Before we make fun of the schedule, let's get over the amesnia that in the last four years GW has lost to Hofstra, American (twice), Radford, Navy, UMBC, Hampton, William & Mary, Towson and Morgan State. That's more patheticand laughable than this season's schedule. So maybe we beat some of these teams before we start  complaining about the schedule.
 And then there is this...
How about while winning these games we use them to make sense of all the new players so we have our act together for the A-10 season.  We don't have much experiebce on this season's team. Count me among the GW fans who would like to see us never lose to Hofstra, American (twice), Radford, Navy, UMBC, Hampton, William& Mary, Towson and Morgan State.  And how about we not lose all three games in the Bahamas and at South Carolina. 
Essentially, before we worry about opponments let's get our house in order.

This schedule is an embarrassment. The last 6 years of losing to teams like American, Hampton, UMBC, etc is an embarrassment. The decade of futility continues.

Thank God there's the Terps to follow! They are looking good and gelling well in Italy. I see them doing well this year with their left overs and newcomers.

jf wrote:

=
  Is Bowie State D1? A few clicks don't seem to show that. If it isn't D1, is scheduling D2 teams, other than
exhibitions helpful? Didn't we do that last year?
   

It's D2 and we did play a D2 last year: Virginia State at home.  I don't like playing D2's but I feel like if we do, they should be the first game of the year like VSU.  Playing Bowie State later in the OOC doesn't really help anything. Disappointing we couldn't find another low low D1 school to play.  Like, were VMI or Loyola (MD) busy or something?

I tried looking at Bowie State's schedules for the last time they played a non-exhibition D1 game and couldn't find anything.  I was, however, reminded of 2016-2017 when we only beat them 86-80 in an exhibition.  That would've been Mojo's first game as HC.

Last edited by GW0509 (8/07/2023 12:52 pm)

Considering what our hoops program has been through since NIT euphoria, I’m more optimistic than ever.  We’ve been through a coaching and player roller coaster and it seems we finally have some stability.
No matter how strong or weak the schedule is, we still need certain things to happen.  Coach C needs to get these guys in shape, implement his philosophy, get them on the same page, and to like each other. And to grow together. Prepping for any opponent is the same process with film, schemes, strategies.
If we kill it against these “cupcakes” then the first real test will be @SC against an angry vengeful team on the road.  Then there is A10 play as the next measure.  Hopefully all those W’s will create the confidence and cohesiveness to bring on bigger and better challenges.

What jumped out at me is that we play only one true road game.  I assume Stonehill is the preseason exhibition game.  Which is the D-2 team on the regular schedule?

Last edited by Long Suffering Fan (8/07/2023 3:40 pm)

Gwmayhem wrote:

There are only two real benefits to this schedule that I can see.  The first is that should we win a lot, more students (of which most will not have much of an idea that we are beating lower level schools) will get excited and hop on the bandwagon.
 

After taking some time to think about the schedule more, the bigger disappointment is definitely the fact that there aren't a lot of interesting names on the slate, even at the mid-major level. I can't imagine students want to come out to watch us play against most teams on the slate, especially going into December. Would love to be wrong though.

Gwmayhem wrote:

The second and far more important benefit is that this schedule will allow CC to plays lots of players and toy with lots of player combinations in order to best determine how to move forward with his rotation come conference season.  This aspect I happen to like very much because unlike last season, I believe he has many choices as to who to play and how much.

Agree with this 100%. I think all 12 players could see action outside of the exhibition match based on this schedule.

Gwmayhem wrote:

That said, if GW were to go 12-1 in the OOC

While I laughed at the schedule based on name-recognition, I honestly don't see us going 12-1 against this slate. Ohio and South Carolina will definitely be tough non-home matchups that we could lose and it wouldn't be surprising to see us stumble against Hofstra and/or Navy at home.

Stonehill is still in the midst of their transition to D1. Their leading returning scorer, Max Zegarowski, is the younger brother of former Creighton player Marcus Zegarowski.

William & Mary is still pretty bad, but they do have former GW targets in Noah Collier and Jayden Lemond.

Hofstra is always well coached under Speedy Claxton. While they lost Estrada this offseason, there's still plenty of firepower along the perimeter.

New Hampshire returns an underrated player in Clarence O. Daniels II who averaged a double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds) last season. They have a new coach so I don't expect much improvement this year.

South Carolina can only go up from where they were last year but competing in the SEC seems like an impossibility. Frank Martin did a great job there all things considered. Local product Myles Stute joined the team this offseason.

Navy will likely be a tougher test than they appear on paper. The Midshipmen return pretty much everyone outside of their leading scorer Deaver. More importantly, four of their top five returning guys are seniors so I could see experience playing a major role in that contest. One of those players happens to be named Christian Jones, who may be the second player we face with that name during OOC play should we play UIC in the Bahamas.

I would be curious to hear CC's thoughts on the final part of the OOC slate. The MEAC/SWAC schools tend to pressure the ball defensively so I wonder whether he really wanted to test Jacoi/Trey/Christian's ball handling abilities prior to conference play.

Coppin State does not figure to be good at all next year (even Morgan State would have been a better option with Tabbs coming in) given the Eagles lost both Sessoms and Tarke this offseason. They do have Khali Horton coming in, who GW showed interest in sometime back.

I agree with GW0509 that Bowie State seems like such a waste of a game to put on the schedule, connections aside. On top of that, they weren't even a good D2 school as they went just 7-22 overall last year. For comparison, Virginia State who we played last year went 17-11 in 2022-23 and 10-16 the year before.

Alcorn State beat Wichita State last year and finished tied atop the SWAC last season. Coach Landon Bussie has done a great job there, as he's won 35 games in the past two years at a place that isn't necessarily one of the easier places to win in the SWAC. They will likely be the toughest of the teams at the end of the OOC slate.

Maryland Eastern Shore had a great year last season under Jason Crafton, who like Bussie has done an unbelievable job at a place that's pretty much impossible to win at. We saw last year that they play to the literal final buzzer and the Hawks also took down Temple later in the season so it's not hard to see how they won 18 games. Unfortunately, it may be tough to replicate the success as UMES loses six of their top eight guys. Regardless, their defensive pressure will be a good test for the freshmen guard trio.

If there's a gripe, I would have replaced Bowie State and Coppin State with American and Howard but otherwise it's fine with the new team that we have.
 

Sorry I’ve been gone for a bit—-some health issues came up and my mind has been elsewhere

This OOC is disgusting but if that’s CC plan that’s his plan and he’s the coach so I’m willing to see it through this year without a peep. Hoping this is a one time thing and we can get over 10 schools I’ve heard of or knew were D1 next year. My only real worry for the here and now besides how bad those lower schools can drag your resume come March is that a soft beginning chunk won’t prepare us for A10 play against, at least compared to most of these schools, much better teams. But hey, some mentioned getting student interest back up with some wins and gaining confidence and both are very possible as well. But yeah, fingers crossed

Florida Colonial wrote:

I suggest people look at Georgetown's home OOC.
GAME 1: Le Moyne | Tuesday, November 7, 2023 | Capital One Arena
GAME 2: Holy Cross | Saturday, November 11, 2023 | Capital One Arena
GAME 4: Mount St. Mary’s (Georgetown MTE) | Saturday, November 18, 2023 | Capital One Arena
GAME 5: American (Georgetown MTE) | Sunday, November 19, 2023 | Capital One Arena
GAME 6: Jackson State | Saturday, November 25, 2023 | Capital One Arena
GAME 7: Merrimack | Wednesday, November 29, 2023 | Capital One Arena
GAME 8: TCU (BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle) | Saturday, December 2, 2023 | Capital One Arena
GAME 9: Syracuse | Saturday, December 9, 2023 | Capital One Arena
GAME 10: Coppin State | Tuesday, December 12, 2023 | Capital One Aren

only 2 games that  differ from the level of teams in GW's home OOC schedule.
TCU which they didn't schedule (part of the Big East/Big 12 Battle) and Syracuse

GW could never get either of these at home.
 

If your aim is to get a sniff for postseason play, comparing our OOC to Georgetown’s is a waste of time. Seven of the 11 Big East Schools finished in the top 75 NET last year. Only one team was lower than 155, Georgetown itself. Virtually every conference game is against a quality opponent in the Big East and improves your SOS unlike with the A-10. Here’s a stat that brings it all to life: The top 10 A-10 teams players a combined 17 teams against Quad 1 opponents (interestingly, GW was the only A-10 team not to play a Quad 1 opponent last year). The Big East top 10 played 147. That’s why you don’t play Stonehill and Bowie State just to try to get a winning record heading into conference play if you want to be taken seriously.

Last edited by Alum1 (8/08/2023 7:52 am)

Alum1 wrote:

Florida Colonial wrote:

I suggest people look at Georgetown's home OOC.
GAME 1: Le Moyne | Tuesday, November 7, 2023 | Capital One Arena
GAME 2: Holy Cross | Saturday, November 11, 2023 | Capital One Arena
GAME 4: Mount St. Mary’s (Georgetown MTE) | Saturday, November 18, 2023 | Capital One Arena
GAME 5: American (Georgetown MTE) | Sunday, November 19, 2023 | Capital One Arena
GAME 6: Jackson State | Saturday, November 25, 2023 | Capital One Arena
GAME 7: Merrimack | Wednesday, November 29, 2023 | Capital One Arena
GAME 8: TCU (BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle) | Saturday, December 2, 2023 | Capital One Arena
GAME 9: Syracuse | Saturday, December 9, 2023 | Capital One Arena
GAME 10: Coppin State | Tuesday, December 12, 2023 | Capital One Aren

only 2 games that  differ from the level of teams in GW's home OOC schedule.
TCU which they didn't schedule (part of the Big East/Big 12 Battle) and Syracuse

GW could never get either of these at home.
 

If your aim is to get a sniff for postseason play, comparing our OOC to Georgetown’s is a waste of time. Seven of the 11 Big East Schools finished in the top 75 NET last year. Only one team was lower than 155, Georgetown itself. Virtually every conference game is against a quality opponent in the Big East and improves your SOS unlike with the A-10. Here’s a stat that brings it all to life: The top 10 A-10 teams players a combined 17 teams against Quad 1 opponents (interestingly, GW was the only A-10 team not to play a Quad 1 opponent last year). The Big East top 10 played 147. That’s why you don’t play Stonehill and Bowie State just to try to get a winning record heading into conference play if you want to be taken seriously.

My point was more related to the entertainment factor of who you get to see as a ticket holder.

I completely understand your point. But what Quad 1 team is going to visit the Smith Center.
Would love to see more higher level mid majors (WCC, Mountain West, AAC, etc) 

Being paid to go on the road against a Quad 1 is not ideal with a team  where very few have ever played together. Sounds like a recipe for a disaster.
Last year we thought we would have a Quad 1 at home but it turned out South Carolina was terrible.

I think we can all agree that scheduling is becoming harder than ever.

Last edited by Florida Colonial (8/08/2023 8:10 am)

A few points:

1) I get the sense that putting together this schedule was a very low priority.  Keep in mind that Hofstra and South Carolina were already on the books while the MTE in the Bahamas was by invitation.  If you listened to CC on the Zoom call, you may have gotten the sense that he's been spending much of his time working with our new President, AD and others that his program needs to be spending money if it realistically would like to compete in the A10.  I'd imagine he's also spending much of his time learning about NIL and helping to fund raise for the program.  Given the turnover of the roster, this was not the year to strategically craft a schedule designed to help the team land in the postseason.

2) Regarding my earlier comments, I am not forecasting a 12-1 OOC record as much as I am pointing out that this is a distinct possibility given the schedule.  And if at the end of the day, this team were to go 25-8 and be left out of the Tournament, I am questioning how many of you would come on here in March and say "oh well."