Buck.
Buck.
Bwaaaack.
Buck.
Buck.
Bwaaaack.
Bump.
Unfortunately, this is where I say "I told you so" for the second year in a row.
Had we replaced the Grambling rainout with a win over Arkansas or someone similar, we'd be sitting #51-53 in the RPI right now with a decent chance at an NCAA at-large berth.
When God gives you a gift, you take it! Gotta schedule smarter.
Instead of picking just one game, out of 59, and laying the blame on a win, how about focusing on the real problem(s). Like being swept by UALR, losing to NSU and USL at home, losing 2/3 twice in home series down the stretch. And, none of that would have really mattered had the team shown up in Biloxi this week.
06 you will be glad to know we don't plan to play Grambling next season.
We could not control losses AFTER we lost. We could have controlled the trip to Grambling (250 attended) that made all our PC leaders feel tingly inside.
I agree wholeheartedly, Tech needs to do what’s best for our program, period! Being nice, if that’s what it is, isn’t reason enough to play a series that has absolutely no value. It’s that simple.
We should never schedule a game as an act of good all. We should never play an away or neutral site game against a SWAC school, in any sport.
Plenty of higher RPI teams were available to play instead of Grambling. Our coach took the blame this year and last year for not playing a higher RPI team in a makeup game. I appreciate him taking the fall for our inept AD who would rather save a few bucks than increase our chances of getting an at large.
Know someone? I see the pattern that has developed over the past few years where our AD cuts corners on things like peanuts and popcorn rather than going and getting the money to fly our team to away games or finding an RPI booster to play.
ADs don't make schedules except for football. Schedules in other sports have to be approved, but the AD doesn't do the legwork.
I keep seeing where "plenty" of teams were available for a makeup date during the week when almost all semester schools were in final exams. Don't believe that to be the case. Even if a couple of teams might have been available, Tech was not going initiate a cancellation.
One game of higher RPI couldn't make up 10-15 RPI positions and 100-150 RPI points. Tech didn't take case of business at home with losses to MT (twice), ULL, Charlotte (twice), FIU, Little Rock, Northwestern State, and SIUE. Win 4 or 5 of those games, and we would all be watching ESPNU at 11:00 tomorrow morning.
That is all that was needed. Louisiana Tech taking care of Louisiana Tech's business on the field. In several of those losses we just needed a hit with runners in scoring position, but runners getting picked off, popups, strikeouts, and grounders into double plays consistently happened instead. I guess we were just unlucky at "the hitters' park" again this year.
We could not control the games we had ALREADY lost. We could control not making up a rain out game. That is not "initiating a cancellation". Teams were available.
Our AD controls the purse strings for baseball which certainly plays a part in scheduling. Based on what our coach has said several times and based on some of his scheduling, I'm not sure he understands the importance of scheduling or that he's not in the SLC now.