Does SOS really matter?

[dynastydreamuk]

If duke wins the title this year, and looks like they will,

Does it really matter if you play a weak schedule?

If your good your good. They honed their craft against crap ACC teams but doesn't seem to matter.

Bonus topic:
Scheyer in his 3rd year as a head coach, getting all the talent he wants and winning a title within ease.
It kind of reiterates how Calipari should have won more titles. He had soooo much talent those first 10 years, a 3 year head coach scheyer is getting it done.

I'm thinking any coach could win the title with Anthony Davis or Cooper Flag, that 2015 team should never have lost but we played games low scoring at times, some in the 60s if my memory is correct. Sigh

 

[Runnin'Ramel]

Cal playing stall ball with that 2015 roster is one of the biggest coaching blunders in hoops history, IMO.

 

[JFCats22]

Everyone on here said Duke wasn’t great because they didn’t play anybody.

SOS doesn’t mean crap if you are great

 

[dynastydreamuk]

Everyone on here said Duke wasn’t great because they didn’t play anybody.

SOS doesn’t mean crap if you are great

The 2014 Wichita state team that was undefeated was actually really really good too, they just got very unlucky to play a loaded talented UK team that had an 8 seed due to Cal coaching lol

Point is Wichita state played nobody really but they were legit. I feel like they would have won it all if they hadn't played us that night

 

[bookerfan66]

No we did fine back when the SEC sucked.

 

[TFCats11]

They haven’t won anything yet 👍🏼

 

[ck-2]

Well it depends on if you're dook or not. Any other school would’ve been seeded lower due to a weak schedule.

 

[ChicagoCat1990]

Cal playing stall ball with that 2015 roster is one of the biggest coaching blunders in hoops history, IMO.

Not winning it all his first year at UK is high up there too especially since he had 2 certified super stars on that team.

 

[dynastydreamuk]

No we did fine back when the SEC sucked.

Id almost rather play in a weak conference, though Louisville got a low seed so I don't know.

 

[Hoskins91]

You want to play a couple legit teams, but no. If you’re legit it doesn’t matter.

 

[Bluesnky]

I tend to think teams need to have experience playing in close games and maybe playing from behind. More often than not aheer bad luck will put you in that position even if you’re a great team. It’s tough to make it through the tournament without that experience, but it can be done.

 

[TucsonCat]

I would say it helps. But it's not disqualifying.
Yet that was the way every Duke obsessed thread was written. Those whackos were searching for any reason to dismiss Duke.

I hate Duke. Whatever flaw they might have is the most important thing in basketball. Therefore strength of schedule means they stink. Repeat until I believe it

 

[dynastydreamuk]

It worked !!!!! Duck Fuke !!!!

 

[fatguy87]

SOS doesn’t matter much.

There are teams that play disproportionally well against weak teams. Wisconsin in the early 2010’s comes to mind.

 

[PhattyJ4UK]

Duke hasn’t had a tough game in months. They crumbled at the end tonight much like they did against us. The sec gauntlet probably would have toughened them up.. or injured them… double edged sword.

 

[BassProCat]

Pretty sure all their L’s they folded in crunch time …UK(flagg TO 2x) KU(Kon TO) Clem(Flagg TO) HOU(Flagg missed shot)

 

[ralphdaltonfan]

Courtesy of another poster (sorry forgot which of you had the stat) Duke went 5-4 against the KenPom top 20 this year. Schedule DOES matter. It helps you build a callus and not wilt at the first sign of an opponent who refuses to quit and competes.

 

[cats#1again]

If duke wins the title this year, and looks like they will,

Does it really matter if you play a weak schedule?

If your good your good. They honed their craft against crap ACC teams but doesn't seem to matter.

Bonus topic:
Scheyer in his 3rd year as a head coach, getting all the talent he wants and winning a title within ease.
It kind of reiterates how Calipari should have won more titles. He had soooo much talent those first 10 years, a 3 year head coach scheyer is getting it done.

I'm thinking any coach could win the title with Anthony Davis or Cooper Flag, that 2015 team should never have lost but we played games low scoring at times, some in the 60s if my memory is correct. Sigh

What an awful post lol

There's no comparison in recruiting to what Duke has gotten the last 11 years. It's not close.
They took over the recruiting front in the 2015 class and have yet to win a title. 2 final 4's I believe. They have gotten something like 6 #1 players since that 2015 class.

 

[cats#1again]

Everyone on here said Duke wasn’t great because they didn’t play anybody.

SOS doesn’t mean crap if you are great

Sos definitely means something. You can still be a great team and not have a crazy sos. Nobody was saying Duke isn't great. They are a great team. They're just extremely young

 

[know1]

Looks like it does.

 

[precipitance]

It has advantages and disadvantages. It allows the star freshmen a chance to learn the playbook and their roles while not piling up losses. The problem it brings is they don't see adversity enough to know how to handle it against great teams. This Duke team was blowing everyone out, even Houston for awhile. At the end of the game they relied on freshmen to put them over the top and they were to rattled to deliver. A tougher conference would have given them the experience to weather the storm.

If they were leaning on upperclassmen, it's probably more of an advantage to play in a bad conference.

 

[65pacecar]

Not winning it all his first year at UK is high up there too especially since he had 2 certified super stars on that team.

Hard to pick Cals worst coaching job, too many to pick from.

 

[Ron Mehico]

It absolutely helps because it prepares you to play in tight games, which is a skill believe it or not. It teaches you how to close out a good team, it teaches you not to take plays off and value possessions etc. If you practice against better players it makes you better, same thing with teams. Duke shit their pants in a tight game last night.

 

[UKAlum84]

Does Houston win a nc this year? They've fought pretty hard. Strength of schedule, I bet UK had a sos higher than Houston's but oh well...

Looks like Im wrong, Houston actually beats UK with sos ranking.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

It probably depends. If they played a tougher schedule, they probably are more battle-tested, but they also probably have more losses and are a 2 or 3 seed. Then again, Kentucky played a brutal schedule, lost a good amount, and we were still a 3 seed. So who knows.

I think what you want to have ideally, is a top50-ish schedule.. so you're actually being tested and your flaws are being exposed so you can work on them.. but theres really no need for some gauntlet schedule where you're just taking on a good deal of extra losses and hurting your seeding. You need to play tough competition but you dont need to play top25 teams almost every night either.

 

[Cats192]

It doesn't, but it does.

Duke was good enough to win the national championship. Duke was so good, they were up on an ELITE Houston team by 14 with less than 10 minutes to go. Duke's strength of schedule or lack thereof wasn't preventing them from being an Elite team.

Duke was better than the majority of the SEC teams despite a way weaker SOS.

Where it does matter: Duke hasn't been in many close game situations since the Calendar hit 2025 and they started ACC play. They haven't felt pressure. They haven't had to fight through the nerves. They haven't had the reps to where they do the winning things without thinking about it.

The out of bounds pass turnover is 1 example. Flagg's last shot was a good look. But for a superstar, #1 overall draft pick, maybe even generational guy--he should have gone to the rim.

And when you lose a few more games in crunch time because of those plays--you sharpen that sword. They didn't have to.

Houston is in the Big 12. They haven't lost since February 1st. But they have had several single digit games since then. They've felt the pressure. They've been in the fire. When winning time came, they did what they do.