Portland coach Eric Reveno is probably not thrilled along with his workforce’s backloaded schedule (Getty Photos)
Even though the addition of Pacific enabled the WCC to adopt a real double spherical robin league scheduling format next season, the return of travel companions apparently did not ensure 10 evenly matched convention slates.
Portland, in particular, has essentially the most to gripe about on account of a WCC schedule that’s almost comically back-loaded.
The Pilots will open WCC play with five straight house games, all of which will take place before Portland students return to campus from winter break on Jan. thirteen. The downside to so many early residence video games then comes in the second half of league play when the Pilots finish with seven of 9 video games on the highway.
“I might worry about any schedule that is unbalanced between house [and] away, [however you] by no means know the actual ramifications till the season,” Portland coach Eric Reveno mentioned via textual content. “Beginning with 5 games at home could possibly be nice or it is perhaps robust with the followers [gone] and academically with so much time on the the street.”
Of course, Portland is not the only team who can complain a couple of scheduling quirk.
As KSL.com’s Greg Wrubell notes, eight of the WCC’s 10 groups will play 4 straight road video games in some unspecified time in the future throughout league play. Gonzaga’s schedule is nearly as ugly as Portland’s as the Zags open with four straight residence games earlier than college students are back on campus and shut with 4 straight on the street including fellow league title contenders Saint Mary’s and BYU.
Why couldn’t the WCC assemble an easier spherical robin schedule in which no workforce plays greater than three straight residence or road video games? Convention spokesman Jeff Tourial informed the Spokane Spokesman-Assessment that the problem was demands by ESPN to have premier matchups on sure dates.
“With the return to our travel pair mannequin this yr, we are very limited in terms of leeway to move video games round,” Tourial advised the newspaper. “For instance, if ESPN takes a Gonzaga-BYU sport on a given date, then that affects Portland and San Diego’s games for that weekend, too. Then, on the opposite day that weekend, in the event that they seize Santa Clara vs. Saint Mary’s, then that locks in Pacific and San Francisco’s video games as nicely. Instantly, the only teams “left” in this situation are LMU and Pepperdine – who would play each other. Suddenly, our flexibility is all but gone.
“For ESPN Networks, their radars are heightened by new competitors from different networks and so their need to have the “finest games” has by no means been better.”
The clarification from Tourial isn’t only affordable but additionally an incredible window into a few of the challenges conferences face assembling their schedules. In this case, the WCC had to sacrifice balance to generate as a lot publicity and TELEVISION income as potential.
Quirks of the WCC’s schedule leave Portland with a bizarre, challenging slate
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