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The Action Before the MACtion -- Grading Every Non-Conference Schedule

The Action Before the MACtion

By: Adam Altobella


A sense of ultimate pride and fulfillment. A team photo of smiling faces. A chance to slice off a piece of nylon. An immaterial ticket to America’s largest dance.


These are the feats and honors that all twelve Mid-American Conference teams seek to achieve in early March, when the season concludes at the annually anticipated conference tournament. The road to the conference championship is long, and it begins on November 7. To prepare for the grueling conference schedule and postseason, each program has crafted a suitable non-conference schedule.


Not all non-conference schedules are created equal, however. Some programs may be in search of challenging competition and notable holiday tournaments, while others may be more conservative in their preparations. These differences in non-conference schedules impact the player and fan experiences.


Grades & Notes


Buffalo – A-

  • Home Games – B-

    • 6 games (Colgate 11/7; James Madison 11/12; Canisius 11/27; St. Bonaventure 12/3; St. John Fisher 12/6; SUNY Canton 12/21)

  • Holiday Tournament – A-

    • Paradise Jam – St. Thomas, USVI – 11/18-21

      • 3 games

      • 1st round vs Drake; 2nd round vs Howard/Wyoming

      • Belmont, Boston College, George Mason, and Tarleton State comprise the other half of the bracket

  • Non-D1 Games – C

    • 2 games

      • St. John Fisher – DIII

      • SUNY Canton – DIII

  • Quality of Opponents – A+

    • 106 average national Ken Pom ranking

    • Hardest schedule among MAC teams

  • Games of Interest – A+

    • @ UConn (11/15)

    • vs St. Bonaventure (12/3)

    • vs Tulane (12/10; played in Atlanta; Holiday Hoopsgiving event)

    • @ West Virginia (12/18)

    • @ Michigan State (12/30)


Toledo – B

  • Home Games – B-

    • 5 games (Valparaiso 11/7; Oakland 11/17; Richmond 11/30; Canisius 12/10; Lourdes 12/29)

  • Holiday Tournament – B

    • Gulf Coast Showcase – Fort Myers, FL – 11/21-23

      • 3 games

      • 1st round vs Kansas City; 2nd round vs East Carolina/Indiana State

      • Drexel, UT-Arlington, Northern Kentucky, and FGCU comprise the other half

  • Non-D1 Games – B+

    • 1 game

      • Lourdes – NAIA


  • Quality of Opponents – B

    • 164 average national Ken Pom ranking

    • 2nd hardest schedule in the MAC

  • Games of Interest – B

    • vs UAB (11/11; Barstool Invitational; played in Philadelphia)

    • vs Richmond (11/30)

    • @ Vermont (12/20)

Akron – B-

  • Home Games – B-

    • 7 games (South Dakota State 11/7; Morgan State 11/15; Muskingum 12/4; Jackson State 12/11; Wright State 12/14; Maine 12/19; Concord 12/30)

  • Holiday Tournament – A

    • Cayman Islands Classic – Grand Cayman – 11/21-23

      • 3 games

      • 1st round vs Western Kentucky; 2nd round vs Illinois State/LSU

      • Nevada, Tulane, Kansas State, and Rhode Island comprise the other half

  • Non-D1 Games – C

    • 2 games

      • Muskingum – DIII

      • Concord – DII

  • Quality of Opponents – C

    • 190 average national Ken Pom ranking

    • 9th most difficult schedule among MAC teams

  • Games of Interest – B-

    • vs South Dakota State (11/7)

    • vs Mississippi State (11/11; Barstool Invitational; played in Philadelphia)

Ohio – B-

  • Home Games – C+

    • 6 games (Cleveland State 11/12; Eastern Illinois 11/25; Alabama State 11/27; Cincinnati-Clermont 11/30; Stetson 12/17; Chicago State 12/30)

  • Holiday Tournament: NONE

  • Non-D1 Games – B+

    • 1 game

      • Cincinnati-Clermont – USCAA

  • Quality of Opponents – D+

    • 218 average national Ken Pom ranking

    • Tied for 10th toughest schedule in the conference

  • Games of Interest – B

    • @ Belmont (11/7)

    • @ Michigan (11/20)

    • vs Florida (12/14; played in Tampa)



Eastern Michigan – B-

  • Home Games – C-

    • 4 games (Wayne State 11/7; UC-San Diego 11/27; Florida Atlantic 12/4; Detroit Mercy 12/18)

  • Holiday Tournament – B+

    • Cancun Challenge – Cancun, Mexico – 11/22-24

      • 3 games + 1 campus game (@ Bradley 11/15)

      • 1st round vs Purdue-Fort Wayne; 2nd round vs Southern Miss/Winthrop

      • Auburn, Bradley, Liberty, Northwestern comprise the other half

  • Non-D1 Games – B+

    • 1 game

      • Wayne State – DII

  • Quality of Opponents – B-

    • 172 average national Ken Pom ranking

    • 4th most difficult schedule in the MAC

  • Games of Interest – C+

    • vs Michigan (11/11; played in Detroit)

    • @ South Carolina (12/30)


Kent State – C+

  • Home Games – C+

    • 6 games (Baldwin Wallace 11/10; Portland 11/14; Arkansas-Pine Bluff 11/16; Chicago State 11/19; vs South Dakota State 12/2; Concord 12/18)

  • Holiday Tournament – D+

    • Sun Bowl Invitational – El Paso, TX – 12/21-22

      • 2 games

      • 1st round vs New Mexico State, 2nd round vs UTEP/North Carolina A&T

  • Non-D1 Games – C

    • 2 games

      • Baldwin Wallace – DIII

      • Concord – DII

  • Quality of Opponents – B-

    • 174 average national Ken Pom ranking

    • 7th most difficult schedule in the conference

  • Games of Interest – A-

    • @ Houston (11/26)

    • vs South Dakota State (12/2)

    • @ Gonzaga (12/5)


Miami – C+

  • Home Games – B

    • 9 games (Evansville 11/7; Goshen 11/12; Marshall 11/17; Little Rock 11/26; Jackson State 11/29;

      Indiana State 12/3; Calumet St Joseph 12/11; Wright State 12/22; Saint Mary’s of the Woods 12/29)

  • Holiday Tournament – NONE

  • Non-D1 Games – D+

    • 3 games

      • Goshen – NAIA

      • Calumet St Joseph – NAIA

      • Saint Mary’s of the Woods – NAIA

  • Quality of Opponents – C

    • 184 average national Ken Pom ranking

    • 8th most difficult schedule in the MAC

  • Games of Interest – B

    • @ Georgia (11/14)

    • @ Indiana (11/20)

    • @ Cincinnati (12/14)

Northern Illinois – C+

  • Home Games – D

    • 3 games (Illinois-Springfield 11/7; Purdue Northwest 11/14; Albany 12/20)

  • Holiday Tournament – C

    • Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip Off – Fort Myers, FL – 11/22-23

      • 2 games + 1 campus game (@ Georgia Tech 11/17)

      • 1st round vs Sam Houston State; 2nd round vs South Dakota/LIU

  • Non-D1 Games – C+

    • 2 games

      • Illinois-Springfield – DII

      • Purdue Northwest – DII

  • Quality of Opponents – B-

    • 170 average national Ken Pom ranking

    • 3rd most difficult schedule in the MAC

  • Games of Interest – B

    • @ Northwestern (11/11)

    • @ Gonzaga (12/12)

    • @ VCU (12/17)


Central Michigan – C+

  • Home Games – C

    • 5 games (Eastern Illinois 11/13; Purdue Northwest 11/29; Alma 12/3; Robert Morris 12/7; Youngstown 12/21)

  • Holiday Tournament – C-

    • SoCal Challenge – San Juan Capistrano, CA – 11/21-23

      • 2 games

      • 1st round vs High Point; 2nd round vs CSUN/Tennessee State

  • Non-D1 Games – C

    • 2 games

      • Purdue Northwest – DII

      • Alma – DIII

  • Quality of Opponents – B-

    • 172 average national Ken Pom ranking

    • Tied for 4th most challenging schedule in the conference

  • Games of Interest – B+

    • @ Marquette (11/10)

    • @ Minnesota (11/17)

    • @ Michigan (12/29)

Ball State – C

  • Home Games – C

    • 5 games (Earlham 11/7; IU-South Bend 11/19; Evansville 12/10; Georgia Southern 12/21; Chicago State 12/28)

  • Holiday Tournament – B+

    • Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Classic – Nassau, Bahamas – 11/25-27

      • 3 games

      • 1st round vs Vermont; 2nd round vs Missouri State/UNCW

      • North Texas, San Jose State, Oakland, and Long Beach State comprise the other half

  • Non-D1 Games – C

    • 2 games

      • Earlham – DIII

      • IU-South Bend – NAIA

  • Quality of Opponents – D

    • 243 average national Ken Pom ranking

    • Easiest schedule in the conference

  • Games of Interest – C-

    • @ Indiana State (11/12)

    • vs Illinois State (12/17; Indy Classic; played in Indianapolis)


Western Michigan – C

  • Home Games – C-

    • 5 games (Goshen 11/10; Cleveland State 11/26; Concordia 12/5; UIC 12/10; Siena Heights 12/21)

  • Holiday Tournament – C-

    • Owl Invitational – Houston, Texas – 11/18-20

      • 3 games

      • Round robin format

      • Houston Christian (11/18), Rice (11/19), Georgia Southern (11/20)

  • Non-D1 Games – C-

    • 3 games

      • Goshen – NAIA

      • Concordia – NAIA

      • Siena Heights – NAIA

  • Quality of Opponents – B-

    • 173 average national Ken Pom ranking

    • 6th most challenging schedule in the MAC

  • Games of Interest – B+

    • @ Minnesota (11/7)

    • @ Dayton (11/30)

    • @ Iowa State (12/18)

    • @ Wisconsin (12/30)

Bowling Green – C-

  • Home Games – C+

    • 7 games (Air Force 11/7; Southern Indiana 11/26; Queens 11/29; Morgan State 12/3; UT Martin 12/17; Fairmont State 12/19; Ohio Dominican 12/29)

  • Holiday Tournament – B-

    • Gotham Classic – campus sites – 11/19-26

      • 3 games

      • @ St Bonaventure (11/19); @ Notre Dame (11/22); vs Southern Indiana (11/26)

  • Non-D1 Games – C+

    • 2 games

      • Fairmont State – DII

      • Ohio Dominican – DII

  • Quality of Opponents – D+

    • 218 average national Ken Pom ranking

    • Tied for 10th most difficult schedule in the conference

  • Games of Interest – D

    • @ Wright State (11/15)


Methodology Notes:


Each program’s non-conference schedule was evaluated on five factors: number and quality of home games, prestige and destination of their respective holiday tournament, number of non-Division I games, overall quality of opponents, and the presence of rivalry or otherwise notable games on the schedule. Each of these factors will be more thoroughly described below.

For each of the categories, a letter grade (A+ to D-) was assigned. Then, the average of all five grades constituted the overall rating.


Criteria:


Home Games:

MAC fan bases do not outnumber those of major conference institutions, but they certainly match, if not exceed, them in terms of passion. MAC fans dearly love their teams, and obviously like to watch them play. With that said, a strong non-conference schedule ensures that a team plays numerous, meaningful home games in front of its fan base. In this category, teams were simply evaluated on the number and level of home games on their schedule.


Holiday Tournament:

Holiday tournaments have become the premier events on a team’s schedule. They provide for strong competition against teams outside of a school’s given region, and oftentimes allow for a vacation for student-athletes and fans alike. Programs were assessed on the level of competition in their tournament, the appeal of the destination, and the potential for national broadcasts. Teams without such an event on their schedules were not penalized.


Non-D1 Games:

Games against non-Division I teams are a staple in mid-major basketball schedules. They provide needed lower-level competition as a team eases into the season, but they do not provide a strong appeal for fans. Teams with fewer of these games were rated more favorably than those with several. The level of the non-D1 opponent was also considered.


Quality of Opponents:

Of course, the ultimate intent of a non-conference schedule is to prepare a squad for conference play. Each of the team’s scheduled D1 opponents – does not include future tournament games – were assessed based on their preseason Ken Pom rating. The average opponent ranking determined the grade.


Notable Games:

Finally, the non-conference season also allows teams to square-off against out-of-conference rivals, play exciting neutral site games, and battle some of the nation’s most notable basketball programs. All of these miscellaneous matchups, which must be outside of holiday tournaments, will be taken into account.

This post was submitted by one of our esteemed readers and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or thoughts of Hustle Belt or SB Nation.