Filed under: Butler, Gonzaga, Mid-Majors, St. Mary's (CA)
After giving Illinois a mild scare and Michigan State a pretty severe one, Oakland was facing Tennessee Tuesday night. It marked the third time in a six-day span that the Golden Grizzlies were facing a ranked team. Two of them were in the Top 10. Two games were on the road while the other was at a "neutral" site -- though it was basically a duel-home game for both MSU and Oakland, being in Auburn Hills.
The Grizzlies' 89-82 win over the Vols was hardly surprising to those who had paid attention to the recent string of games. And now No. 2 Ohio State is on the schedule next week. Plus, Oakland has already played at Purdue.
That means before the turn of the calendar, Oakland -- of the Summit League -- will have played five ranked teams, three of which were in the Top 10 when the Grizzlies played them (assuming Ohio State doesn't stumble before next week). Not many other teams in the country have faced that kind of a murderer's row thus far. In fact, I believe only two teams outside the major conferences have faced anything comparable (you'll see below).
Assuming the Grizzlies play up to their capabilities in league play, this is all something to keep in mind come March. We all like hitting that pick that busts the brackets of others.
This isn't to say Oakland is alone in testing itself against a Goliath when it comes to the Davids of the world.
Even if the so-called little guy doesn't win the games against the big conference teams, playing the games early in the season can give them an edge on their conference competition and then when it comes time to face a big boy in the Big Dance, the team won't be intimidated. Take Butler from last season. The Bulldogs lost to Minnesota, Clemson, Georgetown and UAB in non-conference play before running the table in the Horizon League. After dropping the game to UAB, the next Butler loss wouldn't come until the national championship game.
Here are a baker's dozen small schools that are enduring strong early schedules. You'll notice some familiar names on the list, which shouldn't be surprising. Just don't forget any of these come March -- obviously to different degrees.
[Note: We have eliminated every team from a top-10 conference, according to KenPom.com, because we're searching for the true little guys. The excluded 10: Big Ten, Big East, Big 12, ACC, Pac-10, SEC, Mountain West, Conference USA, Atlantic 10 and Missouri Valley.]
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Source: http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2010/12/15/oakland-leads-pack-of-battle-tested-dogs/
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