After all the talk, Rebel schedule doesn’t walk the walk

Steve Carp

Monday, July 12, 1999 | 10:34 a.m.

When Bill Bayno defended UNLV's 1999-2000 basketball schedule in May, he claimed the Rebels were playing the toughest slate in the entire Mountain West Conference.

At the time, the coach didn't know who the other MWC teams had on their dockets. But Bayno was convinced that the nonleague schedule UNLV was playing was the hardest. Even if that schedule had the likes of High Point, Austin Peay, Florida Atlantic, Eastern Kentucky and Mississippi Valley State on it.

But the rest of the teams have their nonleague schedules pretty much set. And based on statistical averages used from the Ratings Percentage Index, which incorporates strength of schedule for all Division I teams and its opponents, UNLV is not climbing the steepest hill.

In fact, the Rebels have a middle-of-the-pack schedule in the Mountain West based on the RPI's strength of schedule numbers for this past season (schools that are moving up from Division II to Division I for this season were not included in the calculation of the figures provided by Jerry Palm's RPI Index). UNLV's schedule is rated fifth in the eight-team Mountain West.

Bayno wasn't sweating the news.

"I would disagree with that," he predictably said from Georgia, where he is evaluating and recruiting. "Whoever comes up with the (strength of schedule) numbers, those numbers are flawed.

"You have to look at factors like graduation, number of wins a team had, who's coming back. Whether or not they're a projected top-20 team. The RPI doesn't figure into any of that. That's why it is flawed."

Bayno insists the Rebels have a tough, competitive schedule.

"We're playing two top-five teams (Cincinnati and North Carolina)," he said. "Oklahoma State, Princeton and (College of) Charleston are all potential top-25 teams. And every team in the league is playing their Mississippi Valley States and Fairfields. Once you get past the top 100 (in the RPI), what's the difference between 100 and 200?

"I was with Rick Majerus and he said I was an idiot for playing the schedule we're playing."

Perhaps. But statistically speaking, Majerus' Utes are playing a tougher nonconference schedule than the Rebels. Utah, which will play in the preseason NIT and likely meet Kentucky in the second round, has four opponents with a final RPI of 61 or higher on its schedule, including Texas and Louisville.

Who has the toughest nonleague schedule? According to the RPI's numbers, it's New Mexico, which has made a 180-degree turn from a year ago and has given first-year coach Fran Fraschilla some tough sledding. The Lobos have scheduled five teams with an RPI of 76 or higher, with a road game at Arizona being the toughest.

Former New Mexico coach Dave Bliss caught ample criticism last year for scheduling down after star center Kenny Thomas had to sit out the first eight games of the season to settle an old debt with the NCAA.

New Mexico will face Washington, Oklahoma State and possibly St. John's along with Arizona. Nobody in Albuquerque has complained much about this year's schedule.

The easiest schedule? Air Force, which continues to play the likes of Doane, Regis and Wofford. The Falcons' toughest game is against Navy, which was ranked 123 in the final RPI last year.

Meanwhile, Colorado State has beefed up its docket. The Rams will face two potential top-20 teams in UCLA and North Carolina-Charlotte. It also has Mississippi State, South Florida, Arizona State, Oregon State and Colorado on tap.

Wyoming will play at Indiana. San Diego State is facing Oklahoma State. Brigham Young will play Arizona and Arizona State.

It's an indication that the Mountain West is trying to schedule up in an attempt to improve its power rating. That could be critical this year since the first-year league may have to do without an automatic bid to the 2000 NCAA Tournament.

The NCAA's management council meets July 26-27 to discuss the Mountain West's case to seek an exemption from the standard five-year wait all new conferences must follow. In the meantime, commissioner Craig Thompson would like to see the overall strength of the individual schedules improve.

"This isn't terribly scientific," said Thompson, a member of the NCAA men's basketball committee. "What you need to do is play the top people and beat good people.

"What we can't do is continue to play a lot of teams ranked 200 or lower in the RPI. You'd almost be better off playing Division II teams than playing No. 285 (in D-I).

"Right now, there aren't any standards. But the presidents have indicated that this is a very important issue and there's going to be a mandate that our schools play the best people possible."