OT: D1

[Columbuseer]

Yep better know what you are getting in choosing a d2 team. Ohio state last played Findlay in nov 2007 and lost 70-68. The next year Findlay won national championship in March 2009. Osu has no answer for pg Marcus Parker (who was too small for d1 - lol).
https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ohio-s...al-exhibition/

[boatcapt]

Yep better know what you are getting in choosing a d2 team. Ohio state last played Findlay in nov 2007 and lost 70-68. The next year Findlay won national championship in March 2009. Osu has no answer for pg Marcus Parker (who was too small for d1 - lol).
https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ohio-s...al-exhibition/

That was an exhibition game so it "didn't count." D1's will play quality DII's in exhibition games because they don't count. I also note in Ohio States case, the two seasons before the 2007 Findlay "loss" they listed EXB games on the results (even thought they didn't count for their overall record) but starting in 07, they stopped showing the EXB games on the schedule!

[Columbuseer]

That was an exhibition game so it "didn't count." D1's will play quality DII's in exhibition games because they don't count. I also note in Ohio States case, the two seasons before the 2007 Findlay "loss" they listed EXB games on the results (even thought they didn't count for their overall record) but starting in 07, they stopped showing the EXB games on the schedule!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

That was the year Ferris State won the D2 title.

[Columbuseer]

That was the year Ferris State won the D2 title.

Yep 2018. That year Michigan state was 30-5 and went 16-2 in big ten ( 1st in conference). A few years earlier national champ augustana beat Iowa at Iowa.
They have shown that elite d2 teams can be a threat to even well coached, high major d1 teams. This goes against the popular narrative that the level of play in d1 is far above even the best d2 schools. Clearly d1 has better raw athletes but Basketball is both a physical and mental game Imho.

[Chuck Norris]

[IUPbigINDIANS]

If WL was willing to leave WV they could get games. It's my guess the notion of the big exhibition just hasn't been important to them -- and that's their decision to make.

IUP's game at Kentucky last year got more buzz than usual because it was televised and, well, it was Kentucky. IUP was only down 7 with 5 minutes to play. Trust me, Kentucky was playing to win that game. They played their rotation the entire game. There was even a near brawl in the second half.

Calipari said he knew IUP was going to come in there and give them problems. He said he knew his team would take them lightly and they'd get punched in the mouth. And, that's exactly what happened for 30 minutes. It was great for both teams. That was the best game IUP played all year (and I saw them all).

TEAMS like IUP or WL can give D1 squads major fits. They play very well together and retain players from year to year. The ball movement at IUP and WL is often times more crisp than even high-level D1 teams. They lack the size and speed but the fundamentals are there. Kentucky's post players had fits with Cobo last year -- whether they weren't used to having to cover a 6'9" popping treys or what ... they struggled big time with him.

[boatcapt]

I don't think they HAVE to be exhibition games. NCAA permits D1 teams to play between 29 and 31 regular season games (27 plus up to 4 if a team is in a regular season tourney). In addition to those, a D1 can play up to three exhibition games that don't count toward the maximum number of "real" games they play.

Seems like D1's do these exhibition games for different reasons. Some treat them as little more than rewards for in-state DII's. Others treat them like a game practice were they try any number of different rotations and or sets that they are experimenting with. Some treat them like practice but against a different team. While I don't think any go in WANTING to lose...some (most?) don't particularly care a whole lot. In fact I think D1 coaches can use these games if they are close or if they lose as a thing to focus their team...kind of a "You THOUGHT you were good? You couldn't even put away a DII school. You need to focus and step your game up or we are going to lose a LOT of games when we start playing D1 schools!!!"

[Fightingscot82]

If WL was willing to leave WV they could get games. It's my guess the notion of the big exhibition just hasn't been important to them -- and that's their decision to make.

IUP's game at Kentucky last year got more buzz than usual because it was televised and, well, it was Kentucky. IUP was only down 7 with 5 minutes to play. Trust me, Kentucky was playing to win that game. They played their rotation the entire game. There was even a near brawl in the second half.

Calipari said he knew IUP was going to come in there and give them problems. He said he knew his team would take them lightly and they'd get punched in the mouth. And, that's exactly what happened for 30 minutes. It was great for both teams. That was the best game IUP played all year (and I saw them all).

TEAMS like IUP or WL can give D1 squads major fits. They play very well together and retain players from year to year. The ball movement at IUP and WL is often times more crisp than even high-level D1 teams. They lack the size and speed but the fundamentals are there. Kentucky's post players had fits with Cobo last year -- whether they weren't used to having to cover a 6'9" popping treys or what ... they struggled big time with him.

I think a big part of it is that the D1 coach truly doesn't care and is treating it like a scrimmage so they don't put an adequate effort into developing a game plan for the opponent like they would in conference play.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I think a big part of it is that the D1 coach truly doesn't care and is treating it like a scrimmage so they don't put an adequate effort into developing a game plan for the opponent like they would in conference play.

I don't buy that ... these guys at D1 are ego maniacs. They don't want to get showed up by a D2 school. Sure, it's not the intensity of an ACC game but they play to win.

The best chance for a D2 to beat one of those glamour programs is early. It's the only chance. Those are the one-and-done kids. That could be their first college game. Elite D2's have a shot in early November. No shot in January or February. Remember when Wheeling Jesuit played WVU in January? They lost by 60 points.

[Chuck Norris]

I don't buy that ... these guys at D1 are ego maniacs. They don't want to get showed up by a D2 school. Sure, it's not the intensity of an ACC game but they play to win.

The best chance for a D2 to beat one of those glamour programs is early. It's the only chance. Those are the one-and-done kids. That could be their first college game. Elite D2's have a shot in early November. No shot in January or February. Remember when Wheeling Jesuit played WVU in January? They lost by 60 points.

[Columbuseer]

If WL was willing to leave WV they could get games. It's my guess the notion of the big exhibition just hasn't been important to them -- and that's their decision to make....

[Fightingscot82]

This is what I was going for - thanks for saying it more clearly.

[boatcapt]

The difference is in how the coaches and players approach the game. To the DII coaches and players, it is often the cherry on their season. They give 100% effort with their starting players doing everything they can do to "win." The D1 staff and players look at it quite a bit differently. They see it as a "tune-up" game were they mix and match lineups and try offensive and defensive sets that are not their norms. Do they want to win and do their players put out 100% when they are on the court? Sure. But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter a whole lot to them.

As fans, we see these games and sometimes they are close games and want to make the leap that our team is "just as good as" or "went toe to toe with" top tier D1 P5 teams. That's like a mouse thinking he's "just as good as" the cat because he "went toe to toe" with him for 10 minutes...sometimes the cat gets tired and lets the mouse go but USUALLY it kills the mouse. Regardless of what the mouse may thing, it is 100% up to the cat which way it turns out!!!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Of course IUP would lose to Kentucky by 50 in a real January game.

That's too large a leap.

What isn't is the mid-majors. In particular the lower end mid-majors. There are many of these bush league D1 conferences that IUP could do well in during most years.