2024-2025 Schedule

[leeraymond]

Iowa State and others proved last year that if you schedule light and beat up on the really bad teams, you can positively impact/manipulate your NET ranking. On the flip side, if you struggle (see Indiana's first several games last year), you can shoot yourself in the foot.

Obviously there are other factors involved -- as leeraymond suggested, a light schedule doesn't get you ready for league play (and, traditionally, for Xavier). Also, it's less than ideal for season ticket holders when you don't have marquee teams coming into 5/3 in November/December.

Every coach takes his own approach. Tom Izzo at MSU always has a gauntlet OOC slate and next thing you know they are 7-5 -- but maybe that helps them with their late season runs which they've often had.

Iowa State plays very good defense every game and they also have a very good Xs and Os coach. Likewise, they have a pretty good guard group and a small forward that can really score. That made the difference for Iowa State last season.

[leeraymond]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the OOC schedule in its current form. Last season's OOC was considered weak and wasn't considered inhibitor towards our NCAA tournament chances at all. The Big 12 conference schedule will be the great equalizer.

4 quality opponents with 7 mid/low-major opponents (with one of those being a true away game) seems like a healthy balance to me.

I always look forward to the end-of-the-bench guys getting extended burn in those November blowouts anyways.

The non-conference schedule, on some level or another, should, in part, prepare a team for conference play. Remember that Cincinnati lost 5 of 9 conference games at home and lost 3 straight conference home games. Cincy was one of the bottom feeder teams in the BIG 12. I am not saying that Miller should go out and put together a non-conference schedule like Duke or Michigan State. However, Nick Saban used to say, "you never know what you got until you play SOMEBODY", or something like that. The point is that a modern NCAA Tournament aspiring coach should REALLY challenge his team somewhere in the non-conference to know what he has in his players. I once read that Justin Jackson claimed that sometimes players get bored playing teams that they knew that they could beat.

What is the fun in beating-up on a bunch of cupcakes? Think about this for a second. Cincinnati is a Power 5 program. Why NOT prepare for one of the TOUGHEST conferences in the country by going out and playing other Power 5 programs? If you want to consistently beat Power 5 teams, then you must play them.

Maybe there is a point that I am missing. However, I do not see anything wrong with play a more Power 5 oriented non-conference national schedule. Besides, it is GOOD entertainment for the fan base. What is wrong with playing one or two or three top 25 teams in the non-conference every year? Miller may discover that Cincinnati will learn how to win its equal share of those games.

[GoBearcats31]

Yeah, but how many of the upcoming season's non-conference games represent Quad 1 or 2 games?

Won't know until March

[leeraymond]

In 2023-24, the Bearcats played 13 OOC games, 8 of which involved Quad 4 opponents. This season, there will be 11 games, with perhaps 4 or 5 of them Quad 4.

Yeah, but how many of the upcoming season's non-conference games represent Quad 1 or 2 games?

[longtimefan]

The overall schedule though is strong. When you add:

Home-and-away: Baylor, BYU, Kansas State, Utah, West Virginia
Home-only: Arizona, Arizona State, Kansas, TCU, Texas Tech
Away-only: UCF, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Oklahoma State

I’m fine with the schedule. We need 20 regular season wins overall to guarantee the NCAA Tournament. We’ve gotten better, but so has the Big 12. Playing a .500 record in the conference should do it.

[swilsonsp4]

In 2023-24, the Bearcats played 13 OOC games, 8 of which involved Quad 4 opponents. This season, there will be 11 games, with perhaps 4 or 5 of them Quad 4.

[kskenyon4]

I'm sure this ended up being a weaker schedule than Miller predicted. Dayton lost a ton and is likely worse than expected. Villanova draw isn't amazing, and GT hasn't improved either. You always have Xavier and that ranges from a top 15 team to NIT one year to year. It's hard to predict far enough in advance. In a vacuum, I like this schedule, just wish some of the teams on it had better offseason and expectations.

[Carthage World]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the OOC schedule in its current form. Last season's OOC was considered weak and wasn't considered inhibitor towards our NCAA tournament chances at all. The Big 12 conference schedule will be the great equalizer.

4 quality opponents with 7 mid/low-major opponents (with one of those being a true away game) seems like a healthy balance to me.

I always look forward to the end-of-the-bench guys getting extended burn in those November blowouts anyways.

[bearcatjd]

I agree this is not a great OOC schedule & similar to schedules Cronin use to put together. We would get alot of wins but couldn't consistently beat teams ranked higer than us or go futher into the NCAA tourney.
Hopefully the OOC schedules gets better in the future with better recruits. Just MHO!!

[GoBearcats31]

Iowa State and others proved last year that if you schedule light and beat up on the really bad teams, you can positively impact/manipulate your NET ranking. On the flip side, if you struggle (see Indiana's first several games last year), you can shoot yourself in the foot.

Obviously there are other factors involved -- as leeraymond suggested, a light schedule doesn't get you ready for league play (and, traditionally, for Xavier). Also, it's less than ideal for season ticket holders when you don't have marquee teams coming into 5/3 in November/December.

Every coach takes his own approach. Tom Izzo at MSU always has a gauntlet OOC slate and next thing you know they are 7-5 -- but maybe that helps them with their late season runs which they've often had.

[leeraymond]

UC hosts Howard on Sunday, 12/8 (Bengals play on MNF that week)
https://x.com/RoccoMiller8/status/1815367613150552534

Monday, 11/4 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Friday, 11/8 vs. Morehead State
Friday, 11/15 vs. Nicholls
Tuesday, 11/19 at NKU
Sunday, 11/24 at Georgia Tech
ONE MORE OOC GAME TBA
Tuesday, 12/3 - at Villanova
Sunday, 12/8 - vs. Howard
Saturday, 12/14 vs. Xavier
Friday, 12/20 vs. Dayton (Heritage Bank Center)
Sunday, 12/22 vs. Grambling

What started out as a promising schedule (GT, VU, X, and UD) has turned into, it appears, a non-conference schedule with very few high-quad (Q1 & Q2) wins. Miller and company, as of now (after 10 games on the non-conference schedule), has a non-conference schedule where only GT (maybe), VU (maybe), X, and UD (maybe) represent anything potentially above a Q3 non-conference game. Miller has got to stop thinking like a mid-major coach. Cincinnati is a long-time big-time program. This non-conference schedule (if it stays as it is) will do little to get the team ready to play the teams in the conference. Here is a question: how many teams on UC's non-conference schedule can possibly win a game against any team in the BIG 12 at a neutral site? Maybe VU or X. Dayton lost all 4 of its top scorers from last year's team. They may struggle some this year. I am not sure if they bring back or bring in enough to win a BIG 12 game (of course I am speculating because I have no clue what their roster is like). However, you see what I am saying.

Where are the top 100 schools on this schedule? As far as I know, there are four 2024 NCAA Tournament teams on the non-conference schedule (UD, Morehead State, Howard, and Grambling). Miller has got to remember that he is a Power 5 coach. He needs to grow a pair and go out a play one or two top 25 teams every non-conference season. I have not looked at how the other BIG 12 schools have scheduled, but I would imagine that the top 6 or 7 teams in BIG 12 each has scheduled one or two, or maybe three, top 25 schools to play. Playing against good competition will get a team ready to play against good competition.

Miller will never have his Cincinnati teams move into the top 5 in the BIG 12 if he continues to play weak non-conference schedules. What makes this non-conference schedule so puzzling is that Miller now has a roster that should be able to hold its own against ranked competition. It is highly possible that this year's team will not play one RANKED opponent until they play in the BIG 12. To me, that is not good. Good players want to play against the best. The players that Cincinnati now has in the program deserve to play against better non-conference competition.

[Lobot]

Year 9 and he's not playing unless something has changed
https://www.on3.com/news/howard-forw...f-eligibility/

Aw man what a quitter..LOL

[swilsonsp4]

Maybe ESPN+ will hire the Howard production and announcing crews to handle the broadcast.

[GoBearcats31]

And Seth Towns will still be eligible. Year 8 for those keeping track.

Year 9 and he's not playing unless something has changed
https://www.on3.com/news/howard-forw...f-eligibility/

[Lobot]

UC hosts Howard on Sunday, 12/8 (Bengals play on MNF that week)
https://x.com/RoccoMiller8/status/1815367613150552534


Sunday, 12/8 - vs. Howard

And Seth Towns will still be eligible. Year 8 for those keeping track.