Contemplating The Cupcake Schedule
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1 game against a ranked team in non-conference. 4 games against ranked teams in conference. The easiest schedule we’ve had in many years. Does that affect our seed in the tourney? Does playing in the B12 hurt our chances by driving down our SOS, and not preparing our team for the Dance? Is the B12 becoming like the Mo Valley, where you have to win the conference tourney to make sure you receive a bid? The last sentence is hyperbole… HOWEVER, the downward shift of B12 is alarming. This is a league that has had 3 Top 10 teams in the past, and as many as 6 or 7 teams ranked in the Top 25. Now we have 1 Top 10 team ( US ), and 2 other teams ranked in the Top 25 ( Baylor/WVU).
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@KUSTEVE in the grand scheme of things, does it matter? like the past few years - we will: Win the B12; Extend the streak; Lose in the dance; Repeat.
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The non-conference isn’t daunting but I think with the roster we have and the lack of bodies and depth in the post there is no point in having a brutal schedule.
The Big-12 will be the same as it always is. The other big 12 teams will sell their soul to beat KU at home and make the games difficult.
I do think that KU’s seed line will have a smaller margin for error. It doesn’t seem to matter if KU is a #1 seed or not with the Elite 8 monkey on KU’s back right now.
With the way the roster is set up this year we are going to be even more dependent on matchups and no injuries. Just 9 scholarship players and 3 posts is downright scary
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The league will be competitive, but there aren’t a lot of top quality NBA prospects in the league, so its hard to see any team other than KU make a deep run.
Every Big 12 team has issues, whether its health, eligibility, experience, talent, or fit.
It actually would be hugely helpful if Texas took a nice step forward this year. They could with Bamba, but I still look at a very murky PG situation there and wonder if they will have the same problems as last year getting quality shots. I worry the same thing for OSU without Evans and ISU without Morris. There could be some ugly basketball played in the conference this year if PG play is down and teams can’t get good shots up.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see KU win 15 conference games this year and win the conference title by 2-3 games. It’s just a watered down league. The only way that changes is if Young or Bamba can lift OU or Texas up a level.
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It’s hard to see Bamba lifting up Texas that much. He’s a surefire lotto pick but raw offensively. His greatest value will probably be defensively until the NBA can develop him. Smart couldn’t win with Allen last year. I think Andrew Jones will be their best overall player. Coleman is a big upgrade to what they had at PG but he’s limited offensively. He should however provide leadership and run the offense which he did at Oak Hill for years. There’s a lot of paper talent at Texas but I’ve yet to see a Smart mold it into something that can contend.
Young is definitely a fit at Oklahoma. I don’t think they are back yet to the level they had with with Hield but Young is going to stretch the floor a ton and he’s exactly the type of leader they were missing last season with Woodard hurt.
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One seed, two seed, three seed … who really cares? Gotta win 6 for the tourney to matter at this point. So I’m completely good with the schedule – except for not playing teams that we are afraid of pla — er, that we (allegedly) gain nothing from playing.
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The latest Bracketology has 8 conference teams going to the dance; 80% attendance would be unprecedented. As usual, the conference will have one elite team and a number of good to very good teams and overall the conference will be one of the top two.
West Virginia will be good and so will be Baylor. IF TCU and Tech maintain or improve from last year, it will be a huge plus. OU, OSU and Texas are projected to improve from last year and ISU should be roughly the same. The only team projected to drop is KSU. Overall, the League should be comparable or better than last season.
The conference schedule will be plenty strong so I am not worried.
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@JayHawkFanToo Do you anticipate that the Big 12 will be one of the top 3 conferences? I really don’t.
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With that schedule, and the easier path in the B12, I would be surprised if we had anymore than 3 losses heading into the tournament.
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@KUSTEVE Wow, just 1 team in non conference schedule, in the top 25? And, only 3 in the Big 12 including us?
That does seem pretty light considering our past schedules have been bears.
I’m betting that by seasons end more Big 12 teams will have cracked the top 25 tho.
Cant speak for any of our non conference opponents
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Who will be better?
The PAC 10? I don’t think so; Arizona and USC will be good and probable UCLA, depending on how quick the new players develop. Nothing much after that
The SEC? There is Kentucky and Florida, maybe Alabama and then it drops quite a bit from there. I just don’t see MU as being a top 25 team.
The Big10? Michigan State and then the next two top ranked teams are Minnesota and Northwestern and a distant Purdue.
The ACC? Well, there is Duke and Miami and Louisville with UNC and Notre Dame a step below and after that not much. As usual, the ACC has some contenders at the top but the bottom half is weak.
As I mentioned, the Big 12 has one true contender, a couple of very good team and the rest, except possibly for KSU, are above average, top 50 teams. The true strength of the conference is that essentially all teams are in the top 25% overall.
Once conference play starts KU’s RPI will go up.
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@KUSTEVE I personally like the idea of toning back the SOS a bit. Maybe that’s been our problem some of these years that we’ve had early March exits. We traveled too much and played too many tough games, that lead to the hell being beat outta us. There always is some team in the dance that played in a shit conference that makes a elite 8 or FF run. Heck look at wsu, maybe stomping 3/4s of the teams you play and resting starters is better going into the postseason.
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@kjayhawks Indeed. Interesting theory.
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9 scholarship players including 3 postmen…is Self trying to cut down on how many players he has to work with so he can get home for dinner sooner?
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@jaybate-1.0 don’t think he’s missed to many
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Haven’t seen a Bill photo lately. Is he putting on some weight?
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KU has so few players they can go to games in a minivan!!!
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KU has so few players we will have to call them the Supreme Court!
