BOULDER — While acknowledging that Colorado’s nonconference schedule likely was a deciding factor in keeping his team out of the 68-team NCAA Tournament field, Buffaloes coach Tad Boyle said Monday that he miscalculated the value of playing on the road in nonleague games, especially against weaker opponents.
Colorado (21-13, 8-8 Big 12 regular season) played four true “road” games during the nonleague portion of its schedule, more than any other team in the Big 12 Conference. However, Colorado went 1-3 in those games, losing at Georgia, Harvard and San Francisco, and winning at Cal StateBakersfield. “True” road games do not include those at neutral sites.
Many teams, including marquee programs, make sure that most, if not all, of their nonconference games away from home are played in neutral venues. In the case of Colorado, having 13 losses might have been hard for the selection committee to ignore, no matter where those games were played.
“I don’t think our nonconference schedule was as weak as some people think,” Boyle said Monday after a 90-minute practice in preparation for a first-round home National Invitation Tournament game at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Texas Southern.
“What I take from this, what I learn as a coach is, there was no reward for going on the road unless you win. But the risk is there. If there is no reward for your risk, you shouldn’t take the risk. That’s the way we have to go.”
Boyle said he intends to cobble together nonconference schedules that always include one marquee home game (Georgia comes to Boulder next season), one marquee road game and two or three marquee games at neutral sites (CU plays in a good tournament field in Puerto Rico next season).
And, in addition to continuing the annual series with Colorado State, Boyle would like to schedule two other area Division I programs each year, one at home, one on the road.
That formula, Boyle said, should more than balance the RPIs of the “cupcakes” that are inevitably scheduled.
Boyle inherited the recently completed schedule from former Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik. It was all but set when Boyle was hired as coach last year. Only three openings remained, and Boyle filled those with the road games against Georgia and Cal State Bakersfield, and a home game against Division II Western New Mexico that would serve as a no-risk tune-up before the start of conference play.
Games against non-Division I teams do not impact RPI, but also do not count as a victory in those computer power rankings.
Although it might ultimately have blown up in Colorado’s face on Selection Sunday, the schedule may have helped CU gain confidence to begin conference play with three victories, Boyle said.
What harmed Colorado, though, was a schedule that included five games against teams that finished with RPIs in the 300s and another, The Citadel, at 294.
“The way it works, I guess you’re better off playing against Duke than some of those teams, to help your strength of schedule,” Boyle said, shaking his head.
CU athletic director Mike Bohn had no qualms with the Buffs’ 2010-11 nonconference schedule.
“You have to remember we had a brand-new head coach who was putting a team together,” Bohn said. “I would think (the selection committee) would take that into account.”
