BYU 09-10 schedule released

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...nkTrack=rss-28

@ Hawaii, @ Utah State, @ Arizona, Fresno State @ the Galen Center and @ UTEP are the road games.

Playing in the Las Vegas Classic with Nebraska, Tulsa and Nevada.

Home games, ASU, Bradley as part of the MWC/MVC challenge (I hadn't heard of this before), Idaho State, Weber State, SUU, Wagner, Eastern Washington and San Francisco @ the ESA.

Kinda boring. Probably destroy a Harden/Pendergraph-less ASU in the only interesting home game.

[Surfah]

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...nkTrack=rss-28

@ Hawaii, @ Utah State, @ Arizona, Fresno State @ the Galen Center and @ UTEP are the road games.

Playing in the Las Vegas Classic with Nebraska, Tulsa and Nevada.

Home games, ASU, Bradley as part of the MWC/MVC challenge (I hadn't heard of this before), Idaho State, Weber State, SUU, Wagner, Eastern Washington and San Francisco @ the ESA.

Kinda boring. Probably destroy a Harden/Pendergraph-less ASU in the only interesting home game.

That schedule sucks. Does nothing for us in notable wins come selection time.

[Indy Coug]

I've seen Tulsa listed as a preseason top 25 team.

[UteStar]

This schedule has been beat up by some on cougarboard and praised by others. Here are my thoughts:

It is not a terrible schedule in terms of RPI. You have a bunch of middling teams that will keep the BYU rpi solid though not spectacular. It is the kind of schedule that when BYU wins 22-23 games, they will have a good RPI and all of the 'experts' will be saying that their RPI is way too high for the teams they played.

The bad part about their schedule is that it is not inspiring. No fan can look at that and be excited. No wins on that schedule will really get anyone excited. It is a schedule definately done to be decent but it is not a schedule for the fans.

Utah seems to be taking a different approach under Boylen that the Utes would never take under Giac (his scheduling was rather similar to what Rose has put together this year) or under Majerus (1-2 big names, 2-3 average names, 3-4 terrible teams). Boylen is laying it out there and saying that they will go after the bigger schools.

His schedule this year is really aggressive especially considering their youth: LSU, Illinois, Oklahoma, Bradley or Oklahoma State and Michigan. Throw in Utah State and Weber State and a couple of midmajors (Illinois State and Pepperdine) and you have a pretty terrific schedule.

Should be an interesting year for both schools.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

The bad part about their schedule is that it is not inspiring. No fan can look at that and be excited. No wins on that schedule will really get anyone excited. It is a schedule definately done to be decent but it is not a schedule for the fans.

Utah seems to be taking a different approach under Boylen that the Utes would never take under Giac (his scheduling was rather similar to what Rose has put together this year) or under Majerus (1-2 big names, 2-3 average names, 3-4 terrible teams). Boylen is laying it out there and saying that they will go after the bigger schools.

I agree 100% with your first paragraph. You can't fault Rose for changing his scheduling this year. BYU has played tough games and against very good teams every year he has been HC, perhaps he thinks changing things up will help win in March. At this point I would rather win in March than be excited about a non-conference matchup.

[Indy Coug]

I think Boylen's past basketball connections (which are extensive) are helping him schedule teams that wouldn't play Utah otherwise.

[UteStar]

I think Boylen's past basketball connections (which are extensive) are helping him schedule teams that wouldn't play Utah otherwise.

I am sure that it helps for Boylen...but I have heard this argument for years (same thing under Majerus) but there are midmajors that schedule aggressively. You may not get all you want (more games on neutral courts), but teams can do it. Gonzaga is a HUGE example of this with their schedule. UNLV, at times, has had some very nice schedules.

Like I said, you may not always be able to get home games out of it, but you can get better games. I care about the RPI and you have to schedule for it, but you have to remember that you are trying to inspire your fans as well...and I can say that last year for Ute fans was fun because they went after big schools. Yes, they got beat up several times (Oklahoma being one of them) but they also stepped up and knocked down LSU and Gonzaga.

[TripletDaddy]

That schedule re-affirms my disinterest in BYU basketball.

It will be cool to be able to catch a game in LA, though. That won't require much effort.

[BoylenOver]

Why play San Francisco at the Delta Center and not Arizona St?

Rivalry games at The Spectrum are always a great time, and there will be some build-up to the match-up against Steve Cleveland.

[Surfah]

I am sure that it helps for Boylen...but I have heard this argument for years (same thing under Majerus) but there are midmajors that schedule aggressively. You may not get all you want (more games on neutral courts), but teams can do it. Gonzaga is a HUGE example of this with their schedule. UNLV, at times, has had some very nice schedules.

Like I said, you may not always be able to get home games out of it, but you can get better games. I care about the RPI and you have to schedule for it, but you have to remember that you are trying to inspire your fans as well...and I can say that last year for Ute fans was fun because they went after big schools. Yes, they got beat up several times (Oklahoma being one of them) but they also stepped up and knocked down LSU and Gonzaga.

Gonzaga and BYU aren't comparable. The Zags are the darlings of the mid-majors. They have far more respect than BYU. Losing to them isn't perceived as bad as a loss to BYU would be. Factor in BYU's home record in the last 5 years and yeah, no team wants to set themselves up for that.

[Indy Coug]

Why play San Francisco at the Delta Center and not Arizona St?

Rivalry games at The Spectrum are always a great time, and there will be some build-up to the match-up against Steve Cleveland.

The USF game is almost certainly due to some unnamed team bailing on BYU at the last minute and forcing them to scrounge up someone, anyone, to fill that slot for their contractually obligated game at ESA.

[UteStar]

Gonzaga and BYU aren't comparable. The Zags are the darlings of the mid-majors. They have far more respect than BYU. Losing to them isn't perceived as bad as a loss to BYU would be. Factor in BYU's home record in the last 5 years and yeah, no team wants to set themselves up for that.

Gonzaga was a nobody a few years ago...even after a couple of years success, nobody still wanted to play them. Gonzaga started playing at their place, neutral sites, etc...they got the respect and they can now schedule pretty well because other teams know it will get pub and tv.

As I mentioned before, mid majors can get the big schools to play them, but they have to be willing to play at some neutral sites sometimes. This is not to hammer on BYU because they have had some nice schedules...my point is--every fan wants to say that nobody will play them...I just don't agree with that.

[DrumNFeather]

I know this has been mentioned before, but the Utah schools, or at least the 3 or 4 within striking distance of ESA, need to host an all day event with 3 or four games...

This was in the works with the scheduling folks at ESA at one point, but Utah backed out (pre Boylen).

[Surfah]

Gonzaga was a nobody a few years ago...even after a couple of years success, nobody still wanted to play them. Gonzaga started playing at their place, neutral sites, etc...they got the respect and they can now schedule pretty well because other teams know it will get pub and tv.

As I mentioned before, mid majors can get the big schools to play them, but they have to be willing to play at some neutral sites sometimes. This is not to hammer on BYU because they have had some nice schedules...my point is--every fan wants to say that nobody will play them...I just don't agree with that.

We'll have to agree to disagree on your last point, because with what BYU has done at home it's not just blue goggles talking.

BYU already does play neutral sites. They do ESA every year. I don't think they need to add anymore. I am fine with the neutral site games and even 2 for 1's with good basketball schools. But when the middle to lower tiered major schools are balking at home and homes you can't give them 2 for 1's. That is silly.

[Indy Coug]

BYU's neutral site games over the last several years

Oklahoma State
Michigan State
Utah State
UNC
Louisville
Arizona State

I'm probably missing a couple. Not a bad lineup (except for USU).