Cupcake City

[I’m The Village Idiot]

Last year, there was a team that played this schedule in the non-conference:

South Florida, Jacksonville, Grambling, at Florida State, Florida A&M, Southern Illinois, Wake Forest, Wichita State, Virginia, Arizona State, North Carolina, North Florida, Stetson.

Not a single top 25 team.
The team that played this schedule was the 2025 Florida Gators, national champions.

I’ve been a long-time proponent of playing a harder schedule but it’s clear our fanbase can’t handle it. I’m fine with playing cupcakes and letting our players develop confidence before the conference season.

More cupcakes, less “end of the world” early season games. Keeps Kansas off our tails, anyway.

 

[bbncal02]

Last year, there was a team that played this schedule in the non-conference:

South Florida, Jacksonville, Grambling, at Florida State, Florida A&M, Southern Illinois, Wake Forest, Wichita State, Virginia, Arizona State, North Carolina, North Florida, Stetson.

Not a single top 25 team.
The team that played this schedule was the 2025 Florida Gators, national champions.

I’ve been a long-time proponent of playing a harder schedule but it’s clear our fanbase can’t handle it. I’m fine with playing cupcakes and letting our players develop confidence before the conference season.

More cupcakes, less “end of the world” early season games. Keeps Kansas off our tails, anyway.

Literally no one should be bitching right now. We have one of the hardest non-conference schedules in the country coming up.

 

[cornbreadnmilk]

I do admire Pope for taking on so many talented teams. Seems like Cal really gave up playing so many tough teams during his last seasons. I can see both sides but I do think Florida was helped by playing in the best SEC in history as every game was a battle.

 

[Lime-Kat]

Last year, there was a team that played this schedule in the non-conference:

South Florida, Jacksonville, Grambling, at Florida State, Florida A&M, Southern Illinois, Wake Forest, Wichita State, Virginia, Arizona State, North Carolina, North Florida, Stetson.

Not a single top 25 team.
The team that played this schedule was the 2025 Florida Gators, national champions.

I’ve been a long-time proponent of playing a harder schedule but it’s clear our fanbase can’t handle it. I’m fine with playing cupcakes and letting our players develop confidence before the conference season.

More cupcakes, less “end of the world” early season games. Keeps Kansas off our tails, anyway.

It’s not about handling a loss. It’s that every top 25 team I watch is significantly better at simple stuff. We can handle losing. What we can’t handle is a constant stream of missing players to injury and radically unpredictable performances

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

It’s not about handling a loss. It’s that every top 25 team I watch is significantly better at simple stuff. We can handle losing. What we can’t handle is a constant stream of missing players to injury and radically unpredictable performances

Wouldn’t you think a weaker schedule would give the coaches more time to figure out rotations and build habits before getting into the meat of things?

 

[bbncal02]

It’s not about handling a loss. It’s that every top 25 team I watch is significantly better at simple stuff. We can handle losing. What we can’t handle is a constant stream of missing players to injury and radically unpredictable performances

Nothing you can do about injuries- its frustrating but not much can be done.

 

[Bill_the_cat]

The more mature your players the more apt you are to play a tougher schedule.
If you have a bunch of young players you want a weaker schedule.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

The more mature your players the more apt you are to play a tougher schedule.
If you have a bunch of young players you want a weaker schedule.

Since we have a rotation where a majority of our players are new, do you think a weaker schedule may have helped this year?

 

[bbncal02]

Since we have a rotation where a majority of our players are new, do you think a weaker schedule may have helped this year?

They're new to us, but not CBB. Shouldn't need too many tuneup games.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

They're new to us, but not CBB. Shouldn't need too many tuneup games.

They’re new to playing with one another though, aren’t they? Would more of a runway have helped ease them in?

 

[bbncal02]

They’re new to playing with one another though, aren’t they? Would more of a runway have helped ease them in?

Not imo. The issues were are having are effort and chemistry issues. Maybe a couple of more stinky games would've helped but at some poit you gotta step up and beat somebody.

Beating too many cupcakes makes you fat and arrogant.....ask the football coach.

 

[sk73]

Wouldn’t you think a weaker schedule would give the coaches more time to figure out rotations and build habits before getting into the meat of things?

Maybe you are right. But I seem to think playing a couple of top teams can help a coach gauge their players, their team and each players role on the team much better than playing against schools that most of us haven't heard of. I like our schedule in that we will learn a lot about our team and coaching staff within the next few weeks.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

Not imo. The issues were are having are effort and chemistry issues. Maybe a couple of more stinky games would've helped but at some poit you gotta step up and beat somebody.

Beating too many cupcakes makes you fat and arrogant.....ask the football coach.

Florida beat up on cupcakes all non-conference season and were more than fine. What if having more wins helps develop a stronger team bond and a more positive outlook? Would that be a net positive?

 

[theBlues]

Last year, there was a team that played this schedule in the non-conference:

South Florida, Jacksonville, Grambling, at Florida State, Florida A&M, Southern Illinois, Wake Forest, Wichita State, Virginia, Arizona State, North Carolina, North Florida, Stetson.

Not a single top 25 team.
The team that played this schedule was the 2025 Florida Gators, national champions.

I’ve been a long-time proponent of playing a harder schedule but it’s clear our fanbase can’t handle it. I’m fine with playing cupcakes and letting our players develop confidence before the conference season.

More cupcakes, less “end of the world” early season games. Keeps Kansas off our tails, anyway.

That's actually the type schedule I've been clamoring for; none of those are Loyola Md. or Bellermine type cupcakes(maybe Stetson). They're mainly teams you should beat, especially at home, but good enough to help you guage where you're at without your strength of schedule taking a big negative hit.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

Maybe you are right. But I seem to think playing a couple of top teams can help a coach gauge their players, their team and each players role on the team much better than playing against schools that most of us haven't heard of. I like our schedule in that we will learn a lot about our team and coaching staff within the next few weeks.

Oh I’m definitely not sure myself either. More thinking out loud to see if anyone else had been thinking about this. Do you think early losses sometimes can hinder growth rather than improve things? I guess that’s where I’m coming from. Where’s that line where you do more harm that good being in the water too deep while still figuring things out?

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

That's actually the type schedule I've been clamoring for; none of those are Loyola Md. or Bellermine type cupcakes(maybe Stetson). They're mainly teams you should beat, especially at home, but good enough to help you guage where you're at without your strength of schedule taking a big negative hit.

Ok so you were thinking about this before I had really pondered it. Do you think with a fanbase like ours, would it give the team a chance to figure things about before we go apocalyptic on them?

 

[Eagles_Ball_69]

That's actually the type schedule I've been clamoring for; none of those are Loyola Md. or Bellermine type cupcakes(maybe Stetson). They're mainly teams you should beat, especially at home, but good enough to help you guage where you're at without your strength of schedule taking a big negative hit.

Exactly. There’s a difference between Kenpom 250+ and the 50-100 teams. The 250+ folks are just a waste of time.

 

[Eagles_Ball_69]

Ok so you were thinking about this before I had really pondered it. Do you think with a fanbase like ours, would it give the team a chance to figure things about before we go apocalyptic on them?

The fanbase, yourself included, didn’t lose their collective ish because the Cats lost. And you know that. It’s because they got absolutely ***** slapped in both games. Essentially non competitive. That’s the issue and we all know it.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

The fanbase, yourself included, didn’t lose their collective ish because the Cats lost. And you know that. It’s because they got absolutely ***** slapped in both games. Essentially non competitive. That’s the issue and we all know it.

Oh I absolutely agree. Night of the last game I was on a thread looking for a new coach. That’s called raw fan emotion. I took a few days and remembered that it is November and we have a whole lot of new players and that it isn’t the first team I’ve saw struggle early on. This year could be like 2001, where they stunk early but figured it out late… or we could be Pope’s version of 2021. The thing is we just don’t know. But giving up this early is a fan foul imho

 

[The_Answer1313_rivals]

The bottom line is if you are good enough to be a national champion you are good enough to be one whether you are playing cupcake city or a schedule of nothing but top 10 teams.

The whole "battle tested" thing is complete nonsense. And if anything there's so many instances where teams play in a tough conference and get to the tournament and completely fall apart. No one considers the fact it could be counter productive tho.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

The bottom line is if you are good enough to be a national champion you are good enough to be one whether you are playing cupcake city or a schedule of nothing but top 10 teams.

The whole "battle tested" thing is complete nonsense. And if anything there's so many instances where teams play in a tough conference and get to the tournament and completely fall apart. No one considers the fact it could be counter productive tho.

This is the very thing I’m contemplating. What if the cost-benefit analysis says to play the cupcakes? What if you risk additional injury, and morale depletion by drowning too early?

 

[Forkman]

Last year, there was a team that played this schedule in the non-conference:

South Florida, Jacksonville, Grambling, at Florida State, Florida A&M, Southern Illinois, Wake Forest, Wichita State, Virginia, Arizona State, North Carolina, North Florida, Stetson.

Not a single top 25 team.
The team that played this schedule was the 2025 Florida Gators, national champions.

I’ve been a long-time proponent of playing a harder schedule but it’s clear our fanbase can’t handle it. I’m fine with playing cupcakes and letting our players develop confidence before the conference season.

More cupcakes, less “end of the world” early season games. Keeps Kansas off our tails, anyway.

I did one bracket last year. prior to the tourney. I did not get everything right, but I predicted Florida would be the champion. I'm not bragging. I could probably look it up it it helps you understand what I'm trying to illustrate. It was still possible to see Florida play that schedule and predict they could win it all.

 

[theBlues]

Ok so you were thinking about this before I had really pondered it. Do you think with a fanbase like ours, would it give the team a chance to figure things about before we go apocalyptic on them?

Well, we still have to win most of them.

 

[Forkman]

I'm just going to share this because I wouldn't trust anyone on the internet I don't know either and I think it will illustrate my point.

Again, I'm not trying to brag. It's the first time I ever called it right other than when it was Kentucky. I would have brought it up sooner if I was.

 

[The_Answer1313_rivals]

This is the very thing I’m contemplating. What if the cost-benefit analysis says to play the cupcakes? What if you risk additional injury, and morale depletion by drowning too early?

I will say that come tournament time, you're probably going to be in a bunch of close games and maybe there's some benefit to those games not being the first close games you see all season long lol.

But overall yeah...........I mean who knows. What if playing 18 conference games in the toughest conference wears you out completely come tournament time? I don't really know but I think the question should at least be asked..........especially year after year watching the Big 12 rated the best conference only to sh*t the bed in March.

 

[The_Answer1313_rivals]

To me tho, play a schedule where you can at least have a good enough resume to warrant a 1 seed. That's important.

UF really didn't need to play a tough non conference last season because there was plenty of resume building games in the SEC alone.

 

[theBlues]

I will say that come tournament time, you're probably going to be in a bunch of close games and maybe there's some benefit to those games not being the first close games you see all season long lol.

But overall yeah...........I mean who knows. What if playing 18 conference games in the toughest conference wears you out completely come tournament time? I don't really know but I think the question should at least be asked..........especially year after year watching the Big 12 rated the best conference only to sh*t the bed in March.

I don't have the data but I'm sure if you separated everybody into 2 groups based on the number of close games during the year, both groups would have teams that played their best at tournament time and others that choked. I think a lot just depends on the individual players. They could play close games all year and choke during tournament time; some guys will choke and some guys will turn into Superman. I'm sure some of it has to do with the coach helping players get into the right frame of mind to excel.

 

[The_Answer1313_rivals]

I don't have the data but I'm sure if you separated everybody into 2 groups based on the number of close games during the year, both groups would have teams that played their best at tournament time and others that choked. I think a lot just depends on the individual players. They could play close games all year and choke during tournament time; some guys will choke and some guys will turn into Superman. I'm sure some of it has to do with the coach helping players get into the right frame of mind to excel.

This is probably right.

Play 20 close games you still can lose come March a close game.
Play zero close games you might still win close games in March.

I guess at the end of the day, if you are good your going to win your fair share of close games regardless and if you aren't a good team your going to find ways to lose those games.

 

[Wildcat_in_DC]

Playing 6 ranked teams in 13 out of conference games is overkill and could set you back both in team development and in NCAAT seeding. Playing your first true road game in January gives you no chance to fix real issues.

Feels like the right approach is somewhere in the middle.....

Play 2 neutral court games. Stagger 2 home-and-home games. In your "cupcake" games, get teams 250 and better in the rankings, avoiding those 300+ teams.

Not sure why its that complicated.

 

[mhs1964]

Close games between two good teams is a 50-50 proposition unless one of the teams has a difference maker. Most of these are offensive ( Givens, Dell, Mercer) but can be defensive (Davis). It’s why studs are important.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

It’s not about handling a loss. It’s that every top 25 team I watch is significantly better at simple stuff. We can handle losing. What we can’t handle is a constant stream of missing players to injury and radically unpredictable performances

They all play way better as a team and the bench guys play their roles. Also noticed a lot more athleticism and shooting on many teams.

 

[Eagles_Ball_69]

Oh I absolutely agree. Night of the last game I was on a thread looking for a new coach. That’s called raw fan emotion. I took a few days and remembered that it is November and we have a whole lot of new players and that it isn’t the first team I’ve saw struggle early on. This year could be like 2001, where they stunk early but figured it out late… or we could be Pope’s version of 2021. The thing is we just don’t know. But giving up this early is a fan foul imho

If we are all being completely honest, and you’re looking at the entire body of work…there’s plenty of reason for concern. Let alone he didn’t have the pedigree for the job to begin with, but when given the full time to recruit with as much or more resources and $$$ than anyone…he’s compiled a roster that’s essentially a hot mess. He whiffed on a ton of top recruits. Kind of took what was left in the name of being more athletic. Hung on to some declining assets. All makes me worry he’s just completely out over his skis. I hope like hell he proves all us doubters wrong.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

If we are all being completely honest, and you’re looking at the entire body of work…there’s plenty of reason for concern. Let alone he didn’t have the pedigree for the job to begin with, but when given the full time to recruit with as much or more resources and $$$ than anyone…he’s compiled a roster that’s essentially a hot mess. He whiffed on a ton of top recruits. Kind of took what was left in the name of being more athletic. Hung on to some declining assets. All makes me worry he’s just completely out over his skis. I hope like hell he proves all us doubters wrong.

I’m becoming the most repetitive person on the board so I’ll not dive into why the recruiting thing to me is one of the most baseless panic catalysts I’ve ever seen.

As for concern —- yes, I am concerned. I am concerned because I’ve yet to see Pope coach an elite defense. I’m also giving him grace here because we are in game 5 of year 2. We gotta let this one play out before closing the curtains. Being concerned is fair, giving up on the team this early isn’t.

 

[The_Answer1313_rivals]

I mean.........we were a pre season top 10 team. Both the human polls and the computers agreed with one another. So either 1) this team has a roster that is better than what they are currently showing or 2) everyone whiffed on us.

2 is possible but 1 is more likely IMO.

Honestly, I'd wait until we have a fully healthy team to make any assessments on this roster.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

I mean.........we were a pre season top 10 team. So either 1) this team has a roster that is better than what they are currently showing or 2) everyone whiffed on us.

2 is possible but 1 is more likely IMO.

Honestly, I'd wait until we have a fully healthy team to make any assessments on this roster.

That’s exactly what I’m saying. Pope hasn’t coached a great game yet either. He’s never had this type of roster and it may take a bit of time. If we all give it time, we can better assess if Pope is in over his head or if we are in over ours.

 

[Forkman]

I’m becoming the most repetitive person on the board so I’ll not dive into why the recruiting thing to me is one of the most baseless panic catalysts I’ve ever seen.

As for concern —- yes, I am concerned. I am concerned because I’ve yet to see Pope coach an elite defense. I’m also giving him grace here because we are in game 5 of year 2. We gotta let this one play out before closing the curtains. Being concerned is fair, giving up on the team this early isn’t.

I want you to know that I am not antagonizing you and that I can follow all of your thought processes but I still think you mostly get it wrong.

It really isn't something we can easily fix by replacing Pope with someone else. I know you don't want to accept this, but the problems are way deeper than that. We were told we have the most expensive roster in basketball. And most of us believed that even after living through missing on most of our top targets last cycle in recruiting and in the portal. I just don't get it. 22 million dollars doesn't get you better than one Pitt PG who isn't known as a great shooter? It doesn't get you even two of those guys?

 

[The_Answer1313_rivals]

I feel like the defense argument is valid.

I think most consider Pope to be an offensive minded guy. It's ok but then the offense needs to be better to make up for any losses on defense.

What I will say is I don't think people can look at what he did at BYU or Utah Valley St and conclude he won't have a good one here at some point. Like if you put Sampson in charge of Utah Valley St, I think there's a limit on what their def eff number would be as well lol.

Pope should have a better defense just by being at UK and having better rosters.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

I want you to know that I am not antagonizing you and that I can follow all of your thought processes but I still think you mostly get it wrong.

It really isn't something we can easily fix by replacing Pope with someone else. I know you don't want to accept this, but the problems are way deeper than that. We were told we have the most expensive roster in basketball. And most of us believed that even after living through missing on most of our top targets last cycle in recruiting and in the portal. I just don't get it. 22 million dollars doesn't get you better than one Pitt PG who isn't known as a great shooter? It doesn't get you even two of those guys?

Huh? I don’t think you know me well or are misunderstanding. I’m annoyingly pro-Pope my guy. I just call the coaching as I see it. I’m not even remotely close to getting rid of Pope yet. Way off lol

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

I feel like the defense argument is valid.

I think most consider Pope to be an offensive minded guy. It's ok but then the offense needs to be better to make up for any losses on defense.

What I will say is I don't think people can look at what he did at BYU or Utah Valley St and conclude he won't have a good one here at some point. Like if you put Sampson in charge of Utah Valley St, I think there's a limit on what their def eff number would be as well lol.

Pope should have a better defense just by being at UK and having better rosters.

Absolutely agree. Said the same thing.

 

[The_Answer1313_rivals]

lol I swear NO ONE here was complaining about the roster coming into the season..........everyone thought it was fine. Now we drop two games to UL and MSU and everyone is questioning things lol.