UK Basketball 8th Edition

[Hoosier Red]

Originally Posted by New York Red

How many of those did Coach K actually schedule head-to-head, in advance? I can guess. In the past 20 years, UK has played 47 OOC games against the top seven college basketball programs of all-time. Duke has played a total of 7 OOC games against those teams. When it comes to scheduling, K is a coward and always has been. I thought that was common knowledge, but maybe not.

Well it certainly took guts to play Indiana in 2009 and 2010. It's great that UK schedules a number of games with traditionally strong programs, but to argue that UK's schedule is tougher because it would include UCLA or North Carolina while Duke was playing Ohio State in the B1G Ten ACC challenge, is simply an absurd argument to make.

Duke knows they will get a big name team in an event like the B1G-ACC so they build their schedule around that.

[LexRedsFan]

Originally Posted by dabvu2498

Not sure why this matters. They played em, didn't they? Agreeing to play in Maui or any other ESPN arranged "classic" is agreeing to play in a difficult game... Away from home.

The ironic part is that UK is moving towards the "Duke model" in scheduling. Fewer home and homes, fewer nonconference rivalry games.

2nd irony: Coach K is a "coward" but is about to agree to play UK in a neutral site series.

I like how UK dropping Indiana and picking up Duke is dropping nonconference rivalry games.

We also only "dropped" UNC for a year because it was beneficial to both programs -- we wanted to set it where UNC and UL were on a schedule where we only play ONE at home on the road each year. UNC was wanting the same.

UK plays Duke in ATL, Maryland in Barclays, Baylor, @Louisville, and a Big East team on the road next year. Plus whatever exemption tournament we do.

The next year, it's Michigan State in Chicago, Baylor in JerryWorld, UL, @UNC, a home Big East opponent...and that potential Duke game you mentioned. Calipari also said something about a game at Lucas Oil -- so that's presumably another big name team.

[dabvu2498]

Originally Posted by LexRedsFan

I like how UK dropping Indiana and picking up Duke is dropping nonconference rivalry games.

It's certainly not a rivalry game in the sense that IU was. They haven't played each other in 11 years. Duke has never played at Rupp (played at Memorial in 1969). UK hasn't played at Cameron since 1958. Since 1980, they've played twice outside of the NCAA tourney. That's not really a rivalry.

And for the record, I'm not criticizing UK's schedule... See here:

That said, kudos to UK on the scheduling. Those are interesting and watchable new matchups.

I was a fan of the IU-UK rivalry (I also attended all of the "Big 4 Classic" games a gazillion years ago), but they seem to have done a good job of filling that void for now.

God help me, I'm defending Duke's scheduling. And you, as UK fans, should be too, because that's the direction UK's schedule is heading, just with more domes.

[New York Red]

Originally Posted by Hoosier Red

Well it certainly took guts to play Indiana in 2009 and 2010. It's great that UK schedules a number of games with traditionally strong programs, but to argue that UK's schedule is tougher because it would include UCLA or North Carolina while Duke was playing Ohio State in the B1G Ten ACC challenge, is simply an absurd argument to make.

Duke knows they will get a big name team in an event like the B1G-ACC so they build their schedule around that.

Some years they might get a good opponent and some years they get a bottom feeder. It's the same way with the SEC/Big East Challenge. This past season UK got lucky by getting a down St Johns team, but next year we play at Georgetown. It's the luck of the draw and nothing else. To suggest this is the reason for Coach K's weak scheduling is, as you put it, absurd.

[New York Red]

Good article here from CBS Sports' Matt Norlander, on UK's scheduling. This came out about an hour ago, well after we started talking about Coach K's scheduling. Notice that Norlander takes a little shot at Coach K. Like I said before, K's scheduling techniques have been discussed and acknowledged for many years now.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...ops-crowd-ever

[dabvu2498]

Originally Posted by New York Red

Good article here from CBS Sports' Matt Norlander, on UK's scheduling. This came out about an hour ago, well after we started talking about Coach K's scheduling. Notice that Norlander takes a little shot at Coach K. Like I said before, K's scheduling techniques have been discussed and acknowledged for many years now.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...ops-crowd-ever

And yet in the same article, he says K and Cal do some things similarly.

[Hoosier Red]

Originally Posted by New York Red

Some years they might get a good opponent and some years they get a bottom feeder. It's the same way with the SEC/Big East Challenge. This past season UK got lucky by getting a down St Johns team, but next year we play at Georgetown. It's the luck of the draw and nothing else. To suggest this is the reason for Coach K's weak scheduling is, as you put it, absurd.

Why would the organizers have Duke play a down team? I'm a little surprised Kentucky doesn't play a top Big East team but I guess having them play in MSG is too much temptation.

Duke has almost always played one of the top 1 or 2 teams in the Big Ten as far as I can remember. The SEC Big East thing isn't a blind draw is it?

[New York Red]

Originally Posted by dabvu2498

God help me, I'm defending Duke's scheduling. And you, as UK fans, should be too, because that's the direction UK's schedule is heading, just with more domes.

If anything, UK's next two OOC schedules are even more difficult than usual. Definitely not a drop-off. Believe me, if Cal ever attempted to schedule at UK the way Coach K schedules at Duke, Big Blue Nation would march on Lexington and demand his head. I would gladly lead the charge. I'm not sure what you see that leads you to believe anything is changing, but I don't see it. I'll admit I was concerned when Crean ended the UK/IU series, but now that I see what we have lined up, any concerns I had are completely gone.

[New York Red]

Originally Posted by Hoosier Red

Why would the organizers have Duke play a down team? I'm a little surprised Kentucky doesn't play a top Big East team but I guess having them play in MSG is too much temptation.

Duke has almost always played one of the top 1 or 2 teams in the Big Ten as far as I can remember. The SEC Big East thing isn't a blind draw is it?

I don't know about you, but I consider @ Georgetown a game against a top Big East team. I'm not sure how they do it, but I know you don't choose your opponent and they don't set up marquee matchups. Sometimes they happen, and sometimes they don't. I always thought they should match up the top eight teams based on where they finished in their conferences the previous year. First vs first, second vs second, etc.

[New York Red]

Two topics I could discuss for hours: Reds baseball and UK basketball. Unfortunately, neither pays the bills. I enjoyed the chat, fellas, but work calls.

[Hoosier Red]

Originally Posted by New York Red

I don't know about you, but I consider @ Georgetown a game against a top Big East team. I'm not sure how they do it, but I know you don't choose your opponent and they don't set up marquee matchups. Sometimes they happen, and sometimes they don't. I always thought they should match up the top eight teams based on where they finished in their conferences the previous year. First vs first, second vs second, etc.

That's odd to me. Certainly Georgetown would qualify as a top team. I'm just surprised that in a made for TV game like the various conference challenges that the TV people who organize it wouldn't set up the team they feel will be best in the conference to match up with UK. Maybe for some strange reason they believed it would be St. Johns last year.

Just because you got me curious, I went back and looked through the history of the Big Ten-ACC challenge and while Duke got some favors early on playing an unranked Iowa and Illinois squads the first few years, the last 9 years have been fairly brutal. They've only played two unranked teams in that span, IU in 2006 and Wisconsin in 2009. Conversely, Duke has played 4 top 10 teams in that span. So criticize him for a number of things, but I don't think its a fair criticism to say Coach K for assuming that the B1G Ten opponent is going to be one of the marquee matchups for the season.

[Assembly Hall]

Listen. It is one thing to be passionate about your favorite team. It is another to be blind about them. Try to be open minded, and not so one sided. UK has fell before, and they will again. Every program out there goes through it that is on the upper echelon level. Most recover, a few have not. As an IU fan, I am a little freakin' sick and tired of hearing that Crean voided a deal. Jesus, he wanted to play home and home. I am a little sick and tired of hearing about the vaunted UK scheduling as the most premier in the country. I am a little sick and tired of hearing how UK invented the game of basketball. I am a little sick and tired of UK period. It was a great season, they won, get over it. I hope the Cards paste your arszs this year, I will mark it down. Your great schedule will bite you in the rear-end. Duke will be ahead of you in the polls, and some of you will be crying "FOUL".

[New York Red]

Originally Posted by Assembly Hall

Listen. It is one thing to be passionate about your favorite team. It is another to be blind about them. Try to be open minded, and not so one sided. UK has fell before, and they will again. Every program out there goes through it that is on the upper echelon level. Most recover, a few have not. As an IU fan, I am a little freakin' sick and tired of hearing that Crean voided a deal. Jesus, he wanted to play home and home. I am a little sick and tired of hearing about the vaunted UK scheduling as the most premier in the country. I am a little sick and tired of hearing how UK invented the game of basketball. I am a little sick and tired of UK period. It was a great season, they won, get over it. I hope the Cards paste your arszs this year, I will mark it down. Your great schedule will bite you in the rear-end. Duke will be ahead of you in the polls, and some of you will be crying "FOUL".

UK has taken a bunch of undeserved heat from some in the media and rival fans because it was perceived we were somehow going to change our scheduling ways. Why wouldn't a UK fan want to dispute that when it obviously isn't true? UK and IU had a deal on the table in December. After the season, for whatever reason, Crean changed his mind. I'm not sure why facts would bother you so much.

You don't see me gloating about winning a championship. You don't see me predicting greatness for next year's UK team. It will be a bridge year, but could still be a good year. UofL will be favored over us next year at home. We've beaten them 7 of 9, with the only two losses coming when BCG was coaching UK. UofL has to beat us at some point and next year should be that year. If they lose again, their fans will go into meltdown mode.

As for Duke, we'll see. They will be average by Duke standards. The game will be played in Atlanta, so UK will have a big crowd advantage. It could go either way. As for our schedule coming back to bite us, it's never happened before and it isn't going to this time either. The season isn't defined in December (IU fans probably disagree).

[WMR]

Originally Posted by Assembly Hall

Listen. It is one thing to be passionate about your favorite team. It is another to be blind about them. Try to be open minded, and not so one sided. UK has fell before, and they will again. Every program out there goes through it that is on the upper echelon level. Most recover, a few have not. As an IU fan, I am a little freakin' sick and tired of hearing that Crean voided a deal. Jesus, he wanted to play home and home. I am a little sick and tired of hearing about the vaunted UK scheduling as the most premier in the country. I am a little sick and tired of hearing how UK invented the game of basketball. I am a little sick and tired of UK period. It was a great season, they won, get over it. I hope the Cards paste your arszs this year, I will mark it down. Your great schedule will bite you in the rear-end. Duke will be ahead of you in the polls, and some of you will be crying "FOUL".

Nice meltdown.

Perhaps reading/posting in the KENTUCKY BASKETBALL thread isn't for you if you're so sick and tired of discussing Kentucky basketball.

[WMR]

Originally Posted by New York Red

UK has taken a bunch of undeserved heat from some in the media and rival fans because it was perceived we were somehow going to change our scheduling ways. Why wouldn't a UK fan want to dispute that when it obviously isn't true? UK and IU had a deal on the table in December. After the season, for whatever reason, Crean changed his mind. I'm not sure why facts would bother you so much.

You don't see me gloating about winning a championship. You don't see me predicting greatness for next year's UK team. It will be a bridge year, but could still be a good year. UofL will be favored over us next year at home. We've beaten them 7 of 9, with the only two losses coming when BCG was coaching UK. UofL has to beat us at some point and next year should be that year. If they lose again, their fans will go into meltdown mode.

As for Duke, we'll see. They will be average by Duke standards. The game will be played in Atlanta, so UK will have a big crowd advantage. It could go either way. As for our schedule coming back to bite us, it's never happened before and it isn't going to this time either. The season isn't defined in December (IU fans probably disagree).

Uhhh, UL fans have been melting down since they lost in the Final Four. A nice, long, protracted meltdown.

Although they are convinced they're going to win it all next year. Focusing on that has been cathartic for them after losing to their most detested rival in the Final Four.