Griz Hoops schedule for next year (2015-16)

mtgrizrule said:

THIS is the kind of schedule I love, and the best way to build a program of our level. A few times over the last few years, I have stated with inconsistent attendance and the difficult of getting name opponents, the best route would be taking on tough road opponents. Build this program by taking on the best possible schedule, in time we can bring in better home opponents.

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citay said:

board alert: rant coming!

in college basketball, there is only one thing that matters: the big dance. all else is nothing except positioning for the big dance. and if you are going to make a reputation in college basketball, you make it at the big dance, and only at the big dance.

did i mention the big dance?

take our last two games against ucla. the last one was just a few years ago, at pauley. i was lucky enough to be there. incredible game. ucla jumps out early, we catch up. it's close at halftime, and you fully expect ucla to dominate the second half. except--we blow them out! two minutes left, we're up by twenty. cherry is the best point guard on the floor, qvale the best big man. they score a few late threes to make the score respectable, but this is a huge dominant win for montana. if they'd played the next night, and the next, i think montana would have won again and again, even at pauley.

game before that against ucla, in 1975, we lost 67-64. we played valiantly, but we lost. if you score three points less than your opponent you lose, and that goes in the record books as a loss. and yet that game has gone down as one of the great games in the history of montana basketball, while the game at pauley is long forgotten. why?

it was the big dance! a valiant loss at the big dance counts way more than an actual win in the regular season.

no matter montana sweeps the regular season big sky or beats the great damian lilliard in a playoff games. if you get blasted by wisconsin, then syracuse in consecutive trips to the big dance, your program is crap.

thus your whole strategy is, how do you succeed at the big dance? and beyond winning your conference tournament and getting there in the first place, there are two things that must happen.

first, your conference must be credible, such that you're not a 16-seed going against a one. this is why we should always always root for weber and eastern and any other big sky team out of conference. a 12-seed? you've got a chance. a one? none and done.

and two, you must be prepared, by playing the toughest pre-season schedule you possibly can. this was gonzaga's route to success 15 years ago, going out and playing anybody, anywhere, such that when they got to the tournament, they were prepared against the bigger quicker more athletic teams. the big dance is where gonzaga made its reputation, and scheduling good teams is the FIRST requirement of any aspiring mid-major. i'm glad decuire understands this, and is ready to get away from this stupid "home and home" mentality that has existed for way too long at montana.

from hiring ken bone, to redshirting two kids, to the choice of our uniforms, to the way we play defense, and now to the way we plan to schedule, i like everything about the way travis decuire is running this program. success will follow.

Click to expand...

citay said:

board alert: rant coming!

in college basketball, there is only one thing that matters: the big dance. all else is nothing except positioning for the big dance. and if you are going to make a reputation in college basketball, you make it at the big dance, and only at the big dance.

did i mention the big dance?

take our last two games against ucla. the last one was just a few years ago, at pauley. i was lucky enough to be there. incredible game. ucla jumps out early, we catch up. it's close at halftime, and you fully expect ucla to dominate the second half. except--we blow them out! two minutes left, we're up by twenty. cherry is the best point guard on the floor, qvale the best big man. they score a few late threes to make the score respectable, but this is a huge dominant win for montana. if they'd played the next night, and the next, i think montana would have won again and again, even at pauley.

game before that against ucla, in 1975, we lost 67-64. we played valiantly, but we lost. if you score three points less than your opponent you lose, and that goes in the record books as a loss. and yet that game has gone down as one of the great games in the history of montana basketball, while the game at pauley is long forgotten. why?

it was the big dance! a valiant loss at the big dance counts way more than an actual win in the regular season.

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citay said:

good point, bigfork. still, i wonder if a similar regular season game against that wooden team would have inspired such an incredible legacy.

too, we probably got more national pub after we beat nevada in the first round of the tournament than our football team did for winning a 1-aa championlship. and if we'd beaten boston college to make the sweet 16--and we were tied at halftime--the publicity really would have rolled in.

me, i can watch just about any regular season football game. but basketball? nah. it takes a special matchup for me to watch an entire regular-season ncaa basketball game. and yet the big dance, with its all-comers, 64-team format, and its incredible string of upsets through the years, remains my all-time favorite sporting event. there's just something special about march madness.

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mtgrizrule said:

citay said:

board alert: rant coming!

in college basketball, there is only one thing that matters: the big dance. all else is nothing except positioning for the big dance. and if you are going to make a reputation in college basketball, you make it at the big dance, and only at the big dance.

did i mention the big dance?

take our last two games against ucla. the last one was just a few years ago, at pauley. i was lucky enough to be there. incredible game. ucla jumps out early, we catch up. it's close at halftime, and you fully expect ucla to dominate the second half. except--we blow them out! two minutes left, we're up by twenty. cherry is the best point guard on the floor, qvale the best big man. they score a few late threes to make the score respectable, but this is a huge dominant win for montana. if they'd played the next night, and the next, i think montana would have won again and again, even at pauley.

game before that against ucla, in 1975, we lost 67-64. we played valiantly, but we lost. if you score three points less than your opponent you lose, and that goes in the record books as a loss. and yet that game has gone down as one of the great games in the history of montana basketball, while the game at pauley is long forgotten. why?

it was the big dance! a valiant loss at the big dance counts way more than an actual win in the regular season.

no matter montana sweeps the regular season big sky or beats the great damian lilliard in a playoff games. if you get blasted by wisconsin, then syracuse in consecutive trips to the big dance, your program is crap.

thus your whole strategy is, how do you succeed at the big dance? and beyond winning your conference tournament and getting there in the first place, there are two things that must happen.

first, your conference must be credible, such that you're not a 16-seed going against a one. this is why we should always always root for weber and eastern and any other big sky team out of conference. a 12-seed? you've got a chance. a one? none and done.

and two, you must be prepared, by playing the toughest pre-season schedule you possibly can. this was gonzaga's route to success 15 years ago, going out and playing anybody, anywhere, such that when they got to the tournament, they were prepared against the bigger quicker more athletic teams. the big dance is where gonzaga made its reputation, and scheduling good teams is the FIRST requirement of any aspiring mid-major. i'm glad decuire understands this, and is ready to get away from this stupid "home and home" mentality that has existed for way too long at montana.

from hiring ken bone, to redshirting two kids, to the choice of our uniforms, to the way we play defense, and now to the way we plan to schedule, i like everything about the way travis decuire is running this program. success will follow.

Click to expand...

Well said Citay regarding the schedule and DeCuire. I believe tougher schedules do make a team tougher come tournament time, come the NCAA tournament that is huge. It is even more important for any team in a 1 bid conference. As you said, it also increases the chances for an upset or 2 in the Big Dance. I am surprised you overlooking other factors of this helping to build a program. Most NCAA Div 1 level players prefer challenges and better competition, which is also more exposure for your team and players. That helps with recruiting and it also helps the chances of your players getting noticed by the NBA. Scheduling away games against big programs also generate the much needed influx of revenue ($$$$$$) to use for the program. Unlike football, home basketball attendance is not consistent enough to rely on home game revenue. The lack of attendance is disappointing to say the least. Something is broken. It is hard to repair. How many times did we hear on egriz that "winning" would bring back the numbers for attendance. Well GRIZ NATION sort of proved that logical thinking wrong. The GRIZ won at conference record clips for a 3 year period under Tinkle. Yet, where were the butts in the seats? Those players and teams were let down by our fan base. They deserved better. Until this program can rely on attendance again to generate revenue, Travis is absolutely doing what is best for program progression in scheduling the toughest teams possible on the road. GO GRIZ!!!!!!!!!!!!! :thumb:

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