Scheduling Ques.

[1973Zag]

All year we bragged about our Anyone,Anywhere scheduling. We also ripped the Huskies and Gaels about not being tourn. worthy or prepared. Right now, they appear healthy and hitting their stride---We look exhausted and beat up (Not just today, but last several games) Do we need to keep "proving ourselves" with a killer schedule, or possibly ease up a bit until March. Any opinions?

[SUSpokanative]

No Emotion

You may be correct. I didn't see much enthusiasm before the blowout, either from players or coaches. No diving for loose balls - won't mention names it was obvious. Don't know if it is related to long season or something else. With a team of Syracuse caliber, you'd better bring it in other ways. Standing around not playing defense and otherwise not moving at a fast pace isn't going to get it done! I would not want to see this group play either SMC or UW now. Lot's of questions for future - where will some of our coaches be heading and can we recruit good guards to Spokane?

[EngineerZag]

We wouldn't have even made the tournament this year if we hadn't scheduled the way we did.

[bartruff1]

We wouldn't have even made the tournament this year if we hadn't scheduled the way we did.

Couldn't agree more...that and some favorable history...

[zagfan1]

Look at the Big East Teams. They really get banged up playing against each other. Gonzaga had it easier and should have been healthier.

[ZagLawGrad]

SMC ended up being the better team at the end of this season.

Udb would kill the Zags if they played today.

And I don't like SMC or the Huskies.

[zag67]

Also UW and SMC would not have made it if they had lost the tournament.

[vandalzag]

Well whoever scheduled Syracuse today should be fired. Do we at least get a return game?

[Chicken Ball]

Schedule strength

Biggest myth of the season: GU played a tough schedule. It was #118 in rpi, and 112 in Kenpom's system. We played a mediocre schedule. Even our nonconference schedule was only 36th (Kenpom).

[NEC26]

Biggest myth of the season: GU played a tough schedule. It was #118 in rpi, and 112 in Kenpom's system. We played a mediocre schedule. Even our nonconference schedule was only 36th (Kenpom).

We did play a tough schedule but when you throw in some really terrible teams it drags your strength of schedule way down. Throw out a couple truly awful teams we played this year and that sos would be far higher.

[HOOTER]

Also UW and SMC would not have made it if they had lost the tournament.

True. Their schedule had nothing to do with it. They managed to get an automatic bid in mediocre conferences and got double-digit seeds as a result. Gonzaga needs to continue to play a decent schedule and figure out how to finish strong at the same time. That's what big time programs do.

[GUDan07]

We wouldn't have even made the tournament this year if we hadn't scheduled the way we did.

My initial reaction was to completely agree. However, my only contention with this is that given we had more energy at the end we may not have lost to St. Mary's.

[Zag4Hire]

Good Topic

I was thinking about it but the way I see it is this: Gonzaga along with a handful of other mid-major schools like Xavier and Butler have built their programs to receive prime TV exposure. Not many schools outside the big 6 are guaranteed to have as many games on ESPN, CBS, etc. This is a great recruiting tool and also garners exposure for a program based on the West Coast that allows coaches, sports writers, etc. on the East Coast to observe. Such games as The Maui Classic Championship vs UConn and the win against UNC at MSG. Think about it--George Mason is not far removed from its Final Four appearance and the reference to George Mason almost seems anecdotal. It is difficult to maintain excellence over the course of time. Few and his coaches have done a great job and they have built up their reputation by competing against big time programs with an 'anywhere, anytime' mentality. The only reason to somewhat knock it this year is that the team is so young and Few had to depend so mightily on Bouldin and Gray that they played an obscene about a minutes. The teams of the past couple of years did not seemed gassed in the end so I would take it more as an isolated incident. If history also proves anything, we need to schedule a strong OOC for these young pups but not put them through the ringer like a few years back. Somewhere in the middle sounds about right.

[TexasZagFan]

Biggest myth of the season: GU played a tough schedule. It was #118 in rpi, and 112 in Kenpom's system. We played a mediocre schedule. Even our nonconference schedule was only 36th (Kenpom).

Part of the slippage in the OOC was due to the fact that only Duke and Wisconsin improved as the season wore on. MSU, Memphis, Oklahoma, Cincinnati, etc. all fell in the rankings. At the time, I thought the OU victory was a great win for the Zags. Turned out to be not much more than beating Portland at home.

The issue of scheduling will be resolved if/when the NCAA expands to 96 teams. Once that happens, there will be little or no need to load up the OOC schedule. I abhor the thought of the 96 team NCAA tournament.

[Zag4Hire]

The issue of scheduling will be resolved if/when the NCAA expands to 96 teams. Once that happens, there will be little or no need to load up the OOC schedule. I abhor the thought of the 96 team NCAA tournament.

Oh my. If it did, I would get absolutely nothing done for about a month. The house might look abandoned.