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Post by Commissioner on Jun 20, 2024 7:21:59 GMT -5
Did we not have a thread yet on this year's schedule? I can't find one. Anyway, the Titans game at Eastern Michigan has been announced for November 30. We've also got Toledo at home on November 16, and Bowling Green on the road on December 18. Presumably, we'll play another MAC opponent, at Ball State as the back end of last year's H&H series. In other threads probable games with Wake Forest, Dayton, and Cincinnati have been reported. Also Loyola rumors. The Titans' 2024-25 non-conference schedule is starting to shape up as: H Nov. 16 Toledo A Nov. 30 Eastern Michigan A Dec. 18 Bowling Green A ______ Ball State A ______ Cincinnati A ______ Wake Forest A ______ Dayton _ ______ Loyola I'm still in favor of scheduling an easy win or two early, even if its against non-D1 competition. All Horizon non-conference schedules (as they become knonwn) are in this thread: udtitanbasketball.freeforums.net/post/46875/thread |
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Post by Rogobob77 on Jun 20, 2024 7:34:00 GMT -5
I heard the Loyola game is on the road. Not looking like a lot of balance between home and away games.
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Post by Commissioner on Jun 20, 2024 8:34:19 GMT -5
I heard the Loyola game is on the road. Not looking like a lot of balance between home and away games. Yes--add in an MTE (unless Dayton/Wake/UC are part of an MTE) and we're looking at 9 or 10 of our 11 non-conference games being played on the road, and probably starting the Montgomery era with a record somewhere betweeen 4-7 and 0-11. In my mind, this is a very serious scheduling error given where we are right now. We need some wins to build some level of interest. |
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Post by upbasketballfan on Jun 20, 2024 8:57:25 GMT -5
I heard the Loyola game is on the road. Not looking like a lot of balance between home and away games. Yes--add in an MTE (unless Dayton/Wake/UC are part of an MTE) and we're looking at 9 or 10 of our 11 non-conference games being played on the road, and probably starting the Montgomery era with a record somewhere betweeen 4-7 and 0-11. In my mind, this is a very serious scheduling error given where we are right now. We need some wins to build some level of interest. I’m thinking great scheduling as we are probably going to be really weak this year and some of these are prior commitments. Hopefully some are home and homes where we will get the home floor when we are a better more experienced team with an actual opportunity to win. I think the 4-7 above is being really optimistic but let’s see what we actually have! |
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Post by Commissioner on Jun 20, 2024 10:08:46 GMT -5
Yes--add in an MTE (unless Dayton/Wake/UC are part of an MTE) and we're looking at 9 or 10 of our 11 non-conference games being played on the road, and probably starting the Montgomery era with a record somewhere betweeen 4-7 and 0-11. In my mind, this is a very serious scheduling error given where we are right now. We need some wins to build some level of interest. I’m thinking great scheduling as we are probably going to be really weak this year and some of these are prior commitments. Hopefully some are home and homes where we will get the home floor when we are a better more experienced team with an actual opportunity to win. I think the 4-7 above is being really optimistic but let’s see what we actually have! I agree that 4-7 is super optimistic. But right now, we're not looking at building a plethora of return games for future years. None of UC, Wake, Dayton, and an MTE will yield a home game on our floor, and probably not Loyola, either. Ball State is a return from last year, so nothing to do about that but also no future home game to result, and I believe that is also the case with EMU. So I think only BGSU yields a future home game. And we need wins now. Season opening record by year, through the non-conference season (any league games before end of NonCon are in parens): 2023-24: 0-13 (0-2) 2022-23: 5-8 (1-1) 2021-22: 4-7 (2-0) 2020-21: 1-3 (Covid year) 2019-20: 1-13 (0-1) 2018-19: 4-8 2017-18: 4-9 2016-17: 1-11 I continue to believe that you cannot build fan interest with such starts. Our average home attendance, which had been hovering in the 2100 to 2600 range through 2016 (when we started 6-5, the last year when we had a competitive W-L record in NonCon play), has collapsed. Of course, these later teams were generally worse overall, too, than what we were putting on the floor in the years before, and the conference lost its main home attraction, hitting attendance. But some weren't bad after that opening. The 2021 team was 10-6 the rest of the regular season. The 2022 team went 10-7 through the rest of the regular season. The 2023 team 8-10. Give those teams some easy non-con wins, and they're all at or above .500 at least until very late in the season. That matters. And home games matter, too. How do you build any fan enthusiasm when all your games are on the road, and when you finally come home, you're sitting at something like 1-8? |
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Post by Rogobob77 on Jun 20, 2024 11:36:51 GMT -5
I believe the Loyola match is a buy game, no return on the home schedule next season.
I heard recently that they want a tournament at Calihan to help with schedule balance, but that likely won't take place until next season.
For cupcakes, I propose a couple Catholic teams: Aquinas (in-state, we have strong ties with the school, affiliated nursing program) and John Carroll (Jesuit, relatively close in Cleveland).
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Post by motorcitysam on Jun 20, 2024 12:51:33 GMT -5
I believe the Loyola match is a buy game, no return on the home schedule next season. I heard recently that they want a tournament at Calihan to help with schedule balance, but that likely won't take place until next season. For cupcakes, I propose a couple Catholic teams: Aquinas (in-state, we have strong ties with the school, affiliated nursing program) and John Carroll (Jesuit, relatively close in Cleveland). I would have been surprised if Loyola had been a home and home. I assumed it was a buy game from the start. That's a shame, since we were in the same conference not that long ago. Aquinas would be a good choice for a winnable non-D1 game. We've played UM-Dearborn in the not too distant past; I wouldn't mind seeing them back on the schedule this season. We'd get some Maize and Blue back in the Hall, and if we win both games we'd have the early lead in the standing for the Wolverine-Hoosier conference.  |
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Post by Commissioner on Jun 20, 2024 14:11:27 GMT -5
I believe the Loyola match is a buy game, no return on the home schedule next season. I heard recently that they want a tournament at Calihan to help with schedule balance, but that likely won't take place until next season. More and more mid-majors are doing this just to get a few home games. But the rules prohibit a school from hosting an invitational every year. A school can host something a couple years in a row, but they can't build any kind of brand--you need a new name, different participants, usually a new marketing agent and if possible a different venue. (So even if you had the demand and money, you couldn't restart the Motor City Classic under the current rules). This year Robert Morris and Milwaukee are hosting their own MTEs. Last year Cleveland State, Northern Kentucky, RMU, and YSU held their own MTEs. CSU, YSU, RMU, and Milwaukee have all been hosting them regularly, about as often as they can get away with it under the rules. Good choices. Not that anyone would care, but John Carroll was a regular rival from the very early days of Titan ball (when JCU was known as St. Ignatius) through the 1960s. We also played them in 1981 and 1988. We're 26-10-1 all-time against John Carroll, but 19-3 after 1937 (JCU won three straight in '48-49). We played Aquinas 4 times in the 1960s (including Spencer Haywood's debut), and then again in 2009 and 2015, winning all 6. |
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Post by Commissioner on Jun 20, 2024 14:14:15 GMT -5
I believe the Loyola match is a buy game, no return on the home schedule next season. I heard recently that they want a tournament at Calihan to help with schedule balance, but that likely won't take place until next season. For cupcakes, I propose a couple Catholic teams: Aquinas (in-state, we have strong ties with the school, affiliated nursing program) and John Carroll (Jesuit, relatively close in Cleveland). I would have been surprised if Loyola had been a home and home. I assumed it was a buy game from the start. That's a shame, since we were in the same conference not that long ago. I would have been surprised, too, but I was hoping just maybe, given that Loyola still doesn't draw that well (fewer than 3500 per game) and perhaps would have a bit of sentiment, for old-times sake and Jesuit brotherhood. Even a two for one. |
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Post by Commissioner on Jul 2, 2024 21:54:18 GMT -5
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Post by larrytitan on Jul 3, 2024 7:39:51 GMT -5
I hope this is a home and home agreement. Niagara is only two hours from my home.
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Post by Commissioner on Jul 3, 2024 9:43:01 GMT -5
I hope this is a home and home agreement. Niagara is only two hours from my home. Niagara plays at MSU right before, so this may just be a game where they were willing to take a low guarantee while passing through Detroit before cutting across Ontario. But more realistically, I have to think this is a home and home, with the Eagles taking advantage of the MSU trip. Assuming this is a home and home, one wonders if the Titans couldn't schedule a home and home with Canisius or Buffalo, to begin next year in Buffalo. Ideally, you could play the two games over 3 or maybe 4 days, the players could visit Niagara Falls in between. I'd go up and stay for both games. Or a buy game at St. Bonaventure or Syracuse (I'd like to think we could get a home & home with the Bonnies, but I highly doubt it). |
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Post by larrytitan on Jul 3, 2024 9:56:30 GMT -5
We played Syracuse here twice in McCallum era. The second game was exciting..we put a scare into Orange with late rally fueled by Doug Anderson’s alley oop dunks. A bus load of Titan fans came for the first game..it was Baby Ray’s freshman year. I sat next to Eli Warren. The second game did not bring as many from Motown.
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Post by royaloakdave on Jul 3, 2024 17:45:42 GMT -5
Hopefully we'll have at least 4 home games during the non conference schedule. I certainly like the idea that we a couple of home games early in the season; Niagara (Nov 10th) and Toledo (Nov 16th). 😊 |
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Post by ptctitan on Jul 4, 2024 7:22:48 GMT -5
A large part of this year's non-conference schedule was set during Davis' last year here; e.g., Wake Forest, Ball State, and Niagara. Maybe even Cincinnati. Like last year, we have to play 4 HL games in December. Two of them will likely be at Calihan. EMU and Toledo are series that transcend the guy who is the coach. Unless we're in an MTE, we will play 20 HL games and 10 non-conference games. This makes it likely that we will play an exhibition game at Calihan before November 6th.
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