Scheduling is getting harder and harder

Not that the NCAA 'plate' isn't already more than full with a myriad of issues and concerns but how about adding Division One basketball scheduling to it? The bottomline is that most of the major powers simply won't play road games -- a home-and-home series -- with those they deign beneath them. It's a 'sure, come into our home and we'll play but we're not going to visit you' mindset that's becoming more and more prevalent. Some mid-major basketball programs even offer to visit twice or thrice in exchange for one return visit and the answer is much more often than not 'no, nyet, nein.'

Here's a snippet from a recent Andy Katz/ESPN column that offers a multi-faceted take on scheduling:

"...When Memphis coach John Calipari was looking for a game, he had his staff call up Old Dominion. The Monarchs were willing to play, but not without a return. The Tigers said no thanks. This is nothing new for ODU coach Blaine Taylor. Each year he holds out one game at the end of the summer and sometimes into September to lure in desperate coaches looking to fill a game. In recent years, he has picked up DePaul, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Georgetown. The Georgetown series started with a shocking upset at Georgetown during the Hoyas' Final Four season two years ago. "John Thompson [III] said to me that was the significant game all year because we had to learn from it," Taylor said of the Georgetown coach. "We do this because everyone needs a game, and as the cast of characters dries up, the guaranteed amounts get so large and some of the schools get priced out of games."

Taylor said the Monarchs had a deal in principle to play a home-and-home with South Carolina, but that recently was pulled...

...Taylor said he won't play one-way games without a return. He said after the win over Georgetown, the Monarchs called 10 Big East schools but were told no. "They shy away from us and quite honestly are afraid of us," Taylor said. "Everyone wants home games and sometimes they run out of patience, and that's why we hold a game late."

With all this in mind, we compiled the home games (BracketBuster contests excepted since opponents aren't known at this time) of the Western Athletic Conference members for your perusal. Please do let us know of any additions or corrections that need to be made.

Boise State and Hawaii sure planned well -- a ton of home games for two teams that will be rebuilding. We have to go with Nevada as the best home slate for fans, by far.

BOISE STATE

Nov 01 Guelph
Nov 11 Concordia
Nov 14 Pacific University (Oregon)
Nov 22 Idaho State
Nov 24 Montana State
Dec 03 Wyoming
Dec 06 Colorado State
Dec 13 San Francisco
Dec 29 Eastern Washington


FRESNO STATE

Nov 05 Fresno Pacific
Nov 09 Cal State Stanislaus
Nov 14 Sacramento State
Nov 17 Seattle University
Nov 30 Oregon State
Dec 03 UNLV
Dec 10 Cal State Bakersfield
Dec 14 Montana


HAWAII

Nov 02 Hawaii-Hilo
Nov 07 Chaminade
Nov 14 San Francisco
Nov 26 Fullerton
Nov 17 Idaho State
Nov 24 Iowa State
Dec 1 Prarie View A&M
Dec 13 Eastern Washington
Dec 15 Chicago State
Dec 23 UC Riverside
Dec 27-30 Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic


IDAHO

Nov 05 Walla Walla University
Nov 14 Evergreen State
Nov 22 North Dakota State
Nov 28 UC Irvine
Dec 17 South Carolina State
Dec 20 Texas Southern
Dec 21 Washington State


LOUISIANA TECH

Nov 8 Oklahoma Panhandle State
Dec 6 Grambling State
Dec 10 UL-Monroe
Dec 22 Texas Christian University
Feb 19 Houston Baptist


NEVADA

Nov 08 San Francisco State
Nov 22 Oregon State
Nov 26 Pacific
Dec 06 UNLV .
Dec 09 Sonoma State
Dec 14 Southern Illinois
Dec 17 Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Dec 27 Idaho State
Dec 31 North Carolina


NEW MEXICO STATE

Oct 31 N.M. Highlands
Nov 06 Western New Mexico
Nov 15 UC Riverside
Nov 21 Pepperdine
Dec 11 Sacramento State
Dec 14 UTEP
Dec 17 Prairie View A&M
Dec 28 Loyola Marymount
Dec 30 New Mexico


SAN JOSE STATE

Nov 06 Menlo College
Nov 19 Cal Maritime
Dec 03 Santa Clara
Dec 20 Northern Colorado
Dec 22 USF
Feb 17 Utah Valley


UTAH STATE

Oct 31 Northwest Nazarene
Nov 08 Concordia
Nov 14 Montana State - Northern
Nov 25 Weber State
Nov 29 Cal Poly
Dec 02 UC Irvine
Dec 22 Utah
Dec 29-31 Duel In The Desert -- Utah State vs. Howard -- Utah State vs. Houston Baptist -- Utah State vs. Wyoming