2018-19 Schedule

[SluSignGuy]

11 minutes ago, Pistol said:

All right, what do we have so far?

Non-conference:

11/17: @Seton Hall

11/21: vs. Pitt at Barclays Center

12/2: vs. Butler

Home: Oregon State

Away: Houston, SIUC

A10:

Home: Davidson, George Mason, Massachusetts, Richmond, Dayton, Duquesne, La Salle, Rhode Island, Saint Joseph’s

Away: Fordham, George Washington, St. Bonaventure, VCU, Dayton, Duquesne, La Salle, Rhode Island, Saint Joseph’s

Thanks @Pistol!

[Pistol]

So far, all non-conference road games are in nice venues. Carbondale's arena used to be a hole, but I was really impressed with their renovation. Houston is currently renovating the Fertitta Center, which will be ready in time for the season. Seton Hall plays in the Prudential Center, an 11-year-old NHL arena and former NBA arena - until the Nets moved to Brooklyn and began playing in Barclays Center, where we face Pitt.

[Pistol]

Looking at our conference slate, we definitely have a strong home-and-home group that should help our SOS. I think probably the only way to make it tougher is to sub out La Salle and Duquesne for Davidson and VCU, but we've been pretty much locked in to home-and-home pairings with Duquesne and Dayton, anyway, so getting strong opponents for 2/3 of the other pairings is beneficial.

[Pistol]

 

[Cowboy]

1 hour ago, tarheelbilliken said:

You have to love Rothstein with him being so high on the Bills. 

 

-no doubt, good to have a national voice talking on us

[prebilliken]

25 minutes ago, Pistol said:

So far, all non-conference road games are in nice venues. Carbondale's arena used to be a hole, but I was really impressed with their renovation. Houston is currently renovating the Fertitta Center, which will be ready in time for the season. Seton Hall plays in the Prudential Center, an 11-year-old NHL arena and former NBA arena - until the Nets moved to Brooklyn and began playing in Barclays Center, where we face Pitt.

The new Houston arena is going to be cool. We will be making the trek from Dallas to Houston with many DFW Billikens. There will be a lot of blue in the crowd. 

[Pistol]

20 minutes ago, prebilliken said:

The new Houston arena is going to be cool. We will be making the trek from Dallas to Houston with many DFW Billikens. There will be a lot of blue in the crowd. 

I think this must be an earlier rendering. More recent Tweets from their official account show some differences from that one (the second one has the best shot; it looks like the rafters will be painted black, the ring board at the top will face inward instead of outward, the end video boards will be much bigger and a single monitor, the seating behind the benches will be two-tier with a club area in the middle and at the top, lighting will be different, and some other more minot modifications):

 

[cheeseman]

4 hours ago, Cowboy said:

-my recollection on the Duke game is that it was scheduled before S1 and at the time Rick thought we would be a good team and it would be a good test, I don't remember hearing him say anything about where the funds would be used

-I think the money from an NCAA visit would offset the parking and concessions from one game, not saying it is a guarantee but in the schedule making for this season I see how doing this makes sense, you don't, that is fine the sun will still rise in the morning

I am sure you right about the S1 timeline but just because you don't recall what was said about how the money was going to be used doesn't make what I said about it not true.  The flaw in your second paragraph is your thinking that the money from a NCAA trip would go to pay the bonds off on the arena.  Also, there is reason to believe that we would still be an NCAA invite with or without this so called mythical away game against some blue blood.  At this point we simply just going in circles so if it is alright with you lets just drop our back and forth.

[jimbofive]

2 hours ago, Littlebill said:

I don't see a loss.  

This gif is weak.  I want it redone, with some crazy fuok dumping it all over his face, bukkake-style.  Get it done.

[Box and Won]

1 hour ago, prebilliken said:

The new Houston arena is going to be cool. We will be making the trek from Dallas to Houston with many DFW Billikens. There will be a lot of blue in the crowd. 

Depending on the date of the game and my frequent flier mile balance, I may try to make it down there as well.

[bauman]

Somewhere I read on Billikens.com that the Butler game was 12/1 but Pistol shows it as 12/2-a Sunday.  Saturday, 12/1 seems to be a more likely date.

Also, Houston is supposed to be as good, or better than last year, even without their little showboat, R Gray.  They will be a tough road game, especially if we play them early in the schedule.

One other team that is getting some love is G Mason who returns just about everyone and has a few good additions.  They would have made a better 2-game A-10 foe than the Dukes, but one positive, I'm glad to see that Sweater Vest U. is looking like an annual home and away opponent.

[Pistol]

16 minutes ago, bauman said:

Somewhere I read on Billikens.com that the Butler game was 12/1 but Pistol shows it as 12/2-a Sunday.  Saturday, 12/1 seems to be a more likely date.

That was just a typo. Edited - thanks for pointing it out.

[Cowboy]

2 hours ago, prebilliken said:

The new Houston arena is going to be cool. We will be making the trek from Dallas to Houston with many DFW Billikens. There will be a lot of blue in the crowd. 

-tough to really tell, but the slope to those rows doesn't seem as good (steep) as what we have

[bauman]

3 hours ago, SluSignGuy said:

Thanks @Pistol!

Steve, no big deal but the next time you are making entries on the front page to the 18-19 schedule, you might want to correct the Butler date to 12/1 instead of 12/2.  Pistol wrote that the 12/2 date was a typo.

[Bills71]

just a fyi, the womens team is upping their sched with Uconn on 12/4 in SL

http://www.journalinquirer.com/sports/huskies-irish-to-meet-in-south-bend-in-dec/article_c0300de6-6f17-11e8-947b-0bec5e39c0ea.html

[HoosierPal]

4 hours ago, Pistol said:

The Pitt game isn't part of that event. It's part of the deal the ACC made to get their conference tournament in NYC.

I read on the Pitt Forum that this game will be played in the afternoon ahead of a NIT Preseason Tourney doubleheader later that same day 

[bauman]

On 6/12/2018 at 3:53 PM, SluSignGuy said:

If someone compiles a list of known opponents (and dates where we know this), I will put it on the front page of Billikens.com

Steve when adding info to the front page schedule, besides changing Butler to 12/1 , I think SIUC is an away game, not home

[bauman]

Is this our toughest schedule in quite a while?  One game each against a Pac 12, ACC and AAC team and 2 games against Big East teams.  Also, our MVC game is away against a pretty decent team.  And according to Stu, we are still looking to add one more P6 team.

I would still like to get Bradley and Loyola as annual home and aways, but if that is too many Valley teams then take Loyola over Bradley.  Plus I presume we will once again schedule that D2 powerhouse, Rockhurst!

I still think our toughest game on the entire schedule will be the @ Houston game.  Other than that, we could be favorite or a tossup in all other games, assuming we come together as planned. 

Drinkin the Blue Kool Aid!!!

[SluSignGuy]

 

54 minutes ago, bauman said:

Steve when adding info to the front page schedule, besides changing Butler to 12/1 , I think SIUC is an away game, not home

Fixed. Thanks

[Pistol]

55 minutes ago, bauman said:

Is this our toughest schedule in quite a while?  One game each against a Pac 12, ACC and AAC team and 2 games against Big East teams.  Also, our MVC game is away against a pretty decent team.  And according to Stu, we are still looking to add one more P6 team.

I would still like to get Bradley and Loyola as annual home and aways, but if that is too many Valley teams then take Loyola over Bradley.  Plus I presume we will once again schedule that D2 powerhouse, Rockhurst!

I still think our toughest game on the entire schedule will be the @ Houston game.  Other than that, we could be favorite or a tossup in all other games, assuming we come together as planned. 

Drinkin the Blue Kool Aid!!!

If we're able to land another power conference game, it's a solid schedule. The problem is that three of the power conference teams we have already - Pitt, Seton Hall, and Oregon State - are either rebuilding or otherwise trying to gain momentum.

Pitt was completely tanked during Stallings' brief tenure, to a shocking degree, really. Capel managed to keep a few guys from transferring but they still had a lot of departures and he's cobbling together what he can for this year. I'd hope we win this one.

Seton Hall loses one of their best classes of all time in Delgado, Carrington, Rodriguez, and Sanogo. Myles Powell, Quincy McKnight, and Taurean Thompson are all talented and should be a nice two-year core moving forward. They've also got some really nice incoming players: Jared Rhoden chose Seton Hall over SLU and he's a long wing who can really shoot it, Anthony Nelson is a solid PG, Valdir Manuel is a talented big man. So they're actually not unlike SLU - a lot of nice pieces who haven't played together yet. I still think Seton Hall will be in the middle of the Big East pack. In their house especially, this is not a team to overlook just because they lost a lot.

Oregon State was .500 last year and is expected to be marginally better. Their most talented player went pro and the two next best flirted with the idea but are returning. They might approach 20 wins and an NIT berth this year but I don't think it's a Tournament team and would like to take care of business at home.

So I agree that Houston on the road is probably the toughest game here, and Seton Hall and Butler are close behind. Houston at this point projects solidly in the NCAA Tournament field somewhere in the 6-8 seed range.  Butler will be solid again despite losing Martin and Wideman. The good news there is that Jordan Tucker, the Duke transfer, isn't eligible until the semester break. I don't think they're quite as good as this past season, but it's not a big drop. They'll be close with Seton Hall in the BE standings, like 6th-7th.

I don't think our non-conference schedules lately have been great, and this seems like an overall step in the right direction. The key will be winning these power conference games early and hoping they do all right in their conferences.

[RUBillsFan]

On 6/13/2018 at 9:30 AM, kshoe said:

I think most teams would be fine playing a 25-75 ranked team as a buy game. It would be beyond fantastic if we found a way to bring a 25-75 ranked team to the Chaifetz as a buy game. It's not going to happen because we don't have the cache to do something like that, but we'd jump at the chance if we could.

For Cheeseman: If given the choice between a home game against Rockhurst or an away game at a top 15 team, likely on national tv, I think most season ticket holders would take the away game.

This is perhaps a dumb question, but do all "buy-games" cost the same amount for SLU?

I would assume the answer is no.  At minimum I assume SLU is covering the travel costs for the other team (or that is built into the price already) so a buy game against Hawaii would be more expensive than a buy game against SIUE.  I would also assume that the price of all games is bargained between the two schools and various factors go into how expensive a buy game is quality/prestige of opponent, travel costs, date (for example if SLU is desperate for a game on a specific date then they up the asking price), etc. would play a factor, right?

It would be interesting to do a cost/benefit (both financial and non-financial) analysis of all of the games on the schedule or of potential games, but unfortunately, the proper data is not public or maybe proper data doesn't even exist to do such analysis.

[RIP HUMPS]

4 minutes ago, RUBillsFan said:

This is perhaps a dumb question, but do all "buy-games" cost the same amount for SLU?

I would assume the answer is no.  At minimum I assume SLU is covering the travel costs for the other team (or that is built into the price already) so a buy game against Hawaii would be more expensive than a buy game against SIUE.  I would also assume that the price of all games is bargained between the two schools and various factors go into how expensive a buy game is quality/prestige of opponent, travel costs, date (for example if SLU is desperate for a game on a specific date then they up the asking price), etc. would play a factor, right?

It would be interesting to do a cost/benefit (both financial and non-financial) analysis of all of the games on the schedule or of potential games, but unfortunately, the proper data is not public or maybe proper data doesn't even exist to do such analysis.

Sometimes a deal will include post-game meal (which can range from $200-$500). They can make it as creative as they want to make it seem like a win-win.

[cheeseman]

27 minutes ago, RUBillsFan said:

This is perhaps a dumb question, but do all "buy-games" cost the same amount for SLU?

I would assume the answer is no.  At minimum I assume SLU is covering the travel costs for the other team (or that is built into the price already) so a buy game against Hawaii would be more expensive than a buy game against SIUE.  I would also assume that the price of all games is bargained between the two schools and various factors go into how expensive a buy game is quality/prestige of opponent, travel costs, date (for example if SLU is desperate for a game on a specific date then they up the asking price), etc. would play a factor, right?

It would be interesting to do a cost/benefit (both financial and non-financial) analysis of all of the games on the schedule or of potential games, but unfortunately, the proper data is not public or maybe proper data doesn't even exist to do such analysis.

It is my understanding that when a buy game is scheduled the team being bought usually schedules so that it can be bus trip.  For example: SIUC, IL, SLU, Missouri, UMKC and depending where they are located they would finish up with a game closer home like AR or Tulsa or whatever.  This helps them keep the costs down and if they can get a meal thrown in then even better.  These buy teams have some leverage but at some point schedules fill out and they could find themselves froze out if they ask for too much money.  I was told a few years ago that a buy game could cost from 30K - 50K depending on how much the buyer was willing to pay and how little the bought team was willing to take.  By the way, a lot of these bus trips are set up so that the team plays 2-3 nights in row so proximity is important between games.  SLU is centrally located so we have lots of choices.

[RUBillsFan]

4 hours ago, cheeseman said:

It is my understanding that when a buy game is scheduled the team being bought usually schedules so that it can be bus trip.  For example: SIUC, IL, SLU, Missouri, UMKC and depending where they are located they would finish up with a game closer home like AR or Tulsa or whatever.  This helps them keep the costs down and if they can get a meal thrown in then even better.  These buy teams have some leverage but at some point schedules fill out and they could find themselves froze out if they ask for too much money.  I was told a few years ago that a buy game could cost from 30K - 50K depending on how much the buyer was willing to pay and how little the bought team was willing to take.  By the way, a lot of these bus trips are set up so that the team plays 2-3 nights in row so proximity is important between games.  SLU is centrally located so we have lots of choices.

Thanks for the info. 

SLU might be centrally located geographically on a map of the US, but I'm not sure they are actually centrally located in the D-I college basketball world.  There are many more D-1 schools south & east of SLU and not so many north and west.  Therefore, SLU is likely on the northern or western edge of most of the road trips you describe.  They are certainly better positioned then say New Mexico, but probably not positioned as well as maybe Xavier for road trips.

See map here: 

[cheeseman]

This is a great map.  You are right as far as schools are located we are not centrally located but when I use that word (perhaps wrongly) I meant to say that as the examples I gave there were plenty of D1 programs with in driving distance to make us more attractive then other schools. This is why the buy  teams we schedule often have come from or they are on their way to Columbia or have come from Bradley or Carbondale or Normal.   I  agree that if you are in the east then you can have a much easier way to schedule.