One of the things that is always tough is that when you face teams early in the season, you don't know how good they really are. One of the things I like to do is take a minute to look back and see how things have turned out for our early opponents.....
Howard: After beating BG, Howard lost their next 8 games before finally beating Loyola of MD in their most recent game. They are 2-8 with an RPI of 227.
Michigan: After beating BG, UM lost 2 of the next 3 before a 7-game winning streak that is current. They are 10-2 with an RPI of 59.
Duquesne is 3-4 since they smoked BG @AA. However, 3 of those losses are @Pitt, @Penn State and WVU (neutral). They had a decent road win @Green Bay. They are 5-5 with an RPI of 183.
Niagara is, in retrospect, a very disappointing loss on a neutral floor. They lost their next 5 games after beating us, one of them an 18 point defeat to Buffalo. They do have a nice win @St. Bonaventure, but there is not much to show for their year. 3-9, 286 RPI.
Detroit is having a disappointing season. They are 7-6 and 3-2 in the MAC, with wins against BG, @EMU and @CMU and losses to Akron and @WMU. Their RPI is 206.
Albany is 7-6 against what is one of the ten easiest schedules in the NCAA to date. Their own RPI is 255. They did pick up a really nice win @Siena after beating BG, but their other wins since then are not too remarkable.
Michigan State is 8-4 and a Top 10 team with an RPI of 56. Since beating BG they have lost @Syracuse and to Texas at home. They beat a tough Oakland team on a neutral floor after a huge scare.
WKU is 5-7 and 1-3 since beating BG. However, that includes a win over SIU, and then losses @Murray State and to Louisville. Their RPI is 124.
FIU is 1-1 since playing BG, losing to Sam Houston State and beating Florida A&M (both at home). They are 5-6 with an RPI of 279.
Clearly, there are a couple of teams that are good in there, and a bunch of teams that have underachieved pretty badly. Overall, our schedule is currently ranked #296 in the nation.
I will say this: I'm glad we played the Detroit tournament, even though we took a sombrero. I think we needed those extra games.
A schedule ranked 296 coupled with a poor record means a lousy basketball team.
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