Once again, some history of NIU plus an indictment on the B1G-types reluctance to schedule anybody except on terms favorable to them. As Korcek notes, take the 44 non-home game meetings between the Huskis and B1G foes, make just one-quarter of those (11) a game in DeKalb (EFH or the Convo), and odds are pretty good NIU's won-loss record rises. One-quarter would be like a 3-for-1, example: Indiana.


http://www.huskiewire.com/articles/2015/.../index.xml

Its kind of hard for me to get bent out of shape about this when the only MAC team I care about is still struggling to beat the likes of UC Riverside at home.

Its not 1972 anymore, Mike, and I'm not sure a Convo Center beat down by Michigan State does our program much good at this point...

(01-08-2015 04:42 PM)Flying Corn Wrote:  Its kind of hard for me to get bent out of shape about this when the only MAC team I care about is still struggling to beat the likes of UC Riverside at home.

Its not 1972 anymore, Mike, and I'm not sure a Convo Center beat down by Michigan State does our program much good at this point...

Agree, we gotta worry about beating the bad teams before we worry about bringing big time schools to the Convo. If we start being a top MAC team, then maybe we can think about better scheduling.

I agree with about 90 percent of what Korcek says, but in this case I do not. Big 10 schools are simply not returning phone calls from MAC members in basketball right now. This was recently referenced by a MAC coach who said no one is returning his calls. It takes two to dance, and I don't blame MAC schools for this. I also think he is underestimating the MAC this year, this is as good as its been in a long time. You literally cannot look at any team in this conference and say that's a W automatically. From a statistical perspective, the MAC has now moved up to #10 moving past the MWC recently.

(01-08-2015 05:38 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  Big 10 schools are simply not returning phone calls from MAC members in basketball right now. ... From a statistical perspective, the MAC has now moved up to #10 moving past the MWC recently.

MaddDawgz02, you're restating what Korcek said: Remember, in scheduling, it takes two "parties." Which brings me to the gist of my scheduling rant: Our “neighbors” in the Big Ten Conference. He was pointing out how B1G teams seldom go on the road during their non-conference schedule.

Korcek was simply hoping Frazier can do Schedulepalooza for basketball. No offense Flying Corn, but Korcek knows it's not 1972, his point was that coaches and ADs have to use their connections to get games. Should Izzo and Michigan State be afraid of losing to the Huskies? No, but give your former assistant a home-and-away deal and you give him a selling point to recruits ("We're playing Michigan State) and despite anticipating the outcome and being a heavy underdog, you don't think people would come to the Convo to see Michigan State? If people wouldn't be interested in seeing Izzo's team then why are any of us excited about BYU, etc. coming to DeKalb for football? If you're old enough to remember Ray Meyer, DePaul, Mark Aguirre, etc., then you're old enough to remember the Blue Demons lucked out in overtime.....after a one-for-the-ages Terry Green rebound-slam!
NIU007, I agree with you, that we need to consistently beat bad teams, but NIU football wasn't setting the world on fire when a deal was made to bring Wake Forest to DeKalb, or when Maryland and Iowa State agreed to play at Huskie Stadium. But games like that can be a launching pad for fan excitement and if the coaches and players are able to take advantage of the opportunity, something special can happen.
Flying Corn you say It's hard to get bent out of shape about (MAC scheduling) when the only team I care about (struggles) to beat UC Riverside --- don't disagree with you, but wouldn't be nice to have a conference home game or two every season with a notable villian ala Dan Palombizio? Even I thought any of the UC-Riverside kids were whiners, cry-babies, I'll never see them again.
Since Maddawgz02, dekalb222, and several others know far more about our MAC foes, I'm hoping they can let us know when one of our upcoming league opponents has a standout player for our fans to try to rattle with some good-natured razzing.

Corn, It doesn't always work like that in bball. NIU was in a battle with UC Riverside, but NIU also beat Ohio on the road some what easily. DePaul beat NIU easily at their place but Ohio crushed DePaul on a neutral floor. Maybe, NIU doesn't beat a BIGTEN school in DeKalb, but several other MAC teams would win home games against the BIG10.

I think right now, NIU would have a chance at beating, Penn St, Nebraska, Michigan, Northwestern, Rutgers and Purdue in DeKalb. The day is coming this season that we draw a crowd of 2500-3k and people will be amazed at how loud it gets in the Convo.

(01-08-2015 06:15 PM)dekalb222 Wrote:  Corn, It doesn't always work like that in bball. NIU was in a battle with UC Riverside, but NIU also beat Ohio on the road some what easily. DePaul beat NIU easily at their place but Ohio crushed DePaul on a neutral floor. Maybe, NIU doesn't beat a BIGTEN school in DeKalb, but several other MAC teams would win home games against the BIG10.

Play bigger schools at home, entice better recruits, beat some bigger schools with the better recruits. Grow or shrink, can't wait for greatness to fall in our lap and go from there.

We need an A-level hotel by the Convo, and one downtown as planned. The pile of garbage on Lincoln near Annie Glidden needs to come down. Subtract those rooms and the Dekalb hotel-room inventory has more expansion room.

Wish Korcek would follow Nitz out the door, but you already know how I feel about the subject.

Frazier said, he will get the home bball schedule up-graded next year. He needs the huskies to win some games and get their RPI up. Right now, it hurts teams to play us with our crappy RPI.

(01-08-2015 06:12 PM)uiniu57 Wrote:  

(01-08-2015 05:38 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  Big 10 schools are simply not returning phone calls from MAC members in basketball right now. ... From a statistical perspective, the MAC has now moved up to #10 moving past the MWC recently.

MaddDawgz02, you're restating what Korcek said: Remember, in scheduling, it takes two "parties." Which brings me to the gist of my scheduling rant: Our “neighbors” in the Big Ten Conference. He was pointing out how B1G teams seldom go on the road during their non-conference schedule.

Korcek was simply hoping Frazier can do Schedulepalooza for basketball. No offense Flying Corn, but Korcek knows it's not 1972, his point was that coaches and ADs have to use their connections to get games. Should Izzo and Michigan State be afraid of losing to the Huskies? No, but give your former assistant a home-and-away deal and you give him a selling point to recruits ("We're playing Michigan State) and despite anticipating the outcome and being a heavy underdog, you don't think people would come to the Convo to see Michigan State? If people wouldn't be interested in seeing Izzo's team then why are any of us excited about BYU, etc. coming to DeKalb for football? If you're old enough to remember Ray Meyer, DePaul, Mark Aguirre, etc., then you're old enough to remember the Blue Demons lucked out in overtime.....after a one-for-the-ages Terry Green rebound-slam!
NIU007, I agree with you, that we need to consistently beat bad teams, but NIU football wasn't setting the world on fire when a deal was made to bring Wake Forest to DeKalb, or when Maryland and Iowa State agreed to play at Huskie Stadium. But games like that can be a launching pad for fan excitement and if the coaches and players are able to take advantage of the opportunity, something special can happen.
Flying Corn you say It's hard to get bent out of shape about (MAC scheduling) when the only team I care about (struggles) to beat UC Riverside --- don't disagree with you, but wouldn't be nice to have a conference home game or two every season with a notable villian ala Dan Palombizio? Even I thought any of the UC-Riverside kids were whiners, cry-babies, I'll never see them again.
Since Maddawgz02, dekalb222, and several others know far more about our MAC foes, I'm hoping they can let us know when one of our upcoming league opponents has a standout player for our fans to try to rattle with some good-natured razzing.

Just looking at social media and even some of the comments here, I see things said that somehow equate teams like Dartmouth and UC-Riverside to playing Presbyterian in football. People forget there are three hundred and forty odd some teams in div 1, just because NIU plays a school we aren't familiar with in no way means its a bad opponent. Take Dartmouth for example, that team is fundamentally rock solid. They wont dazzle you, but you can tell they are a well coached team very schooled on the fundamentals and a very respectable team. I just get the feeling people go football mode way to quick with these type of games and say "Wow we suck because we can't beat Dartmouth". Its just way off base and I think even Korcek is falling into that trap. In fact of NIU's 5 losses, not one of these teams is outside of the top 200 RPI.

Correction, I guess Dartmouth now is just outside of top 200

(01-08-2015 06:50 PM)dekalb222 Wrote:  Frazier said, he will get the home bball schedule up-graded next year. He needs the huskies to win some games and get their RPI up. Right now, it hurts teams to play us with our crappy RPI.

I guess I see it as a chicken and egg scenario. I'd like to see us competing for a division title before I'm going to worry about the OOC stuff.

Sure, a game with a Big 10 opponent in the convo would be great and raucous, but in the short term I'm more interested in seeing the Convo filling up because the Huskies are winning..

(01-08-2015 07:07 PM)Flying Corn Wrote:  

(01-08-2015 06:50 PM)dekalb222 Wrote:  Frazier said, he will get the home bball schedule up-graded next year. He needs the huskies to win some games and get their RPI up. Right now, it hurts teams to play us with our crappy RPI.

I guess I see it as a chicken and egg scenario. I'd like to see us competing for a division title before I'm going to worry about the OOC stuff.

Sure, a game with a Big 10 opponent in the convo would be great and raucous, but in the short term I'm more interested in seeing the Convo filling up because the Huskies are winning..

Feb 28th, CMU at NIU This is the game to watch for a resurgence. Pack the house!

NIU cannot fill up Huskie Stadium and our football team is the best in the MAC. The best the ball team could hope for against a MAC team is 4k. If the bball team were to get good it will take a P5 team or big mid-major opponent to draw more fans.

Maddawg, I really think you are over rating CMU. I don't think they are as good as their record is.

(01-08-2015 07:09 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  

(01-08-2015 07:07 PM)Flying Corn Wrote:  

(01-08-2015 06:50 PM)dekalb222 Wrote:  Frazier said, he will get the home bball schedule up-graded next year. He needs the huskies to win some games and get their RPI up. Right now, it hurts teams to play us with our crappy RPI.

I guess I see it as a chicken and egg scenario. I'd like to see us competing for a division title before I'm going to worry about the OOC stuff.

Sure, a game with a Big 10 opponent in the convo would be great and raucous, but in the short term I'm more interested in seeing the Convo filling up because the Huskies are winning..

Feb 28th, CMU at NIU This is the game to watch for a resurgence. Pack the house!

I thought the Toledo game was the one you had circled?

(01-08-2015 06:53 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  ....equate teams like Dartmouth and UC-Riverside to playing Presbyterian in football. .... just because NIU plays a school we aren't familiar with in no way means its a bad opponent. They wont dazzle you, but you can (be) very respectable ... even Korcek is falling into that trap. In fact of NIU's 5 losses, not one of these teams is outside of the top 200 RPI. Correction, I guess Dartmouth now is just outside of top 200

MaddDawgz02, it's not hard to draw a correlation between Presbyterian football and basketball foes like the ones Korcek mentioned that MAC teams actually played this season: UI-Kokomo, Longwood, Aquinas, Rochester (Mich.), Marygrove, Concordia (Mich.), Alma, Capital, Bluffton, Central Penn, and Malone. Seriously, how many of us have any idea where Marygrove, Blufton or Malone are located or the size of their enrollment. I'm wondering if one-fifth of all states have a Concordia?
Since you noted there are "some 340-odd" D1 basketball teams, wouldn't it make more sense for everyone in the league (half of which are over 240) to try to get games with teams from 120 through 195? I know that's easier said than done, but scheduling others in the mid or upper 200s and playing the basketball Presbyterians is not going to help the MAC's RPI.
Flying Corn isn't too far off with the chicken or the egg analogy, but either way, having a more creditable foe in the Convo for non-conference would be a help. Borrowing from MaddDawgz02's football analogy, some Dog Pound folks have suggested if we have to have an FCS foe in Huskie Stadium, then replace Presbyterian, UT-Martin, Cal Poly, etc. with an Illinois State, Eastern Illinois which will bring some fans -- okay how about Loyola, Northwestern, UIC, WIU, DePaul, etc. instead of UC-Riverside, Hampton, etc. As good as Dartmouth is, is that basketball program as recognizeable as a Boston College or San Diego State that was part of football's schedulepalooza?
Still believe Korcek basically wants what all of us would like, mroe reasons to look forward to basketball at the Convo, either with a better team or better opponents.
Based on your suggestion, MaddDawgz02, I've asterisked Feb. 28 as a date I need to either get off or trade with someone at work. If you're convinced CMU's overrated, I'd like to know from dekalb222 which other game to mark as must-see to avoid work conflicts.

That's a easy one. Akron-1/21/15 and Toledo-1/31/15

There are 11 games until NIU plays CMU. Who knows how good or bad either team will be by then. I think BallSt will beat CMU this Saturday.

(01-08-2015 06:23 PM)NIUfilmmaker Wrote:  

(01-08-2015 06:15 PM)dekalb222 Wrote:  Corn, It doesn't always work like that in bball. NIU was in a battle with UC Riverside, but NIU also beat Ohio on the road some what easily. DePaul beat NIU easily at their place but Ohio crushed DePaul on a neutral floor. Maybe, NIU doesn't beat a BIGTEN school in DeKalb, but several other MAC teams would win home games against the BIG10.

Play bigger schools at home, entice better recruits, beat some bigger schools with the better recruits. Grow or shrink, can't wait for greatness to fall in our lap and go from there.

We need an A-level hotel by the Convo, and one downtown as planned. The pile of garbage on Lincoln near Annie Glidden needs to come down. Subtract those rooms and the Dekalb hotel-room inventory has more expansion room.

+1

If you look up the word "eyesore" in the dictionary there's a picture of the southwest corner of Lincoln Highway & Annie Glidden.