By: Shaun Smith
November 17, 2023
The question on every college basketball pundit's mind this year has been, “How can we make the start of the season more exciting?”
College basketball's early November tipoff has stiff competition in the sports market with the NFL and college football seasons in full swing, and the NBA is getting started as well. This is certainly not ideal. So why do college basketball teams often refrain from scheduling games that pit top teams against one another consistently to start the season? Why do the top teams usually play several “buy” games before scheduling any real competition?
Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of scheduling more top 25 games to start the season. I am a glass half full kind of guy, so let’s kick things off with the pros:
Pro: Viewership
Let’s be honest with ourselves for a minute. Unless you are an absolutely die hard college basketball fan, you aren’t watching Mississippi Valley State verus Coppin State.
Scheduling a bona fide top-10 matchup — preferably name brand schools, e.g., UNC, Kansas, UConn, etc. — not only would bring in casual viewers, it would add some much needed verve to start the season.
Pro: Competition
Listen, these guys want to play against the best. They have been grinding all offseason in practice with only their teammates as competition. By November, they are ready to play against new faces that will provide real challenge. And there's no better way to gauge where you stand relative to other highly ranked teams than by playing other highly ranked teams.
This isn’t college football where one loss can knock you out of the playoffs — obviously the playoff format is changing to include 12 teams next year, but humor me here. Why not play the best of the best early on and challenge your team?
Pro: Build a resume
For better or worse, the quadrant system and NET rankings are widely used to determine the strength of teams in college basketball. There is a sense of mystery behind how some metrics are calculated. However, what we do know is a Quad 1 loss — which is defined as a home opponent with a NET ranking 1-30, a neutral opponent with a NET ranking of 1-50 or an away opponent with a NET ranking of 1-75 — in the committee’s eyes is better than a Quad 3 or 4 win. This is especially true if a team doesn't cover the spread in those Quad 3 or 4 wins.
There are so many examples bubble teams (looking at you Clemson and Wake Forest) being hurt by Quad 3 or 4 wins throughout the years. It baffles me why teams don’t schedule tougher opponents to help prevent this issue. Show the national media and committee members that you challenged your team early, and I promise you, you will be rewarded.
Now that I’ve outlined some of the positives in favor of more early top 25 matchups, let's look at some of the cons:
Con: Lack of a preseason
It is an absolute disgrace that teams are only allowed two exhibition or “secret” scrimmages prior to the season. It was so incredibly fun to watch Purdue and Arkansas play in a charity exhibition. It got me excited for the season, and gave us an early look at two teams who could cut down the nets in April. Why can't we tap into more of these intriguing matchups and allow three or four pre season games to get teams some real action.
This would allow programs to better ready themselves to play a top 25 team and not look rusty. The biggest issue with the Champions Classic or some of these early top 15 tilts is that the teams can look ugly.
Adjusting to game speed and playing against a certain concept or defense you haven’t had a chance to prepare for can lead to unwatchable games. Why would a casual fan want to tune in and watch a game where five total points are scored in the first six minutes? *Cough* Duke verus Michigan State *Cough*. Let’s give teams two or three more opportunities to scrimmage and work on sets, situational possessions, different defenses and flirt with rotations. Better yet, let's give every team an extra charity exhibition to raise money for a good cause.
Con: Rotations
Early in the season with true game pressure, teams are going to play the guys who they are familiar with or who they know will play the role that's asked of them. That usually means some highly touted freshmen won’t get playing time. If the game had been scheduled a few weeks later, thst might not be the case. Coaches are not willing to risk a loss to simply get a look at different rotations.
Con: Overreactions
As great as seeing two top 25 teams face off would be, it would be equally as irritating to deal with the “hot takes” that come from it. If you win, you are now crowned a Final Four favorite. If you lose, you are now incapable of cutting
down the nets in April. Let’s just enjoy a game where quality teams are testing themselves early and not have knee jerk reactions.
There you have it. Three pros and cons of scheduling more top heavy games early in the season to gain interest and get more of a market share of sports viewership. Which side are you on?
Shaun Smith | Twitter
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