UConn misses opportunities with non-conference schedule, despite big-name opponents

By now, we’ve all seen and complained about UConn’s non-conference schedule. There are some great games on there and some godawful ones. It is what it is.

So instead of regurgitating what you already know, I’ll offer up some better options that the Huskies might have considered.

First, behold the real thing:

Sun., Nov. 1          Tampa (exhibition)
Sat., Nov. 7            New Haven (exhibition)
Fri., Nov. 13           Maine
Tues., Nov. 17        New Hampshire
Sat., Nov. 21          Furman
Wed., Nov. 25        at Battle 4 Atlantis
Thurs., Nov. 26       at Battle 4 Atlantis
Fri., Nov. 27            at Battle 4 Atlantis
Wed., Dec. 2          Sacred Heart
Tues., Dec. 8          vs. Maryland (MSG)
Sat., Dec. 12           Ohio State
Sun., Dec. 20          UMass-Lowell
Wed., Dec. 23         Central Connecticut
Tues., Dec. 29         at Texas
Sat., Jan. 23            Georgetown

First, let’s be fair:

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1. Give credit where it’s due. UConn’s big games are going to be amazing, and there are sure to be more with the Battle 4 Atlantis matchups still TBD.
2. UConn may not have had a choice in scheduling Furman. I believe that is their on-campus Atlantis game and I’m not sure how that works.
3. I’m totally fine with scheduling an in-state opponent with a Husky connection like Central Connecticut.

As for the rest, every team plays cupcakes. But these are the wrong kinds.

On paper, a guarantee game against a 20-win low-major is much better than a cellar-dweller from the same league. People have complained about the selection committee screwing the American the last couple years, so why put a worse SOS number next to your name, when you can improve it without sacrificing wins? You don’t need to play only Power 5 teams in order to have a high schedule strength, and conversely, scheduling a bunch of P-5 teams doesn’t guarantee a great strength of schedule if the rest of your games are horrendous.

Last year, for example, UConn played Duke, Stanford, Texas, Dayton, West Virginia and Florida, and still ended up with the 89^th best non-conference schedule, according to KenPom.

With the Huskies likely to fall into a similar trap this year, here’s how it could have been prevented:

Nov. 13 vs. Maine (RPI: 338)
Instead: Albany (104), Stony Brook (112) or Vermont (181)

If you replaced Maine with any of the three schools above, nobody outside of Storrs would take notice right now. Except that Albany had an RPI over 230 spots better than Maine did last year. Stony Brook and Vermont weren’t far behind, and all three are in the America East along with the Blackbears. They’re also schools that have been willing to play UConn in the past.

It would have been nice for the Huskies to help out Steve Pikiell as well by bringing his Seawolves to Hartford or Storrs, throwing them a few bucks and guaranteeing them a game on TV.

Dec. 2 vs. Sacred Heart (RPI: 244)
Instead: Robert Morris (153), St. Francis-Brooklyn (165), Mount St. Mary’s (187), Bryant (189), St. Francis-PA (193)

The Northeast Conference is routinely viewed as one of the worst conferences in college basketball, but the league posted five top-200 RPI teams last year. And with previous tournament appearances, Robert Morris is a school that fans will take seriously and are more likely to show up for than Sacred Heart.

Dec. 20 vs. UMass-Lowell (RPI: 262)
Instead: Northeastern (91) or Boston University (200)

Northeastern was a top-100 RPI team last year, so that would have been a great game to schedule. BU was nothing special, but was still a better option than a school still adjusting to life in Division I.

Or, instead of Lowell, UConn could have scheduled the OTHER UMass. The one that fans have been clamoring to get back onto the schedule.

Which brings me to my final extremely obvious idea: drop any of the above games and replace it with any of the following: UMass-Amherst, Boston College, Providence, Rhode Island, Harvard or pretty much any non-Fordham team in the Atlantic 10.

This year’s non-conference schedule is made up entirely of Top 25-caliber teams and borderline Division II teams with no room in between. Throw in the Minutemen or the Rams, and you have a game that will draw more people, attract (at worst) an ESPNU slot and generate excitement among fans.

If the athletic department wants more fans to come to games, they need a reason. I’m not saying URI is going to sell 15,000 seats in Hartford, but it’ll do better than UMass-Lowell.

This is especially important now that UConn must host schools like East Carolina and Tulane during the heart of conference season.

I’m not saying UConn mindlessly scheduled these games. Dom Amore posted a great story yesterday on Paul McCarthy, who plays a major role in creating the schedule. According to the article, Kevin Ollie carefully mulls over each game and weighs the pros and cons. Which begs the question: What are the pros to UMass-Lowell and Maine? Perhaps we are missing something.

I’ll leave you with a list of Top-200 RPI low- and mid-major schools that are located in the northeast and not on the Huskies’ schedule.

Buffalo (31)
Iona (55)
Harvard (59)
Yale (66)
George Washington (80)
UMass (83)
Northeastern (91)
Albany (104)
La Salle (105)
Stony Brook (112)
Lafayette (119)
St. Bonaventure (127)
NJIT (134)
American (138)
Bucknell (139)
Rider (140)
Robert Morris (153)
St. Francis-Brooklyn (165)
Canisius (169)
Manhattan (174)
Lehigh (176)
Monmouth (178)
St. Joseph’s (179)
Vermont (181)
Rutgers (182)
Hofstra (183)
Mount St. Mary’s (187)
Bryant (189)
Dartmouth (190)
St. Francis-PA (193)
Princeton (194)
Colgate (195)
Boston U. (200)
(Columbia and Holy Cross were 201 and 202, respectively)

UConn would have only needed to agree to terms with three of them. Talk about missed opportunities.