Date: November 30th, 2022

Time: 7:00 PM

Opponent: Mars Hill (2-4, 0-1 SAC)

Place: Freedom Hall (6,149)

Television: none

Webcast: ESPN+ *(subscription)

Radio online: 640WXSM.com

MHU 2022-2023 Schedule

MHU 2022-2023 Roster

13 turnovers in the first half

39-28
Not impressed so far.

ETSU is the worst three-point shooting team in the league. When did you ever think you’d hear that statement ?

Hoping for a better second half.

(11-30-2022 07:48 PM)JWBUC Wrote:  39-28
Not impressed so far.

ETSU is the worst three-point shooting team in the league. When did you ever think you’d hear that statement ?

Hoping for a better second half.

Second half was better, but we still gotta be better than that.

I think if I was a player or coach, particularly a coach, I'd hate games like these. Although you get the W, there's really no other up side, perhaps outside of getting some bench players minutes they wouldn't get. I would guess players don't have the kind of competitive edge when facing equal or better competition, so as a coach, you have to motivate them somehow. Attendance is lower (frequently MUCH lower), as many don't want to venture out and pay for essentially an exhibition game. Your fans gripe about the mistakes you made during the game, or that you should've shot better or rebounded better or defended better, blah, blah, blah. They don't/can't celebrate the win, only question why you didn't win by 30 or 40 or 50 and "only" 28 points. And you still have a risk of a really bad loss.
I guess what I'm saying is as much as we as fans dislike these games, I believe the coach and the team dislikes them just as much.

I’m not so sure the coaches dislike them. These games count towards wins and most contracts have incentives for hitting a certain number of wins. It’s an easy way to pad the numbers. It’s well established that most here despise them, myself included. Samford has already played 4 non D1 games and lost one of them. There’s just no upside in my view. I’d much rather watch ETSU play a mid-major on the road on ESPN+ than waste a night going to Freedom Hall to watch an exhibition.

(12-01-2022 09:27 AM)MTBuc Wrote:  I’m not so sure the coaches dislike them. These games count towards wins and most contracts have incentives for hitting a certain number of wins. It’s an easy way to pad the numbers. It’s well established that most here despise them, myself included. Samford has already played 4 non D1 games and lost one of them. There’s just no upside in my view. I’d much rather watch ETSU play a mid-major on the road on ESPN+ than waste a night going to Freedom Hall to watch an exhibition.

I would like to know whether coaches really like these games or merely tolerate them. I guess I would hope coaches would be closer to tolerating them and would prefer challenges instead of guarantee wins. But you could be right. Incentives could push to desire the win more than the challenge.

You folks do realize that the P5 fans think the same about playing FCS schools in both basketball and football...

(12-01-2022 07:11 PM)BucDoctor Wrote:  You folks do realize that the P5 fans think the same about playing FCS schools in both basketball and football...

Isn’t it interesting how their superiority character rises to the top in athletics at many of these Power 5 places while they loudly proclaim the opposite across the rest of those campuses.

(12-01-2022 07:11 PM)BucDoctor Wrote:  You folks do realize that the P5 fans think the same about playing FCS schools in both basketball and football...

In football, those fans have a point. There is no reason for P5 teams to ever play a FCS school, and I wouldn't buy those tickets if I were a fan of a P5 team.

In basketball, the difference between P5 and mid-major schools isn't nearly the talent divide as compared to between mid-major and non-D1 level.

(12-01-2022 07:11 PM)BucDoctor Wrote:  You folks do realize that the P5 fans think the same about playing FCS schools in both basketball and football...

I'm a Purdue grad and fan and, yes, I do, and I feel similarly about those games as well. One point with the P5 schools is that those schools can claim that playing those schools helps increase those schools' profile, as most of P5 have either their own network or a TV contract and the game will be on something other than ESPN+. I suppose another one is that at least the P5 schools are typically playing a NCAA D1 school instead of a D2 or NAIA. But we all know it's about getting the W really.