Men's Basketball Schedule is out

So, in the midst of the anticipation over football, BG announced its non-conference MBB schedule.

Let's take a look.

First, BG has no P5 teams on the schedule.  The Frack Challenge is Florida Gulf Coast.

Second, BG headed further down the slippery slope toward EMU's schedule by adding a second non-D1 game.  Lake Erie College is DII and we are playing Lourdes (yes, that Lourdes, yes they have sports), which is in the NAIA, which is about as low as you can go.

They were 7-22 last year.

As I have stated before, I'm OK with playing one...the second one (and more) get harder to understand as prep for the conference season.

Now....the home games....

South Dakota, return game from last year, Coyotes beat BG 78-72.  They were 22-12 last year and played in the NIT.

Florida Gulf Coast, the legendary Dunk City team that went 26-8 and lost by 6 to Florida State in the NCAA tourney.

San Jose State....return game from last year when the Spartans beat BG 77-76 on their way to a 14-16 record.

Evansville, in a return game.  BG lost 69-66 last year.  They finished 16-17.

(and then Lourdes and Lake Erie).

So, in general, there are some interesting games, a couple good mid major teams, but only one big name.  The Florida Gulf Coast is a good get...but overall, a soft start for a young team.

On the road....

BG opens at Drexel in Philly.  They play in the CAA and they were 9-23 last year.  No idea, but hopefully this is a home and home.

BG is then scheduled to play at the Campbell multi-team event.  I assume multi-team event is a term for the kind of thing BG has been in pretty much every year, not a tournament per se, but it allows you to slip in a couple of extra games.

BG is scheduled to be there for three days.  Campbell is in the Southern Conference Big South Conference (h/t to commenter) and they were 19-18 last year.  There's no word on who the other two teams are.  I assume the teams will be announced by the hosts.

BG will play @Norfolk State, a return game from the game at BG, which BG won by 9 in unspectacular fashion.  Norfolk was 4-13 at one point with an RPI of 314 before they won 10 straight games.  They finished 17-17, 12-4 in the conference and qualified for the CIT.

BG will play @Old Dominion.  Hopefully, this is the start of a 1-1 with the Monarchs, who are a strong program.  They were 19-12 last year and play in the CUSA.

Lastly, BG will play @Green Bay, a return game from last year.  This is also a very good program.  they beat BG at the Stroh easily (77-61) and went 18-14.  They played in the CBI, losing to UMKC, a team they destroyed...also at the Stroh.

So, for the road games again, nothing spectacular.  ODU and Green Bay and every solid mid-major programs, but there are potential wins against Drexel and in the Campbell thing (I suspect).  Also, Norfolk State may finish the job and beat BG this year.

This is essentially the scheduling strategy Huger has used since he got here, and follows a MAC trend of fewer P5 games and more non-D1 games.  I understand where it comes from and I understand it is tough to get teams to play at the Stroh.  I just think that it would help build a fan base to have at least a few more interesting matchups.