You are extolling 15-14 PSU, with an RPI of 104 as both an attractive opponent and an RPI boost? Really?
Pete Gillen on Pitt non-conference schedule.....
- Thread starter thebadby2
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You are extolling 15-14 PSU, with an RPI of 104 as both an attractive opponent and an RPI boost? Really?
PL, your position s exactly what the basketball fans on here are talking about. Mostly, playing a good non-P5 team is cheaper in terms of guaranteed payout and more effective in raising our RPI. There are too many uninformed fans who think a name school with a P-5 football team is a good basketball opponent. We'll probably add a home and home with WVU, synchronized with the home or away schedules of the ACC/BIG Challenge to maintain as many home games each year as possible.
You guys are quite the pair. I havenl;t seen this much sel
You'd prefer to see an emotionless blowout against some no name cupcake than a high-energy competitive game against a respected opponent ? I can't fathom that. I think back to all of my best experiences as a sports fan, they were all either tough, tense games against tough opponents, or blowout underdog wins over higher rated opponents. Don't you want to see your team prove itself against the big boys?
In other words, I really enjoy a blowout Pitt win against a good team, but against a bad team, it's just another notch in the win column.
What I really don't enjoy is bad, uninspired basketball like we saw last night.
A significant number of our fans STILL kow-tow to PSU., even as they outwardly express hatred for them.
Sorry I don't suffer fools gladly......If you don't want to go to a certain game for 65 bucks then don't freaking go and admit it you don't want to go for that price.....but to say it's expensive is hogwash....Pitt athletics probably is the best bang for your buck in this area.....
Spare me the rest of the bullsh!t
Where did any of us ever say we prefer to see this as a fan? You are way too emotional on this, and not rational on it, which makes it difficult to discuss, well, rationally.
I want to see the team make the tourney. I don't want to see a non com of gonzaga, Purdue, but then also wvu on the road, nova at home, and Georgetown on the road because if pitt goes something like 3-2 in or 2-3 in that stretch, and ends the non at 9-3 instead of 11-1, then that forces us to go 11-7 or 12-6 in the acc instead of 9-9 or 10-8 to get in.
Sorry, the delusions of the people that want to play 4 power 5 games, two a10 teams, then a tournament are beyond ridiculous (looking at you SMF)
Hey, I do admit I don't like tight, emotional games. Obviously, we ALL hated last night, but only because we lost. If we had won, even in a badly played game, most of us would have tolerated it.
Sports is entertainment to me. Life has enough tension. I ALWAYS try to avoid adding more. I DON'T ever want to be on pins and needles for the 2 or 3 hours of a hoops or FB game or ANYTHING where I have no control of the outcome . That's not enjoyable, it's torture. More and more, I give my tickets to such games away and watch on TV or replay.
I like blowout Pitt wins. Don't much care if it is vs Podunk St or a Top 10 team. I just want to relax and know we're gonna win.
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SMF aside, no one is advocating what you describe above. Some say just adding WVU is enough. Others, including me would like to see us add two home and aways. WVU and perhaps Penn State. Resume a series with RMU, even if you have to go to their barn every three of four years. Schedule with a focus on local teams, couple with the Big 10 team, and problem solved.
I am actually in favor of playing PSU annually in all sports. I'm just honest enough to admit it will not help our RPI or be all that competitive most years. That's the same reason I've stated I'm completely in favor of keeping Duquesne at the CEC every year.
I would NEVER EVER play them in ANYTHING. They're dead to me.
And, FWIW, THEY ended the basketball series, not us.
Ok.
But is it really a huge problem like many are making it out to be if simply adding one game essentially fixes it? I'm only saying one because Psu and rmu being swapped do nothing really.
I'm in favor of it too..but I thought the issue being raised on here was the ooc is weak, so I'm not sure how some are making the argument that Psu helps?
I advocate two home and aways. And local teams draw bigger crowds than some unknown soup can. I know I am more likely to get my a$$ off the couch to watch RMU play than Howard for instance. Penn State will draw 8k or more no matter how bad they are.
Another aside, sending the team out to play a few road games eases the glut of crap games late November through mid December.
If tickets were $30 for terrible upper deck seats (which they were on Stubhuh), would more or less people go? How about if they were $10? What about $200?
If you dont think price factors into a decision on whether people buy Pitt tickets, you're just plain dumb. If the price was lower, more people would have bought through Pitt. Thats like basic Business 101.
Pitt was charging $65. Brokers were charging $30 or $40 and people were paying that. What does that tell you? Hint. Price was too high.
Ok. Two home and always I am assuming against power 5 teams, the acc big ten challenge. Penn state in addition, right . I am also assuming you would want a tournament as well, right. We also almost also play a game at msg?
I get that you want entertained, but you are asking for three high level games
off the bat. A tourney I assume because every team does one that would add another, and pitt will continue to play at msg, right?
So, say someone like IU, Wisconsin, Purdue next year in big/acc, home against wvu, away at gtown, Psu series start, an msg game against someone like uconn or st joe's, and then possibly a preseason tourney?
Sorry, what you are asking for is an elite non com schedule.
No, in ADDITION to a conference challenge and exempt tournament, 90% of major D1 teams play just 1 home and home. About 50% play at least 2. Scheduling WVU and VCU is not an "elite" schedule. Its on par with what a lot of other teams do.
Just as an example, this is what pity's schedule would have looked like this year with your plan Seneca.
Zags as the special/tourney game.
Detroit
Cornell
Kent
Purdue
@WVU
Duquesne
Seton hall as the other home and home
@penn state's
E Washington
Morehead
Davidson
Western carolina
Robert Morris
That would have been about the best non com schedule in the country.
Zags as the special/tourney game.
Detroit
Cornell
Kent
Purdue
@WVU
Duquesne
Seton hall as the other home and home
@penn state's
E Washington
Morehead
Davidson
Western carolina
Robert Morris
That would have been about the best non com schedule in the country.
No I'm not. I am suggesting WVU and PSU. One good and one mediocre local team. Feather in the Big ten team, RMU and the HOME schedule gets better and it eases the glut of OCC games in November/December. This is doable, adding more perhaps isn't. And I don't think it's too much to ask or would seriously cause problems with the RPI/SOS geeks.
With respect to neutral site/ tournaments Pitt can game the system any way the want. It's the home OOC that is a problem and thankfully Barnes gets it. It's now time that season ticket holders are given more consideration. Otherwise watch season ticket sales continue to drop.
This should be schedule
At Big Ten
WVU
At VCU (throwing out random good team)
Random neutral site game (NYC usually)
Tourney
Tourney
Tourney
Tourney
Duquesne, 2 for 1 with their home game at CEC until they turn into legitimate program
RMU
Cupcake
Cupcake
Cupcake
5 cupcakes, including RMU and Duq is plenty. Plus, depending on the tourney setuo, you may get 1-3 more cupcakes.
Uh, not at all what
Not at all what I said. I'm not suggesting that Pitt really needs to boost its RPI that much. What I am suggesting is they need to upgrade the home schedule to attract more interest in attendance and ticket sales. Subbing in PSU for any of the soup cans that nobody has heard of [with similar RPI] would help. Don't think that many more people would come to see Pitt kick PSU's ass rather than [fill in blank name school with RPI +/- 20]? Hail to Pitt!
Not exactly my plan, but you do realize your schedule still has 10 wins baked in.
I am not suggesting that Pitt needs to up its RPI that much. What I am suggesting is that there alternative wins that can be purchased that will create greater interest in Pitt fans in purchasing tickets and/or actually going to the game if they have tickets. I am saying Pitt fans and the Pittsburgh area would much rather see Pitt play Robert Morris than say Central Arkansas...and it would still be a Pitt win, and would only modestly boost RPI in difficulty. You are right that it may cost a bit more for some of the low RPI name schools [e.g. Rutgers, St.Johns, etc.]--but I think it would improve perception of the schedule as well as sales and attendance. I believe our AD is planning on doing what I am suggesting...so we may get to see it in action. Hail to Pitt!
Both PSUx and Bobby Mo chose to end their series with us, not the other way around.
You are presumbly closer to the situation than I am but my understanding is we will likely only resume the WVU series on a home and home basis at this time. Given the rotation of Duke and UNC into home and homes the next two seasons and Virginia plus Miami the following years, adding tougher OOC games in those next few years might be fatal to the program, particularly since there will be a full roster rebuild in 2017-18.
You're right, both of them ended the series. But all it takes is a phone call to start the process.
Don't know unless you try. A win win for everyone.
You still are not getting what I am saying. You can add "brand name" teams without making the schedule tougher. Just confer with the RPI listing and you will see plenty of "brand name teams" that are ranked very lowly. Sub in a Penn, a Drexel, a Robert Morris, a LaSalle...and you still get wins, get likely more local interest, in addition to more statewide media coverage, etc. Play some of the cellar dwellers of the P5 or regional Mid-American, etc. Yeah, Pitt will likely have to pay more for those games...but if it ultimately improves interest--it is worth the investment. I do not dispute that Pitt will always have a few home conference match ups that will garner national attention, the issue is the non-conference home games [or road if Jamie would ever play one]. Hail to Pitt!
So you want Pitt to drop prices on tickets it sold and you are preaching to me about Business 101?
Pitt has no control over the brokers...
Okay, so they sell more tickets for that particular game this year. Awesome. But do they schedule said game as a "buy game", or is it a home-and-home? Most likely (if it's the type of school you're proposing) it's a home and home. I doubt a school like PSU will say "yeah, we'd love to play you at the Pete every year!". So, do the tickets Pitt adds because of "Football School X" outnumber the tickets provided by "Cupcake Home Game" that occurs in the following year?
Basically, does Pitt drawing 5K per game in 2016 and 2017 against Cupcake U mean more than the 7.5K they might draw playing PSU in hoops over a 2 year period (accounting for the home-and-home aspect)?
People just focus on the home schedule without recognizing the give and take involved. Pitt isn't a big school in the college hoops landscape. Teams won't be falling over themselves to play a single game series at the Pete. These games will be reciprocated.
The arguments about Pitt's home OOC always feel incredibly deluded. Criticize the lack of an away game. Not the home aspect.
Pitt fans do not buy season tickets or attend home games based upon the away schedule...it is the home schedule that matters. Good athletic directors find ways to make the home schedule attractive every year--regardless of whether they are buying a game
The problem with national perception, which was the original thrust of this tread, is the SOS and particularly the OOC. The simplest way to strengthen BOTH is an away OOC game.
Given that a very significant portion of those who DO buy tckets are avoiding the Pete even during Top 5 league games not named Duke, it seems unlkely that adding some mediocre P-5 football programs to the home basketball schedule, as you have endorsed, is going to do much to increase ticket sales.
You may be right, particularly until Dixon can bring a consistent hard playing, exciting team to the floor each night. Upgrading the home schedule will help...but if the product is mediocre, you are right, that it will have little impact on tickets sales or attendance. My comments were premised upon the team playing the way it used to...which appears may have been an error on my part. Hail to Pitt!
This.
Pitt , under Dixon, has consistently played a weak non-conf schedule and we traditionally got bashed for it. It did not make much of a difference in our NCAA selection because we were winning 13 conference games a year in a brutal conference. Now that we are going winning fewer conference games, our non-conf schedule becomes more of an albatross around our neck.
We don't need to increase our non-conf schedule so much as win more conference games. If Pitt went 12-6 in the ACC this year, this debate would be meaningless.
Unintended consequences. If you OVER schedule the OOC slate....it's not 98 lb. weaklings that WE pound, it's 238 lb. athletes pounding us. Some of that builds toughness, too much builds fear and a lack of confidence. We don't need much more than we had on tap this year, as the Zags were a terrific neutral-site opponent. Well-regarded, ranked, a couple probable NBA players, good coach. We had Purdue at home. One more P5 squad or BE/AAC at home is all we'll ever need. If we recruited one & dones, play the Sixers. Let's not go overboard.
We need a little run starting Wednesday. I'm not sure this group has it in them.
I do understand that playing PSUx on our home schedule might add a few season ticket holders but other than that....
It's a moot point whether a close, hard fought game is more entertaining than watching Pitt run and dunk and score 85 or 90 points. Certainy, posters on here were much happer afterward when we were scoring big than when we narrowly beat Kent State, at 102 the second highest home RPI in our OOC.
We used to e criticized because that hard playing team wasn't exciting enough. Ironicslly, we wre quite excitng in our OOC this seaskn with lots if runnjng ad s oring abd dunking, but hkf the ticket holders weren't here than watch them - a trend that as Pitt-Girl said a year sgo, probably has more to do with ennui than our OOC.
Yes, this is why I said "Exactly!" 800 pages ago. Pitt is not getting in this year (or in 2003, or in 2011) based on any result of their OOC. Their OOC is good enough to not kill them, and bad enough to not make up for other faults. Dixon schedules it to be almost entirely neutral, meaning the entire selection criteria is our conference record. If you win 10+ games, no problem. If you win 8-9, you are going to be on the bubble, which we are.
I'm pretty sure we will be playing you next year. You will replace Marshall on our schedule. Huggins said we will be very happy with the replacement. We already have a ten year deal with VT and just signed a four year deal with Virginia. Huggins wanted to make sure we kept our regional rivalries. No reason we shouldn't be playing in hoops.
