Clemson's Refusal to Play Anyone

I understand that in some cases it's advantageous to schedule weak out of conference opponents (like, say, certain college sports that arbitrarily decide a champion, mostly based on W-L record). But in college basketball, isn't it pretty clear that playing nobody in November and December doesn't improve your chances come tournament time? It doesn't give you a chance to build up an impressive resume, it hurts your RPI, and keeps you off the national radar.

Most teams seem to have figured this out. A good example this year is Texas. They started off ranked 16th, with people questioning how they'd fair after losing Durant. Wins against Tennessee (in New Jersey) and UCLA (at Pauley) dispelled that notion pretty quickly. They're now in the top five in both polls, and probably have the most impressive resume in the country- if the tournament started today (it doesn't), they 'd get a #1 seed.

Then, there's Clemson. Last year, they didn't receive a single vote in either preseason poll. Their pre-ACC schedule was as follows: Arkansas St., Monmouth, @Old Dominion, Furman, Appalachian St., Mississippi St., Charleston Southern, @Minnesota, Wofford, Georgia Southern, Western Carolina, Georgia, Georgia St.

Not surprisingly, they started off the year 17-0, climbing as high as 14th in the coaches' poll after winning their first three ACC games (which, really, reflects on how little attention the voters were paying, but that's another story). They proceeded to go 4-10 the rest of the way, finishing 7-9 in the conference and losing to Florida St. in the first round of the ACC tournament. They finished with a solid 21-10 record, but missed the NCAAs because they had a weak conference record and lacked a single impressive non-conference win.

So, they learned their lesson and put together a challenging non-ACC schedule this year, right? Not so much. The Tigers began the year 29th in the coaches poll. Their current record is 8-0, after beating Furman, Mississippi St., Old Dominion, Presbyterian, Gardner-Webb, Purdue, South Carolina, and East Carolina. Once again, they've ascended in the polls, and currently sit at 14th. They play DePaul, Mississippi and Alabama in the next month, but those teams aren't exactly powerhouses this year. They played one tournament team before January last year (ODU); they'll be lucky to match that number this year.

It really seems like they're putting themselves in a terrible position. By not playing anyone in November and December, their only chance to showcase themselves in the ACC. If, like last year, they don't have a stellar conference resume, they have nothing to fall back on. At least give yourself the opportunity to beat someone in the first couple months of the season. If you lose, what's the big loss? It's not like overall W-L record is a main criteria that the committee looks at in March.

Paw: here.