Schedule From Hell – Mississippi Valley State Basketball Opens Their Season With 16-Straight Road Games and 11 Power Conference Opponents, Including Michigan, UConn, and Arkansas
I'll give the Mississippi Valley State schedule makers a little bit of credit. As far as power conference opponents go, they didn't do the worst job avoiding the Top 25. Not that the Top 25 is out yet. But I found a "Way-Too-Early Top 25" on ESPN. And aside from #10 Arkansas, #5 UConn, and the #8/Defending National Champions Michigan Wolverines, they aren't necessarily playing the very best teams in all of college basketball.
Additionally, I can't imagine there's another mid-major team in all of college basketball making more money in "getting our ass kicked fees" than Mississippi Valley State. So good job being fiscally conscious.
They even managed to sneak a few mid-major matchups in there. Including November 25th, when they travel to New Mexico (favorites to win the Mountain West). Which should be a nice little treat for the Delta Devils on the day before Thanksgiving. You gotta think they've got @Tulane and @North Texas circled on their calendars as well. The spread might even dip below 25-points for those ones.
And hey, who knows. Maybe Mississippi Valley State can shock the world this season. They're still a D1 basketball program after all. It's not like they go winless every year.
The real crime of this whole thing is that Mississippi Valley doesn't bring their home commentators on the road with them. It's a shame these two beauties won't get a chance to call MVSU as they take on John Calipari this season.
Sure, it's also "a crime" that the team is forced to be on the road for their opening 16 games, traveling coast-to-coast, living at airports, getting their ass kicked by 50 points night in and night out. But you especially can't leave commentators of this quality at home on the bench until January.
Poor guys. On the bright side, years from now, the players will almost certainly get to tell their kids they played against some all-star NBA player back in college. They'll get to say they played against some of the best coaches in college basketball. It will be a horrible experience in the moment. But that's the thing about experiences. Sometimes the most formidable ones… the ones you look back on and say "that was crazy" or "I'm glad I did that"… they suck ass in real time. And for the Delta Devils, the start of their season is going to suck SO MUCH ass.