A Cinderella and another who isn't
- Thread starter RU72
- Start date
If Princeton wasnt a Cinderella they would be 31-4 or have a season like Florida Atlantic where they would have been recognized all seasons and be ranked. They coukd have easily lost that Yale game which by the way got to play at home and might not have made the NIT
They are a talented team who is hot and making a run. It screams Cinderella
They are a talented team who is hot and making a run. It screams Cinderella
The annual MBB series ended in 2013. Princeton won 4 of the last 10 games played.
When people talk about "who did you beat out of conference?" they generally look at Q1/Q2 and stop. No one really cares who you played in Q3 unless you lost to them.
Your own NET matters a small amount. The NET of the teams you beat (in conference and out of conference) matters a small amount. The NET of the teams you lost to (in conference and out of conference) matters a small amount. Overall record matters a small amount. Overall road record matters a small amount. The formula driven metrics (BPI, Pom, Sag, KPI, SOR) matter a small amount. All of those things are on the team sheets.
NONE of those things are improved by playing a home game vs. Princeton, and there's no reason at all to ever play a road game against a low-major.
It's not even a ticket-sales play, since we've already been consistently selling out the arena for nearly every home game the past 2 seasons, and a nostalgia game isn't going to increase the overall # of tickets sold by much at all.
Your own NET matters a small amount. The NET of the teams you beat (in conference and out of conference) matters a small amount. The NET of the teams you lost to (in conference and out of conference) matters a small amount. Overall record matters a small amount. Overall road record matters a small amount. The formula driven metrics (BPI, Pom, Sag, KPI, SOR) matter a small amount. All of those things are on the team sheets.
NONE of those things are improved by playing a home game vs. Princeton, and there's no reason at all to ever play a road game against a low-major.
It's not even a ticket-sales play, since we've already been consistently selling out the arena for nearly every home game the past 2 seasons, and a nostalgia game isn't going to increase the overall # of tickets sold by much at all.
This is all especially true since the OP seems to think that Princeton is extremely underrated. Playing underrated teams is bad! You want to play overrated teams.
I'll leave the NET implications aside - I just personally like playing teams that are local and we have a history with. Princeton checks that box. SHU obviously. Some reasonable combo of St John's, UConn, Nova, and I dont mind Temple either. Maybe another Philly school like St Joe's in the mix. This is tongue in cheek but does anybody ever consider the student athlete? As in quick bus ride to Philly vrs flight/overnight to xyz?
In terms of a home and home series with Princeton going forward like we have with Seton Hall I'd put the chances of it happening at 0%.
I just looked at every team in the Big Ten and Big East's schedule over the past 2 years to find any comparable series of home and home matchup's with mid-major teams.
Over the past 2 years Zero Big Ten teams have gone on the road to a Mid-Major.
Over the past 2 years in the Big East the only examples I could find were Providence taking a road trip to Rhode Island this year and Villanova playing La Salle and Saint Joe's as part of the long standing Big 5 series.
In short, the only way Rutgers plays Princeton is if the games are at the RAC every time. Rutgers is not going to on the road to Princeton.
I just looked at every team in the Big Ten and Big East's schedule over the past 2 years to find any comparable series of home and home matchup's with mid-major teams.
Over the past 2 years Zero Big Ten teams have gone on the road to a Mid-Major.
Over the past 2 years in the Big East the only examples I could find were Providence taking a road trip to Rhode Island this year and Villanova playing La Salle and Saint Joe's as part of the long standing Big 5 series.
In short, the only way Rutgers plays Princeton is if the games are at the RAC every time. Rutgers is not going to on the road to Princeton.
If there were no NCAA tournament, and OOC games didn't matter, and the ultimate prize was winning your conference tournament.... then yeah, sign me up for all the regional/nostalgia games. We could do like Cuse used to, and never leave the state, playing a ton of close driving distance teams until conference play kicked off - SHU, Princeton, Temple, SJU, Rider, NJIT, FDU, etc.
But there is an NCAA tournament, and there is a selection committee - so, we need to schedule using different rationale than "what would be fun and local"
I will mention it again. Princeton will absolutely play 2-1 at the RAC or a one off at the RAC.
100%. I'm just saying all else being equal and as you point out it ain't equal.
Despite a little bit of pushback here I don't think many people would be against Princeton coming to the RAC. But, crucially, a 2-1 is not "Princeton coming to the RAC".
And it would not be replacing a Q4 game on the schedule, but a Q3 game like Temple or UMass Lowell. Should be the only Q3, or one of two.
Another relevant stat. In the past 11 seasons Princeton has hosted only 1 power six conference school at Jadwin Gym, Arizona State in November 2019.
Rutgers is never going there.
Rutgers is never going there.
Not interested in playing Princeton. I don't feel any upside for us in that game. Can only hurt NET, not help it, and nobody on the committee will consider it a good win. But it would be a bad loss. I don't see it doing anything for recruiting either.
No need to ever play at Jadwin again, ever.
No need to ever play at Jadwin again, ever.
I know you're a big Ivy fan, and also a fan of Rutgers scheduling Princeton as a traditional rival. But you're in the decided minority here.
The last 4 times Princeton played at the RAC (2007, 2009, 2011, 2013) attendance was an average of 20% lower than our season average attendance. If there was fan interest on either the Princeton or Rutgers side, you would expect the "rivalry" game to have higher than normal attendance, not lower than normal, especially given that Princeton is only 15 miles down the road.
The fact is the fans don't care about this game. And there is no upside to it from a Rutgers resume perspective. And there is no upside from a Rutgers financial perspective.
That's why it doesn't get played.