Non-conference scheduling studs and duds: The Big Ten
Since most of next season's non-conference schedules have finally been released, it's a good time to assess whose slates are the most daunting and who didn't challenge themselves enough. The Dagger will go league-by-league the next two weeks. Up next: The Big Ten.
Toughest non-league schedule: Wisconsin
Considering Wisconsin returns every key player besides shooting guard Ben Brust from a team that made the Final Four last spring, it's only fitting that the Badgers have the Big Ten's toughest non-league schedule next season.
It starts with the season's strongest holiday tournament, the Battle 4 Atlantis, which will feature North Carolina, Florida, UCLA, Oklahoma and Georgetown in addition to the Badgers. It continues with a home game against likely preseason top-five Duke in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge and road tests against Cal and rival Marquette later in December. And just in case that's not enough, Wisconsin actually goes on the road to Horizon League contender Milwaukee too, a nice gesture but a dangerous one.
All in all, it's a formidable schedule for possibly the strongest Wisconsin team of the Bo Ryan era. The Badgers will be tested early and often.
Easiest non-league schedule: Northwestern
All five of the opponents Northwestern draws twice during Big Ten play are contenders to finish in the upper half of the conference, so perhaps it's only fitting that the team with the toughest league schedule would take it easy in November and December.
Nine of Northwestern's 13 non-league games come at home and only two are legitimate road games — a matchup with Ivy League bottom feeder Brown on Nov. 17 and a winnable game at Butler on Dec. 6. The Wildcats also play in the Cancun Challenge, where they will face Miami (Ohio) on day one and either rebuilding Virginia Tech or good Northern Iowa team on day two.
Of the home games, by far the toughest is Northwestern's ACC-Big Ten Challenge date with a Georgia Tech team that hasn't been to the NCAA tournament since 2010. The rest of the home slate is mismatches against the likes of Houston Baptist, Mississippi Valley State, North Florida and Elon. In other words, the Wildcats will probably take a gaudy record into Big Ten play and then we'll find out how good they really are.
Team that scheduled too hard: None
Credit most of the Big Ten coaches for doing a good job building schedules that match their rosters. Wisconsin has the toughest schedule in the league, but the Badgers have the talent and experience to handle it. Rutgers, Penn State and Northwestern all have fairly soft schedules, which is fine because all three are in rebuilding mode.
Indiana upgraded its schedule like it needed to do and Michigan State played it a bit safer than normal. Again, both those decisions make sense because the Hoosiers needed more clout and the Spartans have too many players taking on bigger roles to play their usual heavyweight-laden schedule.
Team that scheduled too soft: Ohio State
Glance at Ohio State's schedule too quickly, and it's easy to be fooled into thinking the Buckeyes assembled a strong slate. They host Marquette, they visit Louisville in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge and they play a neutral-court game against North Carolina in Chicago. Two potential top 15 teams and another marquee program. What could be wrong?
Well, the real problem is Ohio State left itself vulnerable because the rest of the schedule is pure dreck. From UMass-Lowell, to Sacred Heart, to Colgate, to North Carolina A&T, there may not be a team that cracks the top 200 in the RPI next season, and that's conservative.
Let's say Ohio State loses to both Louisville and North Carolina and beats Marquette, but the Golden Eagles don't bounce back from their disappointing 2013-14 season. The Buckeyes could easily enter Big Ten play with only one win against a team in the RPI top 200 and zero RPI top 50 wins. That scenario would put a lot of pressure on Ohio State to perform well in league play if it wants a high seed in next year's NCAA tournament.
Three Big Ten non-conference games to watch:
1. Duke at Wisconsin, Dec. 3: The marquee game of this year's Big Ten-ACC Challenge pits two of the nation's top teams against one-another. Duke fills its hole at center with the nation's consensus No. 1 recruit Jahlil Okafor. Wisconsin brings back seven of its top eight players from a Final Four team.
2. Michigan at Arizona, Dec. 13: The last time these two name-brand programs met, Michigan led top-ranked Arizona for 32 minutes in Ann Arbor before eventually falling 72-70. The Wolverines will be out for revenge, but they won't have Nik Stauskas or Glenn Robinson III this season and they won't be at home either.
3. Ohio State at Louisville, Dec. 2 — Ohio State lost Aaron Craft, Lenzelle Smith and LaQuinton Ross from a team that struggled to score for long stretches, but Thad Matta is hopeful some new additions will help the Buckeyes improve on offense. Freshman D'Angelo Russell is a big-time scoring wing and Temple transfer Anthony Lee averaged 13.6 points and 8.6 boards last season.
Game that should have been scheduled but wasn't: Maryland-Georgetown
Considering how many rivalries Maryland will let fade away by jumping from the ACC to the Big Ten, it seems like an ideal time for the Terps to jumpstart a long-dormant one. From 1947 to 1980, Maryland and Georgetown played at least once annually, excluding 1975 and 1966.
The Hoyas and Terps last scheduled a regular-season game in 1993, an epic 84-83 Maryland upset thanks to guard Duane Simpkins' winning shot late in overtime. The initial reason the series went on hiatus is petty even by college basketball standards. Maryland believes the next game in the series should be in College Park, while Georgetown considers that previous game at the Verizon Center to be a neutral-court matchup.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
