Baylor's Non-Conference Schedule

[Mac]

Nov. 9 (Sat.) GRAMBLING
Nov. 14 (Thu.) NICHOLLS STATE
Nov. 18 (Mon.) RICE
Nov. 21 (Thu.) #UTSA/Northwestern State; Baylor/Savannah State
Nov. 22 (Fri.) #Savannah State/UTSA; Baylor/Northwestern State
Nov. 23 (Sat.) #Northwestern State/Savannah State; Baylor/UTSA
Dec. 3 (Tue.) SAN JOSE STATE
Dec. 6 (Fri.) vs. Kentucky (DH) Arlington
Dec. 15 (Sun.) HOUSTON BAPTIST
Dec. 18 (Wed.) MISSISSIPPI
Dec. 28 (Sat.) MCNEESE STATE
Jan. 13 (Mon.) CONNECTICUT

Looks like kim is hoping for a 1 or 2 seed come NCAA time. Not strong at all.

 

[euphguy]

terrible

 

[Soonerinthesun]

She said this:

"With nine underclassmen on our 13-player roster, I believe we have compiled a good schedule, one that will challenge our team but also allow them to mold into a cohesive unit before we begin Big 12 play," said head coach Kim Mulkey.

http://www.baylorbears.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/072413aaa.html

That's a schedule an average mid major might have.

 

[Speedy17]

They are playing two top ten teams in UConn and Kentucky. It is not that bad.

 

[sybarite]

The last place team in the Big Twelve would probably finish 10-2 against that schedule. Of course, the first place team might have the same record. It just won't say much about Baylor.

 

[SoonerNorm]

Honestly, I have never been a proponent of playing a tough non-conference schedule. The coach can work on a lot of different defenses, player combinations, and develop her bench when we have a 20 pt lead that she can't experiment with when fighting to win a close game.

 

[BanjoCharley]

She can also watch home crowds get smaller and smaller.

 

[SoonerNorm]

She can also watch home crowds get smaller and smaller.

Which is more important, improving the team or cater to finicky fans?

 

[euphguy]

I don't see how a WEAK non-conference schedule improves the team. You'll work in plays over time regardless of the level of competition. They should get blasted by UConn, but they'll likely beat Kentucky. Otherwise, the schedule is an absolute joke. They had better not be a top 10 team prior to conference play unless they upset UConn.

 

[BanjoCharley]

Which is more important, improving the team or cater to finicky fans?

Why are those the only two options? Recruiting to a gym with half empty seats is tougher than recruiting to full houses. Playing cupcakes doesn't prepare a team for the tournaments at the end of the year.

 

[sybarite]

Why are those the only two options? Recruiting to a gym with half empty seats is tougher than recruiting to full houses. Playing cupcakes doesn't prepare a team for the tournaments at the end of the year.

Two of the past three years, a heavily-favored Baylor has lost earlier than anticipated, if it was anticipated at all, in the NCAA tournament. Baylor seems trained to rout people, but often struggles in close games. If you don't prepare against quality, sometimes you have difficulty when you meet it.

For all their might, Baylor got no further in the NCAAs last year than did a team that had lost five players to injuries, including their star player, perhaps their two best players. If Baylor were to prepare against better teams, they might actually make it further this year---without the AAU team recruits that diminished their reputation.

 

[SoonerNorm]

Last year Baylor beat Notre Dame, Kentucky, Tennessee, UCONN, and every team in the Big 12 before they ever got to the NCAA tourney. It's hard to say their loss to Louisville had anything to do with their schedule.

 

[sybarite]

They caught Notre Dame and UConn before they developed. Tennessee never did rise to what had been thought possible. Louisville had a good run at the right time, which is often what a tournament is all about. Was Baylor ready, mentally, to play Louisville? It took a long time for them to wake up.

 

[SoonerNorm]

If a team does not play their best in a game they can get beat. That's what happened to Baylor. It has happened to many teams including OU.

 

[35TangoTango]

What most coaches do is schedule according to what kind of team they have. Baylor has a reputation for having a patsy non-conference schedule, but last year with all starters back and odds on favorites to win, they had a schedule that would prepare them well. This year, with a lot of new starters, they are back to a weak schedule.

 

[sybarite]

I'll briefly restate the Muhammad Ali story of how he survived the onslaught of a younger and more powerful champion in Foreman. Once he saw how hard Foreman hit, and also saw that Foreman had been taught well on how to cut the ring off where he couldn't evade Foreman by running, he decided to let Foreman punch himself out. He was counting on something that he had learned. The first time that a fighter is really hit hard, he enters a kaleidoscope room in which the the alligators are playing saxophones, and the giraffes are blowing bugles. The first time that a fighter enters that room, it is often difficult to find your way out. An experienced fighter knows that there is a door and looks for it. But, Foreman had never been in that room. So, he waited until Foreman began to tire and saw a chance. He sent Foreman into that room, just long enough to win the fight. Had Foreman been too that room previously, he would probably have beaten the count.

When you don't play a strong enough schedule to make sure that your team has been in that room, it is difficult to survive when you are. If you look into the past, Baylor has had trouble getting out of that room in time in key games. We have won some close ones with Baylor. They lost to A&M and Louisville because they woke up too late. They hadn't been in that room in any of these cases.

 

[gosooner2]

I been to that room in college and it wasn't from being hit, or playing basketball!

 

[YCN]

From RealTime RPI, last year's RPI's for Baylor's opponents:

308 Grambling
156 Nicholls State
130 Rice
330 Savannah State
291 Northwestern State
243 Texas San Antonio
281 San Jose State
8 Kentucky
344 Houston Baptist
244 Mississippi
153 McNeese State
4 Connecticut

The only non-home game is against Kentucky in Arlington, which may be slightly closer to Waco than Lexington.

Pathetic is the correct description. This kind of scheduling is an insult to the entire conference, and the entire conference will suffer in the power rankings as a result.

Says me.

 

[True Colors]

If Baylor were to prepare against better teams, they might actually make it further this year

Ummmm......

Last year, Baylor scheduled 5 different non-conference teams during the season who were all ranked in the national top 10. How many top 10 ranked non-con teams did OU put on their schedule?

Last year, Baylor had the #1 strength of schedule in the entire nation. And the year before that as well. How much better could baylor have done than #1?

Over the years Baylor has repeatedly scheduled numerous games against the best of the best...... stanford, notre dame, uconn, tennessee, california, georgia, etc. etc.

Not every game can be against a marquis team like that, but Baylor does play against more than its share of top teams.

TC

 

[BanjoCharley]

And Baylor made it no further than OU in the NCAAs.

Guess TC told us.