ACC:
Clemson
Virginia Tech
Georgia Tech
Florida State
Big 10:
Michigan (a reach, but not impossible)
Penn State
Minnesota
Big 12:
Texas Tech
Iowa State
Kansas State
Colorado
Big East:
Notre Dame (another reach, but not impossible)
St. Johns
DePaul
Seton Hall
Pac-10:
Oregon State
Oregon
Over an 11 game non-conference schedule, I would do the following:
2 Neutral Site Game in Atlanta and elsewhere
3 Home Games with the Above Teams
3 Road Games with the Above Teams
3 Home Cupcakes like Ga State, S. Alabama or Mercer
I just totally don't see the point of playing 8 or 9 home games against a complete slate of jobbers like Savannah State. Imagine a schedule like this:
Home - Georgia Tech
Home - Colorado
Home - Iowa State
Road - Clemson
Road - Florida State
Road - Penn State
Neutral - Texas Tech (Atlanta)
Neutral - Michigan (Detroit)
Home Cupcake - Ga State
Home Cupcake - S. Alabama
Home Cupcake - Murray State
As a point of comparison...our schedule in Harrick's last season was:
Home - Pitt
Away - Georgia Tech
Away - Minnesota
Away - Colorado
 |
Neutral - Cal (Anaheim)
Neutral - Gonzaga (ATL)
Home Cupcake - Belmont
Home Cupcake - App State
Home Cupcake - S. Alabama
Home Cupcake - Wisconsin-Milwaukee
What I'm hoping for is something similar to what Harrick put together his last year. Only without the third neutral game, without the Top 10 Pitt and Texas teams (for now), and without 4 home cupcakes. We could have a balanced, aggressive schedule with better home games that wouldn't pose too daunting of a task.
Are we ready for a complete shift to the schedule above next year? No. But we need to start transitioning to this sooner rather than later. Felton says our fans aren't supporting the program as if we're a winner. To me, Felton's schedule says that he doesn't think we're a winner either. A team that schedules that soft is scared.
Next year, we need to see a better schedule to go along with a better product on the court.
