weaker conference. Looks like we're doing it the easy way. The Sun Belt has dropped to #22, so if we can't win in this league, we're really pitiful, which I'm beginning to believe we might be. But WE'RE STILL UNDEFEATED IN CONFERENCE PLAY! YAAAAY!

The Sunbelt is a funny animal. Year after year I see belt teams drop game after game they shouldn't in the non-conference, and then they decide to pull it together come conference time so that we can all beat each other up.

I suspect that behind the scenes that the phrase "our season starts in January" is muttered in many a Sunbelt locker room. Its an attitude that comes from the coaches and its frustrating as all get out. I think it might be some kind of strategy. If you pace yourself early, you are less likely to have injuries, and then you show development and improvement as a coach as the season progresses. The coach can say "look at the beginning of the season, these guys couldn't play a lick, but look at them now! I whipped those boys into shape!" I suppose the theory is you don't burn your team out early and you try to peak at just the right time. But WOW.

The incentives are out of whack. A coach wants to make the NCAA and get that next job and the bigger paycheck. So he tries to give his team the best possible chance of peaking at the right time. Which maybe or maybe not includes not pressing the team too hard in the non-conference. Which in turn means that the only way Sunbelt teams can get to the tournament is by winning in Hot Springs.

A poor record hurts attendance, hurts recruiting, and hurts the conference.

I think it would be great if the conference could go around to the big donors at all the schools and come up with some kind of bonus system for the coaches.

Take the portion of the RPI for which a team affects the rest of the conference, and give bonuses to the top half. So it would be 1/3 your opponents win % and 2/3 your winning percentage (since that is the portion of rpi that affects the rest of the conference). Then give the top coach say a 250k bonus, the next coach a 150k bonus, the next coach a 100k bonus, the next coach a 75k bonus, the next coach a 50k bonus, and the sixth coach a 25k bonus.

In theory, self interest kicks in and the coaches behave in such a way that helps the rest of the conference.

Do we still want to schedule D1 tems like Rice and Wright State, or should we go back to scheduling team we know we can beat to get a better record?

[quote='Ynocpirt' pid='3854118' dateline='1230612462']
Do we still want to schedule D1 tems like Rice and Wright State, or should we go back to scheduling team we know we can beat to get a better record?

Absolutely schedule teams like Rice and Wright State. We should be able to compete with these teams. We just need to get better.

FAU has dropped three to teams currently 250 or worse. Troy has lost two of those. Denver has lost one as has ULL.

That's not counting the ones that have done it in league play!

When the Belt "bottomed-out" year before last we lost nine of those games in non-conference, we are at 7 right now with several games that could move into that category as the season shakes out.

(12-29-2008 11:51 PM)Dr. J. Wrote:  Absolutely schedule teams like Rice and Wright State. We should be able to compete with these teams. We just need to get better.

Agree. Those are exactly the sort of teams we need to be scheduling. Anyone from conferences in the top half of the non-D1 pool.