The schedule is plenty difficult. Playing the #230 vs the #190 team is not going to make a difference to anyone that matters.
I think “gaming the system” matters more for the teams that don’t schedule any big time nonconference opponents. Michigan often tends to have one of the most difficult SOS in the country
My point is that Lipscomb is generally a much better program than what you are referencing. I think there’s a better chance they are a top 200 team than sub 300 team.
Big picture, Juwan has done a much better job of optimizing buy games compared to John Beilein while being far less aggressive in scheduling home-and-homes.
Scheduling 5 Q4 games vs 3 Q4 games last year is a difference but only scheduling one SWAC/MEAC/Southland type of opponent minimizes the damage there and I think it is honestly reasonable given the other constraints on the schedule.
Here’s the August comparison of both. Despite all that planning, Southern Utah still ended up Q4 
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It isn’t the quads that matter to the computer SOS and there is a big difference to the computers when you have a lot of sub 300 games.
It does not impact your W/L on the court much, but the way the selection committee is presented the data it just looks worse when your NC SOS is like 50 spots lower than it should be based off difficulty of games.
(and Lioscombs best finish in KenPom the last 3 seasons is 237, they really fell off when their coach left for Belmont)
If someone wants to argue that they just don’t care about it, that is reasonable. But there is no argument for it being optimal.
And Michigan is projected to play 1 sub-300 games, per Torvik. (just realized CMU is a typo )
Torvik has structural problems with his projections at the bottom
Yeah, I will side with Dylan on any debate about anything statistics related.
No projections are perfect, but there’s a notable absence of teams that are in the 300+ range every year. That seems to be what you’re asking for. I just think the schedule is a lot closer to that than you think.
The majority of Michigan’s buy games under Juwan have been ranked 100ish spots better than similar games under Beilein I’d say, or played on a neutral (which is a really smart hack IMO).
It isn’t really debate, basically acknowledged fact as to how the rankings work for SOS. The only debate is if it is meaningful to any degree or if anyone cares.
Personally I think it is easy low hanging fruit that potentially costs us a seed line in March. Does that mean anything? Probably not a lot. But it is greater than zero and would be easy to fix.
There is a too big of a difference to NC SOS when you play teams in the 250-350 range as opposed to say 175-250. Not all wins are treated equally.
It can be extremely hard to actually predict 175-250 vs 250-300 though. It’s the same difference as the 10th best team to the 20th, teams move around and end up better or worse by the end of the year. If you go out and schedule 10 noncon games against preseason 150-160, you are probably playing multiple games against teams outside of 100-200 at the end of the year.
Also, gaming the system is not the same as it used to be. When RPI was a serious metric, you could get credit for beating a top 50 team while playing a team 200+. But now, your kenpom and NET rankings will go up if you have good efficiency regardless of who you play. While there is still plenty on the team sheets to make it worth avoiding a schedule full of Q4 games, one or two extra games against bad teams barely makes a difference. And in overall SOS, another big 10 team like purdue playing well probably has more effect than the difference of CMU and Tarleton st.
Michigan gets the early game on Wednesday in Brooklyn.
PRINCETON, N.J./BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The match-ups and schedule are set for the 16th annual Legends Classic presented by Old Trapper (@legendsbball), which will take place Nov. 16-17, 2022 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Semifinal Doubleheader – Wednesday, Nov. 16 Championship Doubleheader – Thursday, Nov. 17 6pm – Michigan vs. Pitt (ESPNU) 7pm – Consolation Game (ESPN2) 8:30pm – VCU vs. Arizona St. (ESPN+) 9pm – Championship Game (ESPN2) National programs Michigan, Pitt, Arizona State, and VCU form a field where each team has played in at least one previous Legends Classic.
Michigan (2010, 2014) will compete for the third time in the Legends Classic, looking for its first championship title. The Wolverines advanced to the championship game in 2014.
Pitt (2008, 2013, 2017) will make its fourth Legends Classic appearance and seek its third title. The Panthers won the crown in 2008 and 2013.
VCU (2014, 2018) will be playing in its third Legends Classic. The Rams dropped a championship game decision in 2018.
Arizona State will head back to Brooklyn looking to avenge a loss in the 2015 title game.
Tickets for the Legends Classic presented by Old Trapper are currently on sale online at SeatGeek.com or in-person at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center.
Im looking to buy tickets but do we know whether Michigan is technically the home or away team? Looking to pick the correct side of the court to be on
I don’t know, maybe try tweeting at the Legends Classic handle?
Incase anyone was wondering (probably not) or trying to buy tickets, I confirmed with the UM ticket office today that we are the designated “away” team for both games
