfair?
 
Why is it an issue?

We don't have a balanced schedule. Other than that, how is Nebraska's schedule unfair?
What do you mean why is that an issue? He literally says why. 3 straight conference road games right out the gate is pretty ridiculous, especially when there probably isn’t anyone else in conference that has to deal with that.

It’s pretty obvious when a team a being treated unfairly. The team that has finished or at the bottom of the pack or the last few years opens with the two teams that are projected to finish 1 & 2, it’s pretty obvious what the conference did there. I don’t care about Nebraska’s schedule or how they’re being treated, but Willard has a point with some of this stuff. When the schedule makers just throw stuff together, then you get situations like Maryland playing 3 in a row on the road. On the other hand, when you’re Purdue, you get to open with 2 teams that are projected to finish in the bottom four, Minnesota and Nebraska. Surely, you don’t think that’s a coincidence.
 
What do you mean why is that an issue? He literally says why. 3 straight conference road games right out the gate is pretty ridiculous
You keep saying this. I don't see why it is ridiculous.
, especially when there probably isn’t anyone else in conference that has to deal with that.

It’s pretty obvious when a team a being treated unfairly. The team that has finished or at the bottom of the pack or the last few years opens with the two teams that are projected to finish 1 & 2, it’s pretty obvious what the conference did there. I don’t care about Nebraska’s schedule or how they’re being treated, but Willard has a point with some of this stuff. When the schedule makers just throw stuff together, then you get situations like Maryland playing 3 in a row on the road. On the other hand, when you’re Purdue, you get to open with 2 teams that are projected to finish in the bottom four, Minnesota and Nebraska. Surely, you don’t think that’s a coincidence.
Conspiracy theories. Nebraska is playing a middle of the pack Big Ten schedule in terms of conference SOS. Maryland is playing one of the easiest ones.
 
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We all play ten home and ten away right... Crying about 3 straight road games when you also have 3 straight home games is just odd to me. Getting his excuses in early I guess.
 
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You keep saying this. I don't see why it is ridiculous.

Conspiracy theories. Nebraska is playing a middle of the pack Big Ten schedule in terms of conference SOS. Maryland is playing one of the easiest ones.
It’s ridiculous because it’s very uncommon and no team should have to deal with it. It’s not difficult to miss.

My point about the Nebraska schedule is that it’s very clear the B1G puts more thought and effort into the schedule for some teams than others. You truly think it’s a coincidence that the best team in the league, Purdue, opened with Minny and Nebraska? And you really think it’s a coincidence that Nebraska opened with Purdue and Indiana? The B1G clearly knows what it’s doing in certain areas. Do just have your finger on the pulse for some teams and not others. If you’re able to set up the top team in the league with an easy early slate, you should also not send a team on the road for 3 straight games right out the gate.
Prior to us making the tournament, guess who we opened with in 2019-2020? MSU and Wisconsin. The year before that? MSU and Wisconsin? And the year before that? Minnesota (who was actually ranked) and MSU. We were a bottom of the barrel team at the time so we got the crap end of the stick when it came to the start of conference play.
The B1G seems to know exactly what they are doing in some areas of the schedule, (early conference matchups) and then other times, they are totally blind
 
He makes 2 specific complaints about Maryland’s schedule, both of which are factually incorrect. First he complains that 5 of their first 7 games in January are on the road when in fact it’s only 4 of 7 (since 7 is an odd # probably half the league’s coaches are in the same boat ),
Then he says that in February they have six games in “11 or 12” days when it’s really 6 games in 19 days. Big difference, Not sure what he’s been smoking but I guess he was counting on no one fact checking him.
I wonder if slander is against any morality clause in his contract.

Hey Maryland.. lose this guy.
 
Agree - don't understand why it's in the best interest of this conference to play its championship on Sunday afternoon right before the selection show; and potentially have a team play 3 days straight soon before a Thursday game. Regarding the article -- Thanks for sharing; And wow - didn't anyone give him a map of the B10 before he signed; yeah in BE days you took a bus from SO to NY or Philly; short plane ride to DC or Cuse & occasional longer ride to Chicago or Wisconsin. What time does he think the games will start when they go to LA.
That is an easy question to answer. CBS pays a lot more $$ to have that game lead into their selection show.
 
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A lot of these points are debatable. But you can't argue that that the 9 PM start times for teams in the eastern time zone are terrible. You can still make the money work and have the games be at 7 PM EST.
 
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It’s ridiculous because it’s very uncommon and no team should have to deal with it. It’s not difficult to miss.

My point about the Nebraska schedule is that it’s very clear the B1G puts more thought and effort into the schedule for some teams than others. You truly think it’s a coincidence that the best team in the league, Purdue, opened with Minny and Nebraska? And you really think it’s a coincidence that Nebraska opened with Purdue and Indiana? The B1G clearly knows what it’s doing in certain areas. Do just have your finger on the pulse for some teams and not others. If you’re able to set up the top team in the league with an easy early slate, you should also not send a team on the road for 3 straight games right out the gate.
Prior to us making the tournament, guess who we opened with in 2019-2020? MSU and Wisconsin. The year before that? MSU and Wisconsin? And the year before that? Minnesota (who was actually ranked) and MSU. We were a bottom of the barrel team at the time so we got the crap end of the stick when it came to the start of conference play.
The B1G seems to know exactly what they are doing in some areas of the schedule, (early conference matchups) and then other times, they are totally blind

If the Big Ten is such a corrupt organization that secretly manipulates members schedules to benefit only certain schools - why are we even in this conference?

Seems very immoral and unethical to even associate with them if what you're accusing them of doing is true.
 
If the Big Ten is such a corrupt organization that secretly manipulates members schedules to benefit only certain schools - why are we even in this conference?

Seems very immoral and unethical to even associate with them if what you're accusing them of doing is true.
If you want to have a discussion, we can have a discussion. If you to put words in my mouth and completely ignore valid points that I made, then fine, discussion over.
 
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