Looking over the MAC standings...

[bobio]

According to the Sagarin rankings (which are always somewhat puzzling with his rating of the top ranked teams) DD's schedule making this year has us playing the 4th weakest cupcake schedule in the land out of approximately 336 teams. True, the MAC is rather weak this year. However, given the state of this program over the last several years, I would be shocked if we finished within two games of .500 in the MAC. I actually hope we don't reach .500 because we need DD gone! The schedule is an embarassment.

[BleedOrange]

According to the Sagarin rankings (which are always somewhat puzzling with his rating of the top ranked teams) DD's schedule making this year has us playing the 4th weakest cupcake schedule in the land out of approximately 336 teams. True, the MAC is rather weak this year. However, given the state of this program over the last several years, I would be shocked if we finished within two games of .500 in the MAC. I actually hope we don't reach .500 because we need DD gone! The schedule is an embarassment.

Yeah, I've seen the numbers, and I know we're far enough into the season where these numbers are becoming statistically valid. However, I saw several of these games at AA, and those teams didn't LOOK anywhere near as bad as their sagarins. Sagarin's are obviously more scientific than how a team looks to me. However, how much faith should we put in ANY type of calculation to quantify how strong a team actually is? I don't know. They are definitely more reliable than the polls, at least.

Furthermore, how much real difference is there between #250 and #150? Far less than between #1 and #101, certainly. The tail flatens quickly as you move from #1 to #336.

Another problem with Sagarin and RPI is that after the conference season starts, the relative conference benchmarks are set and don't move. A MAC team can only really gain relative to the conference: it's much harder for a good MAC team to really gain significantly relative to the entire country. If a good MAC team doesn't pound the hell out of the conference across the board, their Sagarin/RPI gets caught under a ceiling.

Apologies if this post was too geeky for you to stomach.

[orangeandbrown]

According to the Sagarin rankings (which are always somewhat puzzling with his rating of the top ranked teams) DD's schedule making this year has us playing the 4th weakest cupcake schedule in the land out of approximately 336 teams. True, the MAC is rather weak this year. However, given the state of this program over the last several years, I would be shocked if we finished within two games of .500 in the MAC. I actually hope we don't reach .500 because we need DD gone! The schedule is an embarassment.

Yeah, I've seen the numbers, and I know we're far enough into the season where these numbers are becoming statistically valid. However, I saw several of these games at AA, and those teams didn't LOOK anywhere near as bad as their sagarins. Sagarin's are obviously more scientific than how a team looks to me. However, how much faith should we put in ANY type of calculation to quantify how strong a team actually is? I don't know. They are definitely more reliable than the polls, at least.

Furthermore, how much real difference is there between #250 and #150? Far less than between #1 and #101, certainly. The tail flatens quickly as you move from #1 to #336.

Another problem with Sagarin and RPI is that after the conference season starts, the relative conference benchmarks are set and don't move. A MAC team can only really gain relative to the conference: it's much harder for a good MAC team to really gain significantly relative to the entire country. If a good MAC team doesn't pound the hell out of the conference across the board, their Sagarin/RPI gets caught under a ceiling.

Apologies if this post was too geeky for you to stomach.

I know what you're saying, but on the other hand, we haven't played one team with a winning record yet. They look better than that to me, too, but they don't seem to be beating people.

[svillefalcon]

To me it doesnt matter who we play, i mean, if we win tomorrow, we will have matched our win total for the entire season last year. HELLO!!! yes, we have played a very light schedule, but ill take wins anyway i can get em. this team is substantially better than last years and we WILL make a run in teh MAC this year.

[JWEIII]

DUDE!

DD's schedule making this year has us playing the 4th weakest cupcake schedule in the land out of approximately 336 teams..

Is Coach D responsible for the schedule? Either way, nonconference play in the MAC is meaningless. Who do you want to play? Duke, North Carolina, U Conn? Did you want any nonconference home games? If you do you need to schedule teams willing to come to BG - Arkansas St. (the fact that major programs won't come to BG - or any MAC school - is not Coach D's fault).

True, the MAC is rather weak this year.!

Based on what? Who left? If anything, I think it is a stronger conference than it was last year.

I would be shocked if we finished within two games of .500 in the MAC. !

OK. Technically speaking, 10-6 is within two games of .500, and could be a 19 or 20 win season. FIRE THAT COACH!

I actually hope we don't reach .500 because we need DD gone!

Nice to know your "fans" are cheering against you!

[JimmyZ11381]

I wish people would give more credit to this team and the way that they've played this year instead of just chalking it up to a cupcake schedule. I will even go as far as to give some credit to Coach Dakich for the job that he's done so far. It seems that so far the players have bought in to what he wants to do.

Here's a quote from Ryne Hamblet after the MTech game..
"Coach wants the ball picked up full court the whole game," said Hamblet. "He wants 40 minutes of pressure basketball."

Sounds like a guy who has bought in to the system and is willing to do whatever Coach asks him to.

Here's a couple quotes from Samarco...
It doesn't matter if my shot's not falling, said Samarco. "My teammates have faith in me and I've got faith in them."

"We didn't play well as a team," added Samarco. Coach always preaches that we have to play for 40 minutes. We need to execute on offense better."

Again sounds like a guy who loves his teammates and has bought in to what Coach Dakich wants to do

My point is...we are 8-3. This team is more athletic, and it seems like everyone is getting along and wants to be out there.

LET'S ENJOY IT.

[transfer2BGSU]

I actually hope we don't reach .500 because we need DD gone! The schedule is an embarassment.

No, the embarrassment is you. Hoping this team does not play .500 ball in conference play? Shame on you.

Sorry to get personal but whether you like Dakich or not, the fact is it is the players that are going to win or lose the game. BGSU players deserve your support. BGSU players deserve fans that expect them to win. Your job is to support these players. The AD will do his job and decide if Coach Dakich deserves to be back or not.

[Globetrotter]

I actually hope we don't reach .500 because we need DD gone! The schedule is an embarassment.

No, the embarrassment is you. Hoping this team does not play .500 ball in conference play? Shame on you.

Sorry to get personal but whether you like Dakich or not, the fact is it is the players that are going to win or lose the game. BGSU players deserve your support. BGSU players deserve fans that expect them to win. Your job is to support these players. The AD will do his job and decide if Coach Dakich deserves to be back or not.

Seconded.

We will at the very least go .500 in thne MAC. I would gamble on that.

[Falconfreak90]

I wish people would give more credit to this team and the way that they've played this year instead of just chalking it up to a cupcake schedule. I will even go as far as to give some credit to Coach Dakich for the job that he's done so far. It seems that so far the players have bought in to what he wants to do.

Here's a quote from Ryne Hamblet after the MTech game..
"Coach wants the ball picked up full court the whole game," said Hamblet. "He wants 40 minutes of pressure basketball."

Sounds like a guy who has bought in to the system and is willing to do whatever Coach asks him to.

Here's a couple quotes from Samarco...
It doesn't matter if my shot's not falling, said Samarco. "My teammates have faith in me and I've got faith in them."

"We didn't play well as a team," added Samarco. Coach always preaches that we have to play for 40 minutes. We need to execute on offense better."

Again sounds like a guy who loves his teammates and has bought in to what Coach Dakich wants to do

My point is...we are 8-3. This team is more athletic, and it seems like everyone is getting along and wants to be out there.

LET'S ENJOY IT.

Nice post, JimmyZ. 8-3 sure sounds better than 3-8. Can you imagine what would be said if BG were losing to these teams? I look forward to seeing what happens in the MAC.

GO FALCONS!!!

[rangermarkb]

Freak you are so right but what you have to understand is you and a few others on here are true fans not just people that want to complain all the time. Message boards around the country hav turned into fire the coach boards. People don't want to admit it but Dan is a really good coach. Read the comments that opposing coaches say about him and the team. Bowling Green is a griping no supporting group as a whole. BG sports are poorly attended and supported finincialy. Has anyone ever looked up and saw the teams Coach Anderson was beating, try hospitals and 2 games in a day. Coaches should schedule wins, look what Coach Miller did to build his program. Dan has done a great job considering he gets the support of a D2 program and less than a lot of Indiana HS programs. I saw a Indiana HS game just before Christmas that had 6,000 at it. How many games will it take BG to get to that mark.

[Falcon Fanatic]

I actually hope we don't reach .500 because we need DD gone! The schedule is an embarassment.

No, the embarrassment is you. Hoping this team does not play .500 ball in conference play? Shame on you.

Sorry to get personal but whether you like Dakich or not, the fact is it is the players that are going to win or lose the game. BGSU players deserve your support. BGSU players deserve fans that expect them to win. Your job is to support these players. The AD will do his job and decide if Coach Dakich deserves to be back or not.

Thank you, Transfer!! I thought the pissing and moaning would stop with the wins, but apparently not. Be happy for the players, WHO ARE WINNING, btw, no matter how you feel about a coach!!

[The Niz]

Freak you are so right but what you have to understand is you and a few others on here are true fans not just people that want to complain all the time. Message boards around the country hav turned into fire the coach boards. People don't want to admit it but Dan is a really good coach. Read the comments that opposing coaches say about him and the team. Bowling Green is a griping no supporting group as a whole. BG sports are poorly attended and supported finincialy. Has anyone ever looked up and saw the teams Coach Anderson was beating, try hospitals and 2 games in a day. Coaches should schedule wins, look what Coach Miller did to build his program. Dan has done a great job considering he gets the support of a D2 program and less than a lot of Indiana HS programs. I saw a Indiana HS game just before Christmas that had 6,000 at it. How many games will it take BG to get to that mark.

On the High School note; I used to go to a lot of Hudson High School basketball games here in NE Ohio because my cousins were all cheerleaders there. First of all HHS has a bigger gymnasium than AA, second of all it is filled every game. Hudson has about 2000 students so it is a pretty enormous school as far as I know. Its a pretty pathetic feeling that our team that is winning this year draws about 1,000 a game, if that, and a not so good high school team (as I remember it) can outdraw us by about 3-4,000 every game. There's got to be a way to get students out to our games.

[hammb]

If we continue to win in the MAC schedule fans will come to the games.

I know that some people here are preaching how happy we should just be with wins, and trust me I am, but it doesn't work that way. Our schedule has been total crap up till this point, and there hasn't been one single opponent that a non-die hard would want to come out to watch. We're playing to bottom of the barrel of D1. It's great that we're winning, but a schedule like that is not a real good way to build fan support.

I've been to every home game except for maybe two. I have yet to really be impressed by our team, and I'm really not impressed with our opposition. I do agree that we are a better team than last year, that goes almost without saying. Still we are too reliant on Samarco, and I've not seen anything to make me believe we're going to be more than mediocre in the MAC. We cannot rebound to save our lives, and we have lapses where we go 5-6 minutes scoring only 2-3 points. Good teams don't do that...especially against the level of competition we're playing.

I'm thrilled that we're winning. It's always better to win than lose, so I'm not going to complain. Still, I cannot shake the thought that we seem to be a mediocre team playing way below average competition. Wins are great, but remember this is a schedule put forth by a coach desperately trying to get an extension...this is not a schedule that any normal Division1 school would be playing.

Keep everything in context and enjoy the season. It's Dakich's last year here, let him go out with a winning season. I bid him farewell & good luck in his next endeavor. For now, I'd rather beat these crappy teams than lose to them, so I shall not complain.

[Globetrotter]

If we continue to win in the MAC schedule fans will come to the games.

I know that some people here are preaching how happy we should just be with wins, and trust me I am, but it doesn't work that way. Our schedule has been total crap up till this point, and there hasn't been one single opponent that a non-die hard would want to come out to watch. We're playing to bottom of the barrel of D1. It's great that we're winning, but a schedule like that is not a real good way to build fan support.

I've been to every home game except for maybe two. I have yet to really be impressed by our team, and I'm really not impressed with our opposition. I do agree that we are a better team than last year, that goes almost without saying. Still we are too reliant on Samarco, and I've not seen anything to make me believe we're going to be more than mediocre in the MAC. We cannot rebound to save our lives, and we have lapses where we go 5-6 minutes scoring only 2-3 points. Good teams don't do that...especially against the level of competition we're playing.

I'm thrilled that we're winning. It's always better to win than lose, so I'm not going to complain. Still, I cannot shake the thought that we seem to be a mediocre team playing way below average competition. Wins are great, but remember this is a schedule put forth by a coach desperately trying to get an extension...this is not a schedule that any normal Division1 school would be playing.

Keep everything in context and enjoy the season. It's Dakich's last year here, let him go out with a winning season. I bid him farewell & good luck in his next endeavor. For now, I'd rather beat these crappy teams than lose to them, so I shall not complain.

Best case scenario. Dakich puts up 20 wins, we get to watch and then he gets a job offer somewhere else. He seems like a great guy and a decent coach. I would always rather see a coach move on then be fired. (in a sense) Let him go.

Also, does the AD have anything to do with scheduling?

[JWEIII]

I'm on record as a Coach D guy. So: What coach do we want?

Who do we get that matches Dan's winning percentage?

(cricket... cricket... cricket...)

Sophmores are doing great (for sophmores). Mark it down - this team is on the rise! - 2009 MAC Champs!

AZZ!!!!