While the schedule is underwhelming overall (especially at home), I do think the American, Hampton, and Old Dominion games at least provide a bit of a challenge.

AU will probably be picked towards the top of the Patriot, it's on the road, and they topped GW the past two meetings.

Hampton and ODU both have new coaches so that transition may take a bit of time but both rosters have at least some talent on paper.

The Pirates are now coached by Ivan Thomas, who was AC at Georgetown last year and takes over for Buck Joyner, who was there for 15 years (including Hampton's transition to the Big South and then the CAA). It was probably time since Hampton hasn't fared too well since leaving the MEAC. They return leading scorer Kyrese Mullen and bring in many transfers. Noah Farrakhan is the headliner and will probably emerge as the go-to weapon on the team. He's played for a number of crappy squads (East Carolina, Eastern Michigan with Emoni Bates, West Virginia last year) but there's no doubting his ability to get a bucket. Thomas also brought Wayne Bristol Jr. with him, who was pretty good with Howard some time back. Xzavier Long is a local product who has contributed at Canisius, George Beale Jr. is a proven shooter from Norfolk State, and Thomas has also taken a few fliers with some young guys with upside (Trevor Smith from Richmond, KJ Satterfield from UAB). Of course, how could we forget about old friend Daniel Nixon who put up 16.5 ppg last year at the JUCO level? It also helps that they ditched Jordan Nesbitt, who puts up stats but I don't think has really contributed to winning wherever he's been (Memphis, SLU, and probably next at Wyoming). Admittedly, they lack height up front which will probably cost them in some games.

Also, it's interesting to see no MEAC teams on the slate. When was the last time GW didn't play at least one? I would have liked to see Howard on the schedule, although I get that it's a bit risky to play a team that has quite a bit of talent on paper. Blakeney has done a great job there.
 

There's another aspect to all of this that has fallen by the wayside, which is how the players feel about playing this schedule.  When GW plays an OOC schedule like this, it is essentially an admission, intended or otherwise, that the team is not yet ready to compete for postseason opportunities.  Short of winning the A10 tournament, GW would likely have to go in the neighborhood of 27-5 (assuming 11-2 or better in the OOC) to have a chance at an at large bid. Practically no margin for error.

Most competitive players like to be challenged by playing against top competition, not every game but more than once or twice over two months.  I think this OOC schedule provides a disservice to many players who thrive on competition. There are no guarantees that they win any game but by and large, they should be able to sleepwalk through most of this (the Bahamas tournament being the notable exception) and build a gaudy record while realizing deep down, that their dreams of making the dance are not at all helped by this.  I really wonder if win after win against those 250+ rated schools represent what the players truly prefer.

We can discuss this (the appropriateness of the schedule) all day. However, one thing I do know is that if GW wins, the fans and students will show up. They will not decline to show up because we beat a bunch of poor to middling teams. I base this on 40 years of GW fandom.

I understand the dynamics of MBB has changed, and is constantly changing, but I see no reason why GW should consistently have a worse SOS than A10 schools like Fordham, St. Bonaventure, Loyola-Chicago, St. Joseph's, Davidson, etc. I understand the challenges of GW scheduling versus Dayton and VCU, but why a consistently worse OOC schedule than everyone else in our conference? It's been going on for years across multiple coaches and ADs, so I'm not going to get upset about it, but it is very curious to me...

It seems to me that the days of the A10 getting at-large bids to the NCAAs are effectively over, or at least requires the alignment of many uncontrollable factors. That leaves only one sure way to get in, and that’s to win the A10 tourney. So, the coaching challenge should be:

Establish an OOC, regardless of the SOS, that prepares the team for the upcoming A10 schedule.
Playing the A10 schedule to get the highest possible seed for the tourney.
Getting the team to be playing their best at tournament time.

If our coaches (in these times and with this OCC schedule) are working to get an at-large bid, I would have to question their judgement.  

Last edited by xAC (9/03/2024 12:35 pm)

Yes and no. Would rather win the league championship--it was great to watch, but that's even much rarer for us. Why don't we shoot for the championship, of course, and not rule out an at large before a ball is even thrown up?
Without having a crazy hard or Charmin squeezably soft schedule. 
  Both a championship and an at-large bid, or even the NIT, are still sadly, seeming longshots for us,
8 years after we imploded our program. But our coach, who knows a lot about postseason play, certainly believes there is potential.
From Providence Journal article last October:“We have the potential with our locations and with the history of basketball in this league to get back to where we’re getting multiple bids and multiple teams in the NIT,” George Washington coach Chris Caputo said. “I really believe that. I just think there have been a lot of different things that have happened over the last couple of years.” Scheduling difficulties — and, in some cases, reluctance — have played a part. The Revolutionaries didn’t play a Quadrant 1 game last season.
 

Gwmayhem wrote:

0509, I've never fully bought the argument that nobody was willing to play us.  Not saying that everyone is willing or that it's necessarily easy.  There are lots of good solid programs out there even at the midmajor level.  You may have to do a home and home, or a two for 1 to get this done.  GW has also played one-off road games in the past at Duke, NC State, Wake Forest, Kansas, Syracuse, UCONN, UVA (in addition to a home and home), Auburn, Illinois, USC (Southern Cal) and plenty of others.  I think this issue is that GW is no longer willing to schedule these games rather than nobody would agree to play GW at their place.

But again, let'[s bring it back to the players.  There's no argument that it's much more difficult to qualify as an at large these days, but it's not impossible.  So as long as there is some hope, why not give the players some hope as well?

The truth always lies in between. Could GW schedule road games at Power 5 schools. Probably but here is the biggest issue. If you are a Power 5 do you want to play a buy game against GW or some LM? I tried to arrange a game between a P5 and GW. The P5 HC told me (and stated as a preface that he would otherwise absolutely play GW) "why would I play GW when the Conference schedule plus the Conference Challenge and one intrastate rival game give me everything I need to make the tournament. Beating GW gets me nothing. Losing to GW hurts me. I am not playing a game where I can only lose." 

We only look at this from GW's perspective. The bottom line is that the P5 HC I referenced probably reflects more than 75% of the P5 teams. That leaves bottom dwelling P5 teams. So then ask your self why would GW play those teams on the road. If GW wins it doesn't really help GW and if GW loses it hurts GW.

The larger point is that scheduling doesn't happen in a vacuum. It's nice to say we want to play teams like X. The reality is it is not that simple. And I didn't even address the new league scheduling rules for buy games. 

Unless GW improves to the point where it is a perennial post season contender where the risk/reward becomes better for most P5 schools and GW (remember scheduling a P5 is usually done farther in advance (sometimes a year or more out) than the other games) and the league permits more buy games on the road against certain types of leagues/teams, don't expect the OOC schedule to change much. The best we can hope for is improving the low major teams we bring to the Smith Center, finding a MM school similar to GW, and playing in a better MTE.

Some of you keep hoping this is going to change. I say you can keep hoping but it's likely not happening anytime soon. Either accept it or don't but that is where we are at.  
 

Last edited by GWRising (9/03/2024 3:08 pm)

I would like to see us schedule OOC teams that might have more of a natural appeal/affinity/interest to the average GW student/alum/staffer or, alternatively, resident of the DMV.   For example, can't we schedule any Ivy League schools anymore ?   Lots of local alums, prestigious institutions, but not too many real powerhouse BBall programs.   The service academies always; generally speaking, we should exhaust all possibilities in both the Patriot League and the CAA before we consider any other OOC's.   At least then folks will have heard of our opponents (for the most part....).

Ralphie wrote:

I would like to see us schedule OOC teams that might have more of a natural appeal/affinity/interest to the average GW student/alum/staffer or, alternatively, resident of the DMV.   For example, can't we schedule any Ivy League schools anymore ?   Lots of local alums, prestigious institutions, but not too many real powerhouse BBall programs.   The service academies always; generally speaking, we should exhaust all possibilities in both the Patriot League and the CAA before we consider any other OOC's.   At least then folks will have heard of our opponents (for the most part....).

i agree
consistently schedule
1) American and Howard
2) offer Georgetown and Maryland

3) schedule an away game in the city with the 2nd largest alumni 
(I assume DC is the largest)

if you must play D-2, make it UDC and/or Gallaudet
pay them 1/2 the regular buy rate and give the other half of the payment in tickets and see if we can steal some fans

GWRising wrote:

Gwmayhem wrote:

0509, I've never fully bought the argument that nobody was willing to play us.  Not saying that everyone is willing or that it's necessarily easy.  There are lots of good solid programs out there even at the midmajor level.  You may have to do a home and home, or a two for 1 to get this done.  GW has also played one-off road games in the past at Duke, NC State, Wake Forest, Kansas, Syracuse, UCONN, UVA (in addition to a home and home), Auburn, Illinois, USC (Southern Cal) and plenty of others.  I think this issue is that GW is no longer willing to schedule these games rather than nobody would agree to play GW at their place.

But again, let'[s bring it back to the players.  There's no argument that it's much more difficult to qualify as an at large these days, but it's not impossible.  So as long as there is some hope, why not give the players some hope as well?

The truth always lies in between. Could GW schedule road games at Power 5 schools. Probably but here is the biggest issue. If you are a Power 5 do you want to play a buy game against GW or some LM? I tried to arrange a game between a P5 and GW. The P5 HC told me (and stated as a preface that he would otherwise absolutely play GW) "why would I play GW when the Conference schedule plus the Conference Challenge and one intrastate rival game give me everything I need to make the tournament. Beating GW gets me nothing. Losing to GW hurts me. I am not playing a game where I can only lose." 

We only look at this from GW's perspective. The bottom line is that the P5 HC I referenced probably reflects more than 75% of the P5 teams. That leaves bottom dwelling P5 teams. So then ask your self why would GW play those teams on the road. If GW wins it doesn't really help GW and if GW loses it hurts GW.

The larger point is that scheduling doesn't happen in a vacuum. It's nice to say we want to play teams like X. The reality is it is not that simple. And I didn't even address the new league scheduling rules for buy games. 

Unless GW improves to the point where it is a perennial post season contender where the risk/reward becomes better for most P5 schools and GW (remember scheduling a P5 is usually done farther in advance (sometimes a year or more out) than the other games) and the league permits more buy games on the road against certain types of leagues/teams, don't expect the OOC schedule to change much. The best we can hope for is improving the low major teams we bring to the Smith Center, finding a MM school similar to GW, and playing in a better MTE.

Some of you keep hoping this is going to change. I say you can keep hoping but it's likely not happening anytime soon. Either accept it or don't but that is where we are at.  
 

So no P5 school worth their salt wants to host GW when they can offer a buy game to a lower level school?

These matchups took place last year, not 10 or even 5 seasons ago:

LaSalle at Duke
LaSalle at Miami (FL)
Duquesne at Nebraska
St. Joe's at Kentucky
Dayton at SMU
Dayton at Cincinnati
George Mason at Tennessee
St. Louis at NC State
St. Louis at Drake
Richmond at Florida
Richmond at Wichita State
Richmond at Northern Iowa
Davidson at St. Mary's
Fordham at North Texas
Fordham at St. John's

I purposefully included some quality midmajors on this list, of which GW plays none outside of MTE's, and did not even mention Big 5 games.  That's 9 A10 schools or 60% of our conference members who managed to find a way to play challenging true road games.  You have a tough argument if your position is that GW "can't" attract such a game.  Rather, this is a conscious choice not to agree to one-offs, even if that's GW's only choice if it wants to play such a game.  And again, the quality midmajors represent a sensible solution that GW is clearly not taking advantage of.  Not only does this year's schedule lack a South Carolina (outside of the MTE with Kansas State) but it lacks a Hofstra as well.  The MTE helps but that's 3 games in 4 days.  Another 2-3 quality games against solid midmajors spread throughout Nov/Dec would make a big difference.

Last edited by Gwmayhem (9/04/2024 12:05 pm)