To get an idea for the strength of this out of conference (OCC) schedule, I looked at the average RPI for the last four years of our 15 non-conference opponents. (Note: I took the liberty of making some reasonable projections for the Pre-season NIT)
| Home: | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 4 Year Avg. |
| Virginia Tech | 52 | 34 | 146 | 112 | 86 |
| Missouri | 117 | 93 | 139 | 72 | 105 |
| NIT Round 4 (Projected UAB)* | 56 | 134 | 32 | 49 | 68 |
| Texas A&M Corpus Christi (260) | 260 | 80 | 201 | 173 | 179 |
| Wofford (195) | 195 | 296 | 288 | 227 | 252 |
| Kennesaw State | 324 | 276 | 249 | n/a | 283 |
| UNC A&T | 234 | 271 | 324 | 312 | 285 |
| SC Upstate | 306 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 306 |
| Presbyterian | 333 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 333 |
| TBD (NIT 3rd Round)* | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Away: | |||||
| Georgia Tech | 67 | 52 | 160 | 27 | 77 |
| Purdue (NIT Round 2)* | 45 | 44 | 174 | 180 | 111 |
| Western Kentucky | 39 | 97 | 54 | 75 | 66 |
| Neutral: | |||||
| Illinois (played in Chicago) | 103 | 29 | 14 | 2 | 37 |
| NIT 1st Round (EMU or Loyola Chicago)* | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
Pre-season NIT Notes:
- NIT 1st Round: The NIT will announce teams very soon, but it appears that we will face EMU or Loyola Chicago in Purdue's arena. Both teams typically post an RPI of 150-200. It's not a bad RPI game on a neutral court.
- NIT 2nd Round: We get Purdue assuming UGA and Purdue both beat their low major opponents.
- NIT 3rd Round: If we don't beat Purdue, we would very likely host Rounds 3 and 4. Round 3 would be a low major team like James Madison.
- NIT 4th Round: The two most likely "name" opponents for Round 4 would be UAB or Davidson. I projected the RPI based on UAB.
Overall Strength of Schedule Thoughts:
- As I said yesterday, we play a solid mix of Top 100 teams, and we really only play two teams are who are total locks to have sub-300 RPIs. In this age of escalating buyouts for low major RPI teams, it's a good schedule.
- Few "unbeatables" - Technically, there's no such thing as an "unbeatable" opponent. However, speaking realistically...we all know that last year's UGA squad was facing loooooooong odds with its trip to Wisconsin. The game at Purdue won't be easy, but the schedule is manageable...conceptually.
- We're going to miss Billy Humphrey and Sundiata Gaines very, very, very much.
(BTW - Barring a commitment from Favors, you likely won't see more than two more hoops articles per month from now til early November)
PWD
Georgia Sports Blog
