DRC (updated with story): UNT's C-USA bonus play schedule

Brett Vito · February 17, 2019

DRC:

https://www.dentonrc.com/sports/c-usa-releases-schedule-for-bonus-play/article_eceaad6d-705a-5695-9277-17ffb3bb354e.html

Edited February 18, 2019 by Brett Vito

MCMLXXX · February 17, 2019

Bonus play release.

http://www.conferenceusa.com/news/2019/2/16/general-bonus-play-schedule-announced.aspx?path=general

BillySee58 · February 17, 2019

So looks like it will be the way I laid it out. You have to win on the road to pass the teams directly ahead of you.

RiseUNT · February 17, 2019

6 minutes ago, BillySee58 said:

So looks like it will be the way I laid it out. You have to win on the road to pass the teams directly ahead of you.

All of my complaints about this are gone because we didn't even make pod 1.

What does the second pod have to play for? Can't win conference. Can't get a ticket to the quarters. Can't miss the tournament.

Green Lantern · February 17, 2019

Playing @ La Tech sucks. They’re 14-0 at home this year.

CMJ · February 17, 2019

I don't really wanna go back to FIU either!

BillySee58 · February 17, 2019

8 minutes ago, RiseUNT said:

All of my complaints about this are gone because we didn't even make pod 1.

What was your complaint with it for pod 1?

8 minutes ago, RiseUNT said:

What does the second pod have to play for? Can't win conference. Can't get a ticket to the quarters. Can't miss the tournament.

Seeding. Would you rather play the 3 seed or the 1 seed in the quarters?

RiseUNT · February 17, 2019

11 minutes ago, BillySee58 said:

What was your complaint with it for pod 1?

Seeding. Would you rather play the 3 seed or the 1 seed in the quarters?

It was looking like ODU would be 1, UTSA 2, and us 3. We played both at their place and would have to go back to their place to pass them up.

They traded fairness for RPI.

drex · February 17, 2019

So just have a good cry and hang it up for this year.

BillySee58 · February 17, 2019

1 hour ago, RiseUNT said:

It was looking like ODU would be 1, UTSA 2, and us 3. We played both at their place and would have to go back to their place to pass them up.

They traded fairness for RPI.

Oh, right. I think you’re looking in the wrong spot for unfairness. What would be unfair would be a team finishing as a 2 seed having to play at the 3 seed in bonus play. This is perfectly fair. It is impossible for a team to jump another team unless someone wins on the road against a team that finished ahead of them. You reward the teams that finished highest by allowing them to prevent the teams directly below them from jumping them on their home court.

Why would they make the matchups so that teams would have to win on the road against the teams directly below them in order to maintain the seed that they earned?

RiseUNT · February 17, 2019

36 minutes ago, BillySee58 said:

Oh, right. I think you’re looking in the wrong spot for unfairness. What would be unfair would be a team finishing as a 2 seed having to play at the 3 seed in bonus play. This is perfectly fair. It is impossible for a team to jump another team unless someone wins on the road against a team that finished ahead of them. You reward the teams that finished highest by allowing them to prevent the teams directly below them from jumping them on their home court.

Why would they make the matchups so that teams would have to win on the road against the teams directly below them in order to maintain the seed that they earned?

No. Having to play at a team's home court twice in a season is unfair. There is a reason we are the only conference doing this.

Do you think Kentucky would play twice at LSU or Michigan Twice at Michigan St?

I understand what you are saying and I understand what the conference is trying to do. Y'all aren't wrong but I don't think its right.

BillySee58 · February 17, 2019

8 hours ago, RiseUNT said:

No. Having to play at a team's home court twice in a season is unfair. There is a reason we are the only conference doing this.

Do you think Kentucky would play twice at LSU or Michigan Twice at Michigan St?

I understand what you are saying and I understand what the conference is trying to do. Y'all aren't wrong but I don't think its right.

Who played where is thrown out the window for bonus play. If the goal is putting a second team in the NCAA Tournament, then the best way to do that would be for the 1 seed and 2 seed to not have to go the 3 seed’s home and have the easiest road games, except for the 2 seed having to play at the 1 seed.

This is the most likely way that the 1 and 2 seed will go 7-1 combined in pod play, which is the best case scenario for the conference. Unfortunately I don’t think any of that will matter. No way we get two teams in this year imo

RiseUNT · February 17, 2019

1 hour ago, BillySee58 said:

Who played where is thrown out the window for bonus play. If the goal is putting a second team in the NCAA Tournament, then the best way to do that would be for the 1 seed and 2 seed to not have to go the 3 seed’s home and have the easiest road games, except for the 2 seed having to play at the 1 seed.

This is the most likely way that the 1 and 2 seed will go 7-1 combined in pod play, which is the best case scenario for the conference. Unfortunately I don’t think any of that will matter. No way we get two teams in this year imo

Or any year since sunbelt 2.0.

Wag Tag · February 17, 2019

I think this is great. It is like another playoff! GMG

Greendylan · February 17, 2019

I guess by whatever 4-way tiebreaker CUSA uses Louisiana Tech is not the 7 seed? The way this shapes up is really unfortunate for North Texas because we aren't really getting any benefit by being the top seed in the pod. The other 4 teams are all 7-7 in CUSA play and have winning records overall. They are all beatable when they have to go on the road and really tough when they are at home. The only one that really stands out is Louisiana Tech, which is virtually unbeatable at home. And--we have to play them on the road. That is literally the only variable to the 2nd tier pod that could make one team's home/away schedule any more challenging than the next, and we got the short end of the stick by little more than random luck.

Starting at the top of pod 2 is already an unenviable position to be in. You are sitting at a spot that has been designated as the highest you are allowed to go, but you also have a lot to lose. We definitely do not want to finish lower than 7, and actually holding on to the 6 seed is critical. Effectively, there won't be much difference between the 5 and 6 seeds in the tournament, and had we limped into the bottom end of pod 1, there's a very serious chance we would have finished 5th. So, perhaps in our case the pod placement isn't going to make that much difference in the end (if we go at least 3-1). Still, as a fan, it is a little frustrating that we cannot improve our seeding no matter how much success we have over the next 4 games.

CMJ · February 17, 2019

2 hours ago, RiseUNT said:

Or any year since sunbelt 2.0.

Nah, we probably would have gotten MTSU in last year under this format. They probably should have been in anyway.

RiseUNT · February 18, 2019

5 hours ago, CMJ said:

Nah, we probably would have gotten MTSU in last year under this format. They probably should have been in anyway.

No. I looked back and the last 4 games they had Marshall and WKU which were for sure Pod 1. UAB could have been pod 1. The only change would have been changing ODU with a mid team USM.

If MidTenn beat ODU instead of USM they would have been put in? Or losing to the number 2 seed instead of beating the number 8 seed would have put them in?

And yes they were clearly a tournament team.