Could Big Ten’s Need For NYC Hurt the Badgers?
Big Ten announced their schedule yesterday when it comes to the college basketball season. It’s a schedule that I feel like many were waiting for because it’s different this year with the Big Ten heading to New York City, a week earlier than the Championship Week, to play their tournament at Madison Square Garden. It’s one of the dumbest things alive, and now looking at Wisconsin’s schedule, I wonder if this will hurt the team.
The Big Ten helped explain this year's new-look schedule https://t.co/lUepd5Sm5G
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) August 16, 2017
The odds of it directly affecting the team are slim, but still, one has to scratch their head about the style of this schedule. First of all, we have the weird first week in December conference games with Badgers playing Ohio State at home then Penn State on the road. That will tell us nothing about this team, and it’s very early to start conference play. Also, Wisconsin will probably stay in Pennsylvania with a matchup against Temple early that next week. That’s the first problem, but there are others that hang in the balance.
Badgers will end up playing three Friday conference games this season as well. While it’s just one day, it has to throw a team off a little bit. I’m sure it’s going to be a little different. I have zero idea how attendance and ratings are going to play out. This move is to appease their new partners for FOX. What’s crazy is the Badgers do not play one single conference game on Saturday after the first one on December 2nd. Another thing worth monitoring is Badgers playing six of their first nine on the road with a very young team could prove to be a daunting challenge. Big Ten did their teams zero favors.
I look forward to seeing the complaints about the compressed schedule because they’re going to come from Badgers fans as well as coaches. I’m wondering which Big Ten coach will not carry the water about this, and I have to think Tom Izzo/John Beilein are the favorites in the clubhouse. Both guys don’t need the conference support.
Charlie.