There is the possibility of an early November date -- if the Stags are willing to add another game onto an already crowded calendar. Fairfield tentatively opens the 2014-15 season on Nov. 15 with Central Connecticut in the Connecticut 6 and the next night will play at Cameron Indoor Stadium against Duke in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. The following weekend, Nov. 20-22, at the Webster Bank Arena, Fairfield plays South Dakota, Wofford and Sam Houston State as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer event.
Technically, the Stags and Pioneers could play on Nov. 17 or 18, but that would mean a stretch of six games in eight days for Fairfield.....
Post by nashvillestag on Jun 14, 2014 1:06:37 GMT -5
Well according to Elsberry I guess this does confirm that the Stags will be playing Duke the night after opening the season against Central Conn. in the Conn. 6. And the following week we will get 3 HOME games in 3 nights against pretty fair competition. Indeed last year both Wofford and Sam Houston did very well. So. Dakota not so much. But it certainly gives this young team a chance to get some early games against MAAC caliber teams, but with them being at the arena this should be a good chance for this young team to maybe come together and develope some winning habits. Time will tell I guess, but I like this setup. As far as the game with SHU is concerned, if the game can't be played on a date with the students around, my feeling is it would be better to hold off playing it for a year. Otherwise it is sort of defeating the purpose of what normally would be a high intensity affair led by a large contingent of fans from both schools.
Five (or possibly 6) games in 8 days to start the season means we better not have any serious preseason injuries. I have to assume the coaching staff is probably already thinking about how to divide up the playing time for our 3 games in 3 days against Wofford, Sam Houston State, and South Dakota (not necessarily in that order). I hope everyone on the roster is putting in the time and effort this offseason to improve their areas of weaknesses since I doubt the coaches are planning on using only a limited rotation those games.
I think last year's losses to Hartford and Holy Cross at the WBA as part of the HOF tourney were early season indicators to the type of year we were going to have. A 4-1 or 5-1 start to the season would go a long way to helping me change my opinion of SJ's coaching ability.
BTW, Lunardi has Wofford making the NCAAs from the Southern in his preseason bracketology. They, along with OOC opponents Northeastern, Belmont, and Duke, are listed as preseason choices for the 2015 NCAAs.
Post by stagthomas on Jun 14, 2014 21:41:52 GMT -5
Quite the short end of the stick having to play Duke the next day after a game in the CT6. Talk about being at even more of disadvantage. Seems like a tough schedule for our inexperienced team. With the way we played last year, barring unexpected impact freshman and coaching genius, there is no cupcake to play.
I am really glad to see both BobbyV and Anthony Latina realize the importance of this series and also to realize that its a not just a Game, but an Event. It now is in position to be played every year, and hopefully a desirable date to selected early.
Playing a lot of games in a row is just a minor issue. It will hurt us against Duke, but it should actually be an advantage for us against Wofford, Sam Houston and South Dakota, as they will also play 3 games in a rows..... and they have to play those games away in Bridgeport. With few easy games on the schedule, its imperative that we do play Sacred Heart this year and there is no reason why we could not play this game on Nov 18th. If we don't we have a 4 day layoff. Here is the schedule so far:
Nov 15 - Central CT (CT-6) Nov 16 - @duke (C vs C) Nov 20-22 - Wofford (C vs C) Nov 20-22 - Sam Houston (C vs C) Nov 20-22 - South Dakota (C vs C) Nov 29 - @northeastern Dec 20 - Belmont
JS -- from Elsberry's article:... The Pioneers countered with a Dec. 20 date, but the Stags have a home game scheduled with Belmont....
So I think you can add a Dec. 20 home game with Belmont to the OOC schedule you posted.
I added Belmont and put the designation for away games.
I like the schedule. 7 home games, 3 away games, and 1 nuetral court. We will be a big underdog vs Duke. Be a 9ish point favorite vs SHU, Loyola, and CentralCT. But its those other 7 games where we are going to be playing Post-Season level Mid Majors. Basically the rest of the teams would be considered Top 5 MAAC schools. Those are the teams That would produce competitive games and prepare us for the MAAC season.
However, I was hoping for an easier schedule. Last year, we played the toughest schedule in the MAAC, and this one is basically the same level.
Quite the short end of the stick having to play Duke the next day after a game in the CT6. Talk about being at even more of disadvantage. Seems like a tough schedule for our inexperienced team. With the way we played last year, barring unexpected impact freshman and coaching genius, there is no cupcake to play.
Actually thomas I look at this schedule as being reasonable and more than fair, especially because (unlike many years) we get quite a few home games. Don't really know how many "cupcakes" we play, but this is supposed to be about playing games that you can win or lose based on performance and not predetermined, right? And of course there will obviously be some pressure for the team to perform well early, but that's how it should be. As far as playing Duke one day after Central Conn., yes that is tough. However to be frank, that is probably a game that we will not win at this point under any conditions. Therefore the best thing to do would be to really preapare hard in practice that week to WIN against CC (and NOT overprepare for Duke). Win the first game, fly to NC, play hard, get better from the lessons learned, and go from there.
JoeStag wrote --- ...I like the schedule. 7 home games, 3 away games, and 1 nuetral court. We will be a big underdog vs Duke. Be a 9ish point favorite vs SHU, Loyola, and CentralCT...
We were 7-25 last year and our leading scorer graduated. Unless we somehow beat Duke or come really close to beating Duke, I don't think we're going to be a 9ish point favorite against anyone at the start of the '14-'15 season.
Post by nashvillestag on Jun 15, 2014 8:58:37 GMT -5
JS, I want to play SHU this year also. However, whatever date they come up with I certainly hope they do it when the students are around. Otherwise a lot of the juice will be missing (as well as a lot of people), and this kind of defeats the purpose of the whole thing IMO. As far as playing 6 games in 8 days, yeah I guess, but that is pushing the envelope a bit because of possible injuries and also lack of time to work on problems that need to be corrected. Tough call if November date is the only one available.
(5-26) SHU vs. (7-25) Fairfield with the Stags having a "one and done" First Round exit in the MAAC Tournament and no postseason play last March. Unless the students are available for the game, I doubt this "rivalry game" will draw very well at the WBA no matter how it is promoted by both schools. IMO, without student support/participation it would probably draw less than the Bridgeport exhibition game (1,984) at the WBA, especially if the Stags get really clobbered at Duke and start the early season with another losing record. Last November the Stags finished the month at (1-6). Do that again and you'll be looking at dismal attendance.