USF, UCF, FIU, FAU, FGCU and Florida should always be on our non-conference schedule. Home and home.
I agree. There are plenty of D1 FL programs of varying quality. Why do we need to go out of state at all OOC?
Lehigh, Yale, and Penn are superior teams to most of those non-conference FL teams. I know it is just one source, but looking at Kenpom, only Florida and UCF are even in the top 200 teams for this year. FGCU is the third best team on that list, and they are down at 205.D1 bball programs in FL:
Bethune-Cookman University
University of Central Florida
University of Florida
Florida A&M University
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Gulf Coast University
Florida International University
Florida State University
Jacksonville University
University of Miami
University of North Florida
University of South Florida
Stetson University
No reason to be playing Lehigh, Yale, Houston Baptist, Penn or Campbell.
Lehigh, Yale, and Penn are superior teams to most of those non-conference FL teams. I know it is just one source, but looking at Kenpom, only Florida and UCF are even in the top 200 teams for this year. FGCU is the third best team on that list, and they are down at 205.
Yale is at 117, Penn is at 151, and Lehigh is at 186. Lehigh is the Patriot League favorite coming into this season, and Yale/Penn are top three Ivy League teams. While none of those teams would make a signature win by any means, they also wouldn't crater our SOS rating like a Stetson or FAMU would. And given the way we've scheduled in the NC the past couple of years, anything that could create a minor boost to our schedule strength can't hurt.
If you wanted to switch out Campbell for FIU, or Houston Baptist for Bethune-Cookman, you'd have no arguments from me. And I'd be on board trying to play Florida and UCF every year (or at least most years). Maybe even FIU, given how close they are. But I don't want to be locked in to playing 3-5 teams that are going to be ranked 250+ almost every year just because they are located somewhat close. Keep it to 1 or 2 at the most.
Don't disagree with any of that, though I feel stronger about playing more in Orlando than Tampa. It seems like that is a more fertile recruiting ground than the Tampa Bay area is unless you count IMG (and even then, Orlando has Montverde Academy). And UCF has become good enough where a Miami-UCF game in Orlando would get a little bit of attention locally, if not nationally. Don't think you can say the same about USF.You make a valid point but let's also factor in recruiting. I could be wrong but I think Miami would improve their brand in the state of Florida by playing more home and home games against more state schools. For example, CJ Walker is from the Orlando, FL area so I feel playing UCF could help with his recruiting and future recruiting in that area. Last year, Nasir Little was the best player in the Orlando area. Anthony Lawrence should be playing in Tampa against USF since he is from the Tampa/St Petersburg area. Also helps with future recruiting in that area.
Playing Penn in the Palestra in Philadelphia helps with recruiting the Philadelphia/Pennsylvania kids but honestly, I think we should be playing Temple or Villanova.
I feel the Canes should play the higher rated conferences (SEC, AAC etc downward) but the Kenpom information is interesting and it cannot be ignored.
Does that make sense?
Don't disagree with any of that, though I feel stronger about playing more in Orlando than Tampa. It seems like that is a more fertile recruiting ground than the Tampa Bay area is unless you count IMG (and even then, Orlando has Montverde Academy). And UCF has become good enough where a Miami-UCF game in Orlando would get a little bit of attention locally, if not nationally. Don't think you can say the same about USF.
I'd rather play more teams coming out of multi-bid leagues, and I'd prefer Villanova/Temple if we are playing in Philly over Penn. But I still think you can get more out of playing Penn than playing USF with all things equal. Just not sure the recruiting bump would be all that noticeable against them. If you really want to play in Tampa, I'd rather play a neutral court game there against a higher quality team.
Maybe it won't be as noticeable under the new NET tool compared to the RPI, but there is value in playing those 75-150 type teams (Stephen F. Austin, Yale, Penn, and Lehigh all could potentially fit here) while avoiding those 250+ teams.
The main problem is you can't have those schools be your headliners with your schedule, since you don't know what exactly you'll get in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge (at least when the scheduling process was beginning) or in the Wooden Classic. I think we all agree with that.