Southeast Missouri State. Houston Baptist. Delaware State. UMass Lowell. Kennesaw State. Coppin State.
These are some of the culprits of Indiana's poor non-conference scheduling during the Tom Crean era. It wasn't that the Hoosiers scheduled more than a handful of "buy games" at home, where Indiana would pay an opponent to travel to Assembly Hall for what is almost guaranteed to be a loss (Hello, Eastern Washington). Every power conference school does that. It's that Indiana consistently scheduled games against some of the worst teams in the country.
Those games produce an inverse relationship where the home team's margin of victory would skyrocket and non-conference strength of schedule would plummet.
The two worst non-conference schedules -- the 2013-14 and 2016-17 seasons -- arranged by Indiana in the last nine years, according to kenpom.com, came during seasons in which the Hoosiers missed the NCAA Tournament. That may not have been a coincidence.
With a changing of the guard as Archie Miller replaces Crean as Indiana's head coach, fans can expect a change in the program's non-conference scheduling.
Here's a comparison of Crean's scheduling during nine years at Indiana and Miller's scheduling during his six seasons at Dayton, using kenpom.com's non-conference strength of schedule rating.
Year: Indiana/Dayton
2017: 312/75
2016: 160/23
2015: 197/71
2014: 298/107
2013: 183/102
2012: 203/68
2011: 290
2010: 239
2009: 22*
*Tom Crean's first season at Indiana, which means he likely didn't have full control over the schedule, similar to Archie Miller at Dayton in 2011-12 and Indiana in 2017-18.
Of course, the onus of scheduling a challenging non-league slate is arguably more significant for mid-major and low-major schools because their NCAA Tournament chances and, often, entire athletic department budgets depend on it.
The Atlantic 10 averaged four NCAA Tournament bids per year during Miller's tenure at Dayton, while the Big Ten averaged almost seven during the same period. When fewer than one-third of A-10 teams make the tournament (compared to half of the Big Ten), a rigorous non-conference schedule elevates the NCAA Tournament profile of a team like Dayton.
Indiana, under Crean, and Dayton, under Miller, scheduled on opposite ends of the spectrum.
Every year that Miller was at Dayton, the Flyers participated in a major non-conference tournament. They played in the AdvoCare Invitational, Charleston Classic, Maui Invitational, Old Spice Classic (renamed the AdvoCare Invitational), Puerto Rico Tip-Off and Wooden Legacy.
They also scheduled home-and-home series with Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, USC and Vanderbilt, which gave Dayton both marquee home games for fans and non-conference road tests -- two criteria that Indiana seemed to not prioritize under Crean.
Indiana played nine true road games during the non-conference portion of its schedule during Crean's tenure. Dayton played 11 in six years under Miller.
Dayton also had a healthy smattering of games against opponents from the Mid American Conference, a league that consistently ranks among the top 15 conferences in RPI.
Will Miller need to schedule as tough of a non-conference slate for Indiana as he did at Dayton? That's unlikely, as Indiana's conference schedule provides inherent advantages in playing stiffer competition. Indiana also provides greater funding for "buy games," as well as a need for close to 10 non-conference home games for season ticket holders.
Miller walks into a situation where Indiana already has big-time matchups on the books: the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Crossroads Classic, Gavitt Tipoff Games (the annual Big East-Big Ten series) and Indiana's three-game series with Louisville. But Miller's aggressiveness in scheduling marquee home games and early road tests, as well as eliminating games against the bottom feeders of Division I college basketball, will set the tone for Indiana's non-conference scheduling moving forward.
If Indiana plays its cards right, Miller could even bring back the series with Kentucky, which is coached by his second cousin, John Calipari, or arrange a home-and-home series with Arizona and his brother, Sean.
What a nice change that would be for Indiana fans.
These are some of the culprits of Indiana's poor non-conference scheduling during the Tom Crean era. It wasn't that the Hoosiers scheduled more than a handful of "buy games" at home, where Indiana would pay an opponent to travel to Assembly Hall for what is almost guaranteed to be a loss (Hello, Eastern Washington). Every power conference school does that. It's that Indiana consistently scheduled games against some of the worst teams in the country.
Those games produce an inverse relationship where the home team's margin of victory would skyrocket and non-conference strength of schedule would plummet.
The two worst non-conference schedules -- the 2013-14 and 2016-17 seasons -- arranged by Indiana in the last nine years, according to kenpom.com, came during seasons in which the Hoosiers missed the NCAA Tournament. That may not have been a coincidence.
With a changing of the guard as Archie Miller replaces Crean as Indiana's head coach, fans can expect a change in the program's non-conference scheduling.
Here's a comparison of Crean's scheduling during nine years at Indiana and Miller's scheduling during his six seasons at Dayton, using kenpom.com's non-conference strength of schedule rating.
Year: Indiana/Dayton
2017: 312/75
2016: 160/23
2015: 197/71
2014: 298/107
2013: 183/102
2012: 203/68
2011: 290
2010: 239
2009: 22*
*Tom Crean's first season at Indiana, which means he likely didn't have full control over the schedule, similar to Archie Miller at Dayton in 2011-12 and Indiana in 2017-18.
Of course, the onus of scheduling a challenging non-league slate is arguably more significant for mid-major and low-major schools because their NCAA Tournament chances and, often, entire athletic department budgets depend on it.
The Atlantic 10 averaged four NCAA Tournament bids per year during Miller's tenure at Dayton, while the Big Ten averaged almost seven during the same period. When fewer than one-third of A-10 teams make the tournament (compared to half of the Big Ten), a rigorous non-conference schedule elevates the NCAA Tournament profile of a team like Dayton.
Indiana, under Crean, and Dayton, under Miller, scheduled on opposite ends of the spectrum.
Every year that Miller was at Dayton, the Flyers participated in a major non-conference tournament. They played in the AdvoCare Invitational, Charleston Classic, Maui Invitational, Old Spice Classic (renamed the AdvoCare Invitational), Puerto Rico Tip-Off and Wooden Legacy.
They also scheduled home-and-home series with Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, USC and Vanderbilt, which gave Dayton both marquee home games for fans and non-conference road tests -- two criteria that Indiana seemed to not prioritize under Crean.
Indiana played nine true road games during the non-conference portion of its schedule during Crean's tenure. Dayton played 11 in six years under Miller.
Dayton also had a healthy smattering of games against opponents from the Mid American Conference, a league that consistently ranks among the top 15 conferences in RPI.
Will Miller need to schedule as tough of a non-conference slate for Indiana as he did at Dayton? That's unlikely, as Indiana's conference schedule provides inherent advantages in playing stiffer competition. Indiana also provides greater funding for "buy games," as well as a need for close to 10 non-conference home games for season ticket holders.
Miller walks into a situation where Indiana already has big-time matchups on the books: the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Crossroads Classic, Gavitt Tipoff Games (the annual Big East-Big Ten series) and Indiana's three-game series with Louisville. But Miller's aggressiveness in scheduling marquee home games and early road tests, as well as eliminating games against the bottom feeders of Division I college basketball, will set the tone for Indiana's non-conference scheduling moving forward.
If Indiana plays its cards right, Miller could even bring back the series with Kentucky, which is coached by his second cousin, John Calipari, or arrange a home-and-home series with Arizona and his brother, Sean.
What a nice change that would be for Indiana fans.