SNY.tv: Online Home of All Things Sports

Louisville

Non-conference schedule difficulty: 1st of 16
Total non-conference Games: 13
Key games: at UNLV (Nov. 21), vs. Brigham Young (Nov. 23), vs. North Carolina or Old Dominion (Nov. 24), Miami (Ohio) (Dec. 1), Dayton (Dec. 8), vs. Purdue (Dec. 15), New Mexico State (Dec. 22), at Kentucky (Jan. 5)
Conference schedule difficulty: 5th of 16
Home-and-home conference opponents: Georgetown, Marquette, Rutgers
Other conference home games: Cincinnati, West Virginia, St. John's, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Villanova
Other conference road games: Seton Hall, South Florida, Connecticut, DePaul, Providence, Pittsburgh

Outlook: Rick Pitino has never been one to duck non-conference opponents and, with this team, why would he anyway? This winter's schedule has a distinctly western feel with games against UNLV, BYU and New Mexico State, all NCAA teams a year ago. BYU and NMSU remain favorites to win their conferences, while UNLV may fall off a bit. If Louisville does defeat BYU in Las Vegas, the Cards are likely to play North Carolina in the Las Vegas Invitational Final. UNC and Memphis (the Tigers face Georgetown) are a pair of interesting tests for the two teams expected to head the Big East. Sandwiched between seven games at Freedom Hall is a Louisville trip to Indianapolis to play a Purdue team that is expected to fight for an NCAA Tournament berth. As always, the game to circle on Louisville's schedule is the matchup with Kentucky. This one is at Rupp Arena and marks a rematch of sorts, as former Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie takes on Pitino and the Louisville team his Aggies knocked out of the NCAA's in a March thriller. Louisville should be a standard-bearer for the conference this year, so a big splash out of conference would help the entire league.

The Big East did a good job to make sure that neither Georgetown nor Louisville had a distinct schedule advantage. Rick Pitino would argue that having to play Marquette and Georgetown (two teams who are usually joined to Louisville as the preseason top three in the league) is unfair, but how much of a difference is there between Marquette and Syracuse, a team the Hoyas play twice? Pitino also complained about having to travel to Connecticut, Providence and Pittsburgh for Louisville's only encounter with those teams, but Georgetown also heads to Providence and Pittsburgh. To put it in perspective, Louisville and Georgetown only differ in three road opponents this season. The Cardinals get Seton Hall, USF and UConn; the Hoyas travel to Syracuse, St. John's and West Virginia. Which would you say is tougher?

Marquette

Non-conference schedule difficulty: 15th of 16
Total non-conference Games: 12
Key games: IUPUI (Nov. 10), Maui Invitational (Nov. 19-21), at Wisconsin (Dec. 8)
Conference schedule difficulty: 2nd of 16
Home-and-home conference opponents: Louisville, Notre Dame, Seton Hall
Other conference home games: Providence, DePaul, South Florida, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Georgetown
Other conference road games: West Virginia, Connecticut, Cincinnati, St. John's, Villanova, Syracuse

Outlook: The non-conference schedule is not much to look at, outside of a pre-Thanksgiving trip to Hawaii, though even that field seems a bit weak. Marquette has apparently been granted the No. 1 seed for the tourney, as the Golden Eagles draw host Chaminade in the opening round. They then take on the winner of Oklahoma State and LSU, two major-conference teams unlikely to be factors in their respective conferences. If Marquette makes the final, Tom Crean's team will likely get a rematch with the Duke squad it defeated to win a tournament in Kansas City last November. The rest of the schedule features Summit favorite IUPUI and in-state rival Wisconsin. Marquette's set of junior guards has yet to defeat the Badgers, and while winning at the Kohl Center isn't easy, Wisconsin won't be the national power of the past two seasons. The schedule should allow Marquette to enter conference play with a 10-2 or 11-1 record and a lofty national ranking.

Marquette's home-and-home conference opponents were established on the proposition that Seton Hall would be near the bottom of the conference, but I'm not convinced the Pirates will end up there, and that — along with a home-and-home against Louisville — is what makes Marquette's schedule difficult. The Golden Eagles probably face their toughest stretch in the season's last two weeks when they travel to Villanova and Syracuse with a home game against Georgetown mixed in (Florida Gulf Coast is in there too).

Notre Dame

Non-conference schedule difficulty: 16th of 16
Total non-conference Games: 12
Key games: U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam (Nov. 16-19), vs. Kansas State (Dec. 4)
Conference schedule difficulty: 1st of 16
Home-and-home conference opponents: Connecticut, DePaul, Marquette
Other conference home games: West Virginia, Cincinnati, Providence, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, St. John's
Other conference road games: Georgetown, Villanova, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Louisville, South Florida

Outlook: Mike Brey has assembled a soft schedule for his team in the year after Russell Carter and Colin Falls' departure. Notre Dame has a real chance to go deep in the Paradise Jam in November. The Irish open with Northeast Conference weakling Monmouth and then face either Wichita State or Baylor. Neither of the latter figures to factor in its conference race, but either could give the Irish a tough time. Notre Dame's most likely opponent in the final is Georgia Tech, a squad that would likely be small favorites to beat the Irish. Big South Champ Winthrop likely awaits NDU if the Irish fall into a consolation matchup. Notre Dame would surely love another crack at Winthrop after March's debacle. Brey is probably without Luke Harangody for the Paradise Jam, as the sophomore forward could miss up to six games with a torn ligament in his thumb. The Irish take on Kansas State at MSG in the first week of December. While Notre Dame is likely to have a bigger fan base present, NDU will probably be an underdog against K-State and youngsters Bill Walker and Michael Beasley. None of the weaklings that round out the slate figures to be a factor in their conference races, meaning a 10-2 record out of conference should be a minimum if Notre Dame has NCAA aspirations.

Notre Dame was a beneficiary of a softer conference schedule last season, but that's not the case in 2007-08. In Connecticut and Marquette, the Irish get two of the league's top-tier teams twice. Brey's team will also has to travel to Louisville and Gerogetown. Notre Dame's toughest stretch is three straight Saturday road games at Marquette, Georgetown and Villanova in January (with a home game against Cincinnati mixed in).

Pittsburgh

Non-conference schedule difficulty: 9th of 16
Total non-conference Games: 13
Key games: Saint Louis (Nov. 11), at Duquesne (Dec. 5), at Washington (Dec. 8), Oklahoma State (Dec. 15), vs. Duke (Dec. 20), at Dayton (Dec. 29)
Conference schedule difficulty: 13th of 16
Home-and-home conference opponents: Cincinnati, Villanova, West Virginia
Other conference home games: Seton Hall, Georgetown, Rutgers, Providence, Louisville, DePaul
Other conference road games: South Florida, St. John's, Connecticut, Marquette, Notre Dame, Syracuse

Outlook: During most of Jamie Dixon's time at Pittsburgh as either an assistant or head coach, the Panthers have been criticized for their weak non-conference scheduling. That changed last season with matchups against UMass, Oklahoma State, Florida State, Auburn and Dayton, and the trend continues for this season. Pitt's non-conference slate isn't a bear but it does include two teams that should finish near the top of the Atlantic 10 and another, Duquesne, who defeated Boston College, Saint Louis, Xavier and Dayton last year despite a 10-19 record. The Dukes add several transfers to a team looking to crack the A-10's top half and are a dangerous matchup at home. St. Louis has everyone back except Ian Vouyoukas and adds coach Rick Majerus. Dayton brings in a great recruiting class to a team already on the cusp of the A-10's first division. The other characters on the schedule are familiar. Duke is Duke, and that game will be played at MSG on my sister's birthday (happy birthday, Meaghan!). Considering their losses — Mario Boggan, JamesOn Curry — Oklahoma State's trip to Pittsburgh should have a lot less drama than last year's two-overtime defeat for the Panthers. On the other hand, Lorenzo Romar's Huskies will not be an easy out in Seattle.

Like UConn, Pittsburgh gets the benefit of a relatively soft league schedule. The Panthers avoid the league's elite in the home-and-home, and they host both Georgetown and Louisville. Still, the Panthers face a difficult February with trips to Marquette and Notre Dame sandwiched between home games against Providence and Louisville.