After getting a few bits here and there over the past few weeks, UNCW’s nonconference schedule for the 2021-22 season came into full view on Wednesday afternoon.
While it’s not the most exciting schedule we’ve ever seen the Seahawks put together, it’s the right one for a program that’s gone 38-76 over the past four seasons.
There’s an art to scheduling at any level in college basketball, but for mid-majors like UNCW, it could be the difference in a 25-win team making the NCAA Tournament vs. playing in the CBI.
On the other hand, it could mean a 15-win team becomes a 10-win team after getting its confidence wrecked by an ambitious nonconference schedule.
This time around, it’s clear that Coach Takayo Siddle is giving his roster — one that was almost completely flipped since March — a chance to build confidence early on, while also taking one shot at an ACC program and battling a few local rivals.
The 11 Division I opponents that UNCW will meet in the nonconference schedule this season had an average KenPom ranking of 227.3 while compiling a record of 122-140.
It makes sense for the Seahawks, who finished 7-10 overall with a KenPom ranking of No. 248.
A few observations.
Missing the Pirates
Since ECU left the CAA in 2001, the Pirates and Seahawks have seen the series start and stop several times, ultimately resulting in 11 meetings.
The rivals have met in seven of the past eight seasons, delivering great games and a memorable overtime win for each.
ECU will always be a football and baseball school first, but recently, the Pirates’ hoops program has taken steps forward and interest is growing. Playing the Seahawks will moves the needle for hoops in Greenville, and it certainly packs Trask Coliseum every time.
There’s absolutely no reason this game isn’t an annual fixture. It’s good business, it’s good for fans, and lately, it’s been great basketball.
Big Sky Country
The Seahawks will spend Thanksgiving in Montana for a three-day event, where they’ll open with the host Grizzlies and then play Southern Mississippi and UC San Diego.
It’s the sixth straight year UNCW has played in multi-team event around the holiday, and aside from getting a few games in a back-to-back tournament setting, it’s a great chance for a team to come together off the court.
Montana has been excellent in recent years, making five NCAA Tournament appearances since 2010. Over the past seven, they’ve gone 142-84 under Coach Travis DeCuire, who got to know UNCW during his time at Old Dominion from 2003-08.
This is a useful game against a program that’s accustomed to winning, and then the next two days, the Seahawks will have a chance to measure where they’re at with the tempo and conditioning they’ll look to wear down opponents with.
A Few Division II
These games have unfortunately become a staple in recent years for several reasons.
On one hand, you get home games on the schedule that are already penciled in as wins, and generally, have an opportunity to get 12+ guys in for significant minutes.
On the other, they’re not particularly fun to watch beyond the first 10 minutes and they don’t exactly bring fans — especially those who might have disappeared during the McGrath era — to Trask.
The exhibition game vs. Francis Marion on Nov. 4 will draw some interest because it’s the first look at a brand-new roster. The regular-season home opener vs. Guilford on Nov. 12 has the advantage of being on a Friday, but is likely to empty out at halftime.
Mount Olive’s Dec. 15 visit — on a Wednesday, after students are gone — will be a tough sell.
Benny Bowl I
It’s great to have Coastal Carolina back on the schedule.
The Chanticleers visit on Nov. 18 (a Thursday) for what should be the first true Trask crowd since the win over Hofstra on Feb. 16, 2019. It’ll be the first Division I home game of the Siddle era in which a capacity crowd (fingers crossed, of course) is allowed.
Coastal has been a solid program under future Hall of Famer Cliff Ellis, making a couple of NCAA Tournament appearances while consistently competing for conference titles.
Through almost all of that, Ellis’ right-hand man has been associate head coach Benny Moss, who coached at UNCW from 2006 through midway through the 2010 season, finishing with a 41-74 record.
It was an unfortunate ending for a hell of a nice guy, who appeared to have the program headed in the right direction during the 2007-08 season.
Hopefully he’s given a warm welcome for his first game back in Trask.
Play Local
UNCW managed to land two in-state opponents for the nonconference schedule, visiting High Point on Dec. 18 before playing host to Campbell on Dec. 22 in the 107th meeting between the programs.
It makes sense to play in the Triad, home of current freshman Jamarii Thomas and 2022 commit Nolan Hodge, who both hail from Greensboro. It’s also a much easier drive for friends and family of Jaylen Sims (Charlotte) and Siddle himself (Eden).
HPU, coached by Hall of Famer Tubby Smith, opens the 4,200-seat Qubein Arena this season, which will offer another example of how mid- and low-major programs can modernize their facilities.
Like ECU, Campbell is another program that UNCW should meet every season. Coach Kevin McGeehan has the Camels heading in the right direction, going 17-10 last season as they finished among the Big South’s top four for the third time in four seasons.
More North Carolina, Please
Other than UNCW, there are 17 more Division I basketball programs in North Carolina, and it’s pretty disappointing the Seahawks only found two that wanted to play this season.
This isn’t just limited to the Seahawks, either. Look at any schedule in the state, and they’re littered with directional schools from several states away.
Why not shorten up that travel, give guys a chance to play friends from high school and AAU ball, and fans a chance to rib friends who attended other schools.
Thanks to the variety of teams in North Carolina, there are opponents out there for any scenario you’re looking for.
December’s Hall of Fame Shootout in Charlotte is the start of something neat, as four in-state programs will play in a quadruple header at the Spectrum Center.
How about eight (or 10?) in-state teams facing off in an all-day event called the Carolina Classic? Play it in Charlotte, Greensboro or Asheville.
On a smaller scale, last season’s visit to Asheville for the three-day MTE was a neat event, boasting three in-state teams.
Award points in every meeting between in-state teams, keep “Carolina Challenge” standings and award a “state championship” trophy every season. Fans would absolutely get into it.
Siddle’s Philosophy?
There’s no real read on whether he has a tried-and-true scheduling philosophy just yet.
The original schedule for 2020-21 featured Wake Forest, North Carolina and Ole Miss, so he’s definitely willing to go to battle with the big boys.
It also featured a multi-team event in Wilmington around Thanksgiving, which would be a great addition if it could become a tradition. Who doesn’t want to spend a holiday weekend at the beach?
It’s certainly worked for Charleston, whose early-season tournament has taken off, largely thanks to the sparkling TD Arena. If and when UNCW builds a new facility, it’ll be easier to lure higher-profile opponents to town.
The big takeaway at this point is that Siddle is going to be strategic in his scheduling, adjusting things to his roster on a year-to-year basis.
There’s absolutely no reason to send a brand-new team on a five-game death march featuring two high-majors this season.
Maybe accepting a few more of those buy games becomes an option once the program is winning consistently, but for the immediate future, the schedule is built for establishing confidence.