WKU Basketball: How Are We Feeling About How WKU's Schedule is Taking Shape?
WKU's full schedule could be released any day now. Before it is, let's step back and have a chat about what we know so far.
We’ve reached the point in the summer where WKU’s full men’s basketball schedule could be dropped at, conceivably, any moment, and with CUSA announcing its full men’s and women’s schedules earlier this week, we have a large picture of what the Tops’ schedule will look like for Steve Lutz’s maiden voyage.
Before we get a full look at what the upcoming slate looks like, let's take stock of what we know so far and what we think - both positively and negatively - of what we have to look forward to in a few months.
It’s…Not Pretty
The first year, maybe even the first few years, of the Lutz era is going to require some re-configuring of expectations from WKU fans. Not in terms of performance or results, but in what teams and schedules look like.
We touched on it briefly earlier this summer, that just because WKU might not be fighting for the same caliber of player under Lutz that they were with Stansbury doesn’t mean the Hilltoppers can’t field good teams (or even be a post-portal landing spot for once highly-touted prospects), and the same philosophy can be applied to scheduling.
Especially this year, the first under a new head coach when there weren’t already a lot of enticing matchups on the books and South Carolina bought out their previously scheduled trip to Diddle. So, that’s all a bummer.
Even though this year’s schedule isn’t great, I’m holding out hope that this is an outlier. I’m hoping Lutz can get some future series on the books to once again beef up the non-con. This year is a feel-out year for WKU basketball, and the schedule is no exception. I’m okay with a bit of a snoozer this year if it means better opponents - and more importantly results - in the years to come.
But, at times, that feels like a big “if”.
Anyone, Anywhere
The 2023/24 schedule isn’t a complete dud, which is great! However, every matchup that’s worth getting even a little bit excited over will be on the road, which is less than ideal.
The Tops go to Wichita State in the first game of that home-and-home, will head to Buffalo, travel to Cal Baptist (more on that later) and their MTE just…isn’t going to do it for most people, if anyone, with Bowling Green, Canisius and Wofford being the non-WKU highlights of the field.
Yikes.
The Tops also are set to go to Wright St., though that date hasn’t been reported to be finalized yet. It’s going to be hard to draw folks to Diddle this year with the “hey come see this team,” so Lutz and the Hilltoppers are going to have to be exciting enough to become the draw themselves.
Who Is This For?
Wednesday, we learned of the reported matchups for the inaugural CUSA/WAC Alliance - something I honestly forgot about until it was announced.
Per Rocco Miller and the WAC Hoops Digest, here’s what the first year of alliance scheduling looks like.
For WKU, there are two important dates:
December 19: WKU at Cal Baptist
December 30: Abilene Christian at WKU
While it doesn’t appear that there’s a consistent rhyme or reason to who gets to play who (UTEP, for example, gets a fellow WAC bottom feeder from last year but also gets Seattle U, who finished in the top half of the conference), the Tops did get a couple of games that, on paper, seem evenly matched: The Hilltoppers, Lancers and Wildcats all finished with nearly identical conference records (WKU & CBU both went 8-10, ACU went 7-11) and finished within a handful of wins or losses of each other.
While that’s all fine and good, and I’m sure one, if not both, of these games, will be entertaining basketball - with all three teams wanting to bounce back after relatively disappointing seasons last year - I can’t help but have one thought.
Who exactly is this alliance for? Because, at least for right now, it isn’t WKU.
Sam Houston, UTEP and New Mexico State are former WAC members, so it’s exciting for them to see some old friends. Liberty gets Grand Canyon, who represented the conference in the NCAA Tournament last year, and that should be a really good matchup.
But the Tops get a Southern California mid-major and a Texas team, both of which have almost zero historical relevance. If the aim was to excite fans, faithful of the Red and White are left a bit out of the cold on this one.
There is a scenario, however slim, that the Alliance scheduling helps WKU - playing a WAC team would be a better resume builder than an in-state DII or NAIA opponent in December - but WKU and CUSA are not currently in a space where resumes matter a bunch.
Maybe Judy is playing 4-D chess and this is the first step in that process. But for now, it’s an attempt to bring some excitement that’s fallen flat in South Central Kentucky.
Waiting All Day For…Wednesday Night?
As has been the case sine WKU’s entry into CUSA, Thursdays and Saturdays are conference game days. However, the conference has thrown in an added wrinkle: Wednesday Night Hoops.
On six occasions this year, at least one CUSA game will be played on a Wednesday. Twice, multiple games will be played. And on three of those six Wednesdays, the Hilltoppers will be included.
Oddly enough, both games between the Hilltoppers and Louisiana Tech are on Wednesdays (Feb. 7 in Ruston, Feb. 28 in Bowling Green), while the Tops are also one of six teams in action on Jan. 10, the first conference season Wednesday (at Sam Houston).
In their press release announcing the schedule, CUSA made no mention of why there will be Wednesday games this year, or even the fact that there was this new wrinkle to the schedule.
My best guess as to why these Wednesday night games exist: Television. I’d bet CBS Sports Network is using those six Wednesdays to try and get the conference in something of an exclusive showing window. How that’ll work on weeks with multiple games, I don’t exactly know, but - at least to me - this is akin to the midweek football schedule in trying to find a way to get more exposure for the league.
I, personally, don’t hate it - especially since only one WKU home game is affected - but I understand those that do.
Tipoff times and TV information have not yet been released, but the first thing I’m going to look for is where those Wednesday games are broadcast.