You're putting words in my mouth.

 

By the end of this season, UK will have had nine chances to overcome adversity. How many do they need? You obviously cannot go an entire season without playing any road games, but this argument is about scheduling out of conference, which has been shown by recent history to have no bearing on postseason success. What difference does it make if a game like this happens in the middle of December or in the middle of January?

 

I feel stupid quoting myself, but I would really like to see a response to this.

To the bolded point, yes. I called him out as being a chicken for wanting to get out of one of the big three rivalry series and replace them with another home game against a patsy.

 

And don't tell me the neutral site games are some kind of tough test. With the way the vultures scarf up every ticket possible, most all "neutral site" games end up being home games for UK. The team gains very little from them from a toughness standpoint, as a "neutral site" game between UK and any other top-flite team most always is akin to a home game for UK.

 

True road tests — where the shoe is on the other foot for a change and UK has to play five-on-eight (nine, if you count a hostile crowd) instead of the other way around — are what makes a team tough. Not a slew of guaranteed wins against overmatched opponents at Rupp. A team with as much talent as Kentucky should be taking on all comers, anywhere, any time, in order to maximize its potential as a team.

 

Jim, you really need to take a chill pill and not let UK get under your skin so much. I have read this entire thread and your comments are getting crazy, just crazy. I know it's hard with what's going on right now in Lexington vs. L'ville and believe me I feel your pain. Been there, done that. I have a good friend who is a UNC fan and he is going through the same thing your are......borderline insanity. People hate UK and people hate Cal. When you combine the two, it's simply to much for rival fans to deal with. I know you guys wanted to see UK fall after year one........didn't happen...........then year two..........didn't happen...........now year three.............won't happen. Now the melt downs are coming and people just don't know how to handle themselves. Don't worry Jim, UL will be back, but they will always take a back seat to the Big Blue. It's just the way it is. There is plenty of room to accomodate you in the Big Blue Nation, jump in! (or you will drive yourself crazy).

Reading through this thread from late last night...this arguement is pointless. Who cares if they don't go play at Kansas? If they play them at MSG, that is just as good for me. Tournament games are played at neutral sites, so it really doesn't matter. Last year they were at UNC and UL. This year they aren't. UK wants to get those on opposite years, if that happens, great.

 

Jim, you really need to take a chill pill and not let UK get under your skin so much. I have read this entire thread and your comments are getting crazy, just crazy.

 

I would have to agree. You say the majority of UK fans are blinded by their love...I think you're jaded by your hatred.

Since this isn't about UK, it must mean that any team that hasn't won a national championship since 1998 hasn't done so because they played too soft of an out of conference schedule.

Or that teams who have won titles have done so because they played a brutal OOC schedule (which has been shown to already be false).

 

I love you, Jim. But sometimes it is best to just cut your losses and admit you are wrong sometimes. We get what you are saying. You want to see more tough OOC games. Who doesn't? But trying to correlate it with NCAA tournament success simply does not work because few teams, if any, actually do what you are saying. And they are not going to do it because of $$$ and that it takes two to tango.

Guess you missed my earlier post on this matter in your wild-eyed fanatical fury over me daring say something critical about the Wildcats.

 

I didn't miss anything. Tell me ANY program that you think schedules a good OOC road game schedule.

What more facts do you need than the one that there have been no banners hung since 1998? The current method of dodging good teams isn't paying off with championships, and the crummy SEC isn't doing a very good job of preparing the team for the NCAA tournament. Maybe a more innovative approach than "everybody else is doing it" would be appropriate for the alleged kingpin of college hoops?

 

The SEC slate seemed to work fine for Florida in 2006 and 2007.

 

OOC road games:

05-06 - @ WF, Providence, Miami

06-07 - @ FSU, Florida A&M

 

Not really murderer's row there, and they did OK IIRC.

Or that teams who have won titles have done so because they played a brutal OOC schedule (which has been shown to already be false).

 

I love you, Jim. But sometimes it is best to just cut your losses and admit you are wrong sometimes. We get what you are saying. You want to see more tough OOC games. Who doesn't? But trying to correlate it with NCAA tournament success simply does not work because few teams, if any, actually do what you are saying. And they are not going to do it because of $$$ and that it takes two to tango.

 

:thumb:

 

I will agree with Jim, in one of the comments made on Page 2, that the quality of college basketball may have diminished with upper-tier teams playing on neutral floors & seldom home-and-homes. As a fan, I'd love to see more of the UK/UNC home-and-home scenarios. It makes college basketball a national talking point in December, when football is in its groove.

 

But I disagree with him that a brutal OOC schedule is needed to produce success in the postseason. Zlatan has seemed to prove that point incredibly well (kudos to Zlatan for that, BTW).

Read the posts in this forum (and the college FB one), and you will find that the general consensus is that all major college basketball and football programs cheat. The poll of the top 100 college recruits also supports this. But go ahead and continue being a true-believer, since you can't bear to face the knowledge that your favorite team's coach, and mine, and everyone else's, is crooked as all get-out.

 

The last sentence of your post is one of the single most naive things I've ever read.

 

And to your first sentence: I'll buy you a 12-pack of your favorite beer if UK drops Louisville, Indiana or UNC and replaces them with any one of the schools you mention. Better yet, I'll do it if UK replaces them with anybody other than a patsy school that only gets to come to Rupp for a beatdown payday.

 

I don't drink alchol and I'm thinking maybe you should stop if you think that our society isn't full of scumbags. Just turn on the news or watch a Bengals game if you don't believe me.

 

But I suppose if it's not your opinion it's wrong.

The SEC slate seemed to work fine for Florida in 2006 and 2007.

 

OOC road games:

05-06 - @ WF, Providence, Miami

06-07 - @ FSU, Florida A&M

 

Not really murderer's row there, and they did OK IIRC.

 

The Wake Forest game was played at Madison Square Garden.

2011 Connecticut - Texas

 

2010 Duke - Wisconsin, Georgetown

 

2009 North Carolina - UC Santa Barbara, Nevada

 

2008 Kansas - Southern Cal, Georgia Tech, Boston College

 

2007 Florida - Florida State, Florida A&M

 

2006 Florida - Providence, Miami

 

2005 North Carolina - Indiana, Connecticut

 

2004 Connecticut - Rice, North Carolina

 

2003 Syracuse - Michigan St.

 

2002 Maryland - Oklahoma

 

Myth Busted. So unless I made a error the last ten NCAA National Champion team have played a total of 18 OOC true road games. Doesn't really seem to be a prerequisite for winning a title as has been suggested.

I think this silly argument has been proven 100% wrong.

 

 

A 15 point win on the road in conference. I will take it.

I think this silly argument has been proven 100% wrong.

 

 

A 15 point win on the road in conference. I will take it.

This. :thumb:

I don't think a brutal OOC schedule matters much. In particular, I don't think it matters for a typical Calipari team at UK. His teams are almost always freshmen-heavy, which means they are generally different and much better by season's end. I like the balance of having some easier games to develop chemistry, work on things, improve and gain confidence, with some tougher games sprinkled in as measuring sticks and tests to see where you're at, what you need to work on, etc. The conference itself will provide enough tests and road games heading into March. The pre-conference stuff doesn't matter that much unless you're a bubble team or a mid-major trying to strengthen your resume. Neither of those are currently a concern for UK.

 

I do think the ability to win away from home can often be a good indicator that a team may be poised to succeed in the Big Dance, but nothing is ever certain.