This Month in Non-Conference Schedules (May 2020)

Welcome to the Weekly Round-Up from The D1 Docket!

These updates will be weekly as the offseason progresses but for now I will re-cap schedules released through the Month of May

Schedules Released This Week   Schedules Released This Month  Schedules Released This Through Mid-May

March 23rd:
West Virginia

May 5th:
Ohio State

May 13th:
UNLV
Kansas

Exempt Event Schedules Released Through May

Maryland Showcase (Maryland, Duquesne, San Jose State, Cal Baptist)
Bluegrass Showcase (Kentucky, Richmond, Detroit Mercy, Hartford)

Non-Conference News:

The big story of the year is the COVID-19 health crisis, the effect it will have on college athletics will be a story that unfolds in the coming months. Many athletic departments operate in the red as budgets for salaries, recruiting, facilities, etc. have bloated in recent decades. Already we've seen several of athletic departments decide to cut sports programs all together. The full impact of scheduling will be known at the end of summer but UNLV's schedule is the first to really shine a light on what to expect. The Runnin' Rebels will host two non-division 1 games, a departure from their recent scheduling patterns. This comes down to money. Per public records obtained by The D1 Docket UNLV owes at total of $247,500 to Florida A&M, Montana State and Omaha for their guarantee games. For two non-division one games that bill is likely under $20,000. The other options UNLV had were to hit the road for (at the risk of compromising their win/loss record) or start a series which puts them on the road next season when they don't know what their budget (including travel) will be.

For the second year in a row Pittsburgh will shy away from participating in their rivalry with Duquesne. This move becomes even more confounding when you factor in that schedules this season will have a greater emphasis on regional games. Cross-town rivalries are good for the sport and help the local media engage with the teams participating that are outside the power conference structure. 

Five Best Games

Kansas vs Kentucky: Nobody needs to be explained why the Champion's Classic will produce one of the best games of the season. Between the Champion's Classic, SEC/Big XII Challenge and NCAA Tournament this will be the 8th game between the Wildcats and Jayhawks since 2011.

Ohio State vs North Carolina: This game could go a lot of ways. Ohio State has been one of the best teams in November & December the last two seasons while North Carolina will look to put last season in the rear view mirror. Ohio State's 25-point win in the Dean Dome last season was when the wheels started to fall of last year, can Roy Williams keep the wheels on this season?

Creighton at Kansas: Kansas may not have a tougher home game this season than when the defending Big East co-champions pay a visit to Allen Field House, the Blue Jays are reloaded after one of the best seasons in program history. This game could be the difference between a 1 or a 2-seed for both teams.

UCLA at UNLV: Mick Cronin will take his team to Las Vegas early in the season for this tough road game featuring two 2nd-year coaches. Both overachieved preseason expectations in their first season and look to be even better this season. A win in this game will look great on an NCAA resume in March.

Kansas at Colorado: The Buffaloes had a great season going a year ago but had it fall apart in the final weeks. A neutral court win over Dayton was the gem in their resume but the after losing five straight sliding to close the season they had slid towards the bubble fast as their season ended with a loss to Washington State. If Colorado can recover from last season's skid a visit from Kansas will be a great opportunity to solidify their resume before PAC-12 Play.

Five Sneaky Good Games

Richmond at Kentucky: Kentucky showed a new vulnerability with the loss to Evansville last season and followed that game up by letting Utah Valley stay within striking distance until the final minute. If any team on their schedule can capitalize on an off night from the Wildcats it will be the Chris Mooney's Spiders.

Akron at Ohio State: Akron gets a shot at the in-state flagship school but the Buckeyes have yet to drop a non-conference game at home to a team outside the Power 5 since Chris Holtmann took the reigns in 2017. This will be the first regular season visit to Columbus for Akron since 1986, having played NIT games there in 1989 and 2016, and just the 5th game between the schools since 1914.

UNLV at VCU: These are two programs that have both lost coaches to Oklahoma this century but the comparison's end their. No program has been better at moving coaches on to the next level like VCU, while UNLV has struggled to stop it's back-slide since losing Lon Kruger. This game could be the moment where both of those trends reverse each other. T.J. Otzelberger had UNLV back in the KenPom Top 100 in his first season, their first time in five years, while Mike Rhoades had VCU trending the wrong way to close the 2019-20 season, losing seven of their last eight games on their way to missing their second NCAA Tournament in his three seasons at the helm.

Southern Utah at Kansas: Coach Todd Simon has quietly pulled Southern Utah out of purgatory after the Thunderbirds had an average KenPom rating of 326.5 the four-years before he arrived. The Jayhawks aren't likely to slip up and lose but it will take longer than they want to put the Thunderbirds away.

Duquesne at Maryland: Keith Drambot's 4th season could be the Duke's best chance to break a 44-year NCAA Dry Spell since the waninig momements of the 2009 Atlantic 10 Championship game against Temple. Terrapin fans that want Turgeon out are not hard to find and the Dukes could give those fans an early Christmas present if they can derail Maryland's season.

Most Lopsided Games

Fairleigh Dickinson at West Virginia
San Jose State Maryland
Niagara at Ohio State
Morehead State at Ohio State
Alabama A&M at Ohio State

Flimsiest Schedule

Ohio State: Aside from participation in the Battle 4 Atlantis, Ohio State's schedule is full of buy games with a neutral site game versus North Carolina and the ACC-B1G Challenge. If Buckeyes find themselves in the losers bracket in Atlantis and North Carolina does not rebound effectively from it's off-year they will find themselves playing catch-up to fill their resume through the B1G season which isn't a good position to be in for a team that plays their best basketball before New Year's Day.