2025-26 schedule information

austing7 said:
Would be surprised if this non-conference strength of schedule doesn't end up in top 50 once it is all set and done
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More than half the games are still unknown, so it’s too early to say that. Lots of encouraging signs so far, but none of the teams announced so far are expected to be highly ranked; Gonzaga and Marquette are both projected to be a bit down compared to their normal standards. Okie State and Az State and Nebraska are a step below those two. We still could drag our SOR down if we don’t do a good job scheduling the non-power conference teams. But I’m somewhat optimistic that he may have learned from past mistakes and won’t just schedule complete trash. And hopefully our ACC opponent is better than Georgia Tech was last year, and at least it’ll be a true road game.
 
austing7 said:
Would be surprised if this non-conference strength of schedule doesn't end up in top 50 once it is all set and done
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Idk if I’d go that high but im
Sure some will say “these teams are name value only” “none are any good”
 
sanguinetti said:
Grand Canyon U has played in 4 of last 5 NCAA tournaments. More than OU, OSU, ASU combined (1 each).

Jus' sayin' ;)
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Yeah, winning a watered down league tourney that any of the top 8-10 SEC teams could win every year. It’s also the only time they’ve ever been in the tourney. Quite a zinger.

Even Mosers OU teams could do that if they had the same schedule and played in the WAC.
 
skyvue said:
Moser's gotten plenty of pub and credit for the portal performance this season, including from just about everyone on this board (me among them). If ever there was a good time to schedule a couple of decent home games, it's now--when the program's getting a little attention and there's a bit of buzz among the fan base.

It's defeatist to say, "We'll never, ever attract fans during the OOC," which seems to be what you're saying. I'm on the more positive side of the issue--I think this group of players could generate some fan interest, but playing all our better games away from home isn't the way to do it
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If there was any evidence that OU fans would go to a home OOC game, I’d be happy to see it but otherwise call me defeatist.
 
SoonerDutch said:
If there was any evidence that OU fans would go to a home OOC game, I’d be happy to see it but otherwise call me defeatist.
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As I said, we have more talent coming in than we've had in years. If not this season, when? Do we give up on our home fans in perpetuity or do we have specific length in mind for this punishment?
 
skyvue said:
As I said, we have more talent coming in than we've had in years. If not this season, when? Do we give up on our home fans in perpetuity or do we have specific length in mind for this punishment?
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Barring a string of major success like a national title or final fours, I don’t see home non-conference support materializing so sure - in perpetuity. Call me a defeatist lol.

If you can point to any evidence that OU fans would roll out for a packed LNC against a marquee non-conference game, I’d be interested in seeing it.

People on this board follow the team pretty closely, so understand reasons for optimism. IMO, casual OU basketball fans (if they exist) would care more about an undefeated record than actual talent or roster.
 
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SoonerDutch said:
Barring a string of major success like a national title or final fours, I don’t see home non-conference support materializing so sure - in perpetuity. Call me a defeatist lol.

If you can point to any evidence that OU fans would roll out for a packed LNC against a marquee non-conference game, I’d be interested in seeing it.

People on this board follow the team pretty closely, so understand reasons for optimism. IMO, casual OU basketball fans (if they exist) would care more about an undefeated record than actual talent on foster.
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The portal success this time around has gotten plenty of coverage. And why is it better to play good teams on the road (or at not-so-neutral sites) than in front of 4,000 at home? I'm not talking about playing no away games, but to have all the stronger games away from Norman makes no sense. If we drop some of those games by a point or two, there'll be plenty of carping here.
 
skyvue said:
The portal success this time around has gotten plenty of coverage. And why is it better to play good teams on the road (or at not-so-neutral sites) than in front of 4,000 at home? I'm not talking about playing no away games, but to have all the stronger games away from Norman makes no sense. If we drop some of those games by a point or two, there'll be plenty of carping here.
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To be clear, I don’t believe casual OU fans are following news about the basketball portal. I can only cite anecdotes, but my alum friend group barely follows the team in-season much less during the offseason. A good offseason is not going to 2x that number at the LNC IMO, especially given the trends referenced earlier in the thread.

Why is it better to play better OOC games from Norman? NET/SOS metrics secondarily but again mainly because our home non-conference crowds are poor regardless of a name brand opponent. More OU fans will go to a game in OKC/Tulsa than the LNC during the holiday season.
 
skyvue said:
The portal success this time around has gotten plenty of coverage. And why is it better to play good teams on the road (or at not-so-neutral sites) than in front of 4,000 at home? I'm not talking about playing no away games, but to have all the stronger games away from Norman makes no sense. If we drop some of those games by a point or two, there'll be plenty of carping here.
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Playing neutral site and road games makes you better. That’s why it is good for the team. And you act as if this is an annual trend. We were one of only a handful of teams in the nation last season that didn’t play a single road game. The home schedule has sucked because of the quality of teams we have played, not how many home games we have played.
 
SoonerDutch said:
To be clear, I don’t believe casual OU fans are following news about the basketball portal. I can only cite anecdotes, but my alum friend group barely follows the team in-season much less during the offseason. A good offseason is not going to 2x that number at the LNC IMO, especially given the trends referenced earlier in the thread.

Why is it better to play better OOC games from Norman? NET/SOS metrics secondarily but again mainly because our home non-conference crowds are poor regardless of a name brand opponent. More OU fans will go to a game in OKC/Tulsa than the LNC during the holiday season.
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We lose some of those away games and the metrics boost disappears. We win those games and we'd be in fine shape, even if every one of them was played in Norman (which, again, I'm not stumping for).

I'm fine with games in OKC and Tulsa; those are played in front of OU fans. "Neutral" games in South Dakota and Arizona? Not so much if we're not going to play a single decent opponent at LNC. What are we, McNeese State?
 
skyvue said:
We lose some of those away games and the metrics boost disappears. We win those games and we'd be in fine shape, even if every one of them was played in Norman (which, again, I'm not stumping for).

I'm fine with games in OKC and Tulsa; those are played in front of OU fans. "Neutral" games in South Dakota and Arizona? Not so much if we're not going to play a single decent opponent at LNC. What are we, McNeese State?
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TBC, I think we’re just going to have to agree to disagree about bringing big ticket non-conference games to Norman as a major point of focus for scheduling.

OU gets more value out of playing marquee non-conference games on the road or at neutral sites and OU’s home crowds are lackluster especially during non-conference/holiday season.

I’d agree it’s tougher to win on the road/neutral site but that’s also factored into the predictive metrics. I’d rather win of course but it helps OU’s predictive metrics regardless, sure less so in the NET in absolute terms (although you get the location bump if playing “worse” quality opponents) but that’s not enough to really dissuade me.

Most importantly IMO to playing in Norman, OU non-conference attendance at the LNC is lackluster regardless of the opponent. There is a dedicated group of OU MBB fans and they would get excited about playing Duke for sure, but casual OU fans? I think they’re thinking more about convenient start times & avoiding holiday traffic TBH.

If I was running scheduling, I’d focus on getting brand/P5 opponents to Paycom or the BOK (which is what Moser & Co are doing TBH, we should never play Ok State at GIA again IMO) and boosting the floor of teams at the LNC. No or minimize bottom 100 KP Team which is what others have been saying for years rightly. I can see a compelling desire to boost record, ideally to the 20 win threshold, despite what the committee claims about being record agnostic but OU should be able to do that against KP >250 not just KP <250.
 
1) I think I'd rather play Arizona State than Grand Canyon in this event. Say what you want about their weak conference, but they're dangerous.

2) With both us and OSU going out there this year, I wonder if there's a return event the following year with ASU/GCU playing OU/OSU in either OKC or Tulsa?
 
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