For all of the posts in this series, visit the 2017-18 Non-Conference Scheduling Hub.

Ranking The Teams

Even though none of its members rank within the Top 100 of the four-year rankings, the Summit League is on the rise. That’s due to the continued success of South Dakota State and North Dakota State along with the improvement of Fort Wayne, Omaha, and South Dakota. The conference’s perceived stature naturally isn’t borne out by its 14th-place standing in the conference table. The fact none of its squads fall in the bottom 50 helps boost the Summit’s average rank, though Western Illinois barely avoids slipping into that ignominious group.

Ranking The Schedules

With three schedules ranking among the top 65 in three of the four categories below and none ranking worse than 275th, the Summit League’s eight members did a decent job of building their November and December slates. And that’s even factoring in some of the difficulties these teams encounter, which I’ll elaborate upon below.

*Denotes team will participate in a bracketed tournament. Reminder: Known Score = known matchups only; Average Score = known games+average of potential bracketed matchups; Maximum Score = known games+games against best potential bracketed matchups; Minimum Score = known games+games against worst potential bracketed matchups

Who Over- And Under-Scheduled?

The Summit’s league-wide schedule gap is a bit deceiving, as the eight members’ average four-year ranking and 2017-18 non-conference slate are rather close when examined in total. But when you look at each team individually, no team really stands out as having done even a decent job on this front. For example, 2017 regular season champ South Dakota under-scheduled by 51 spots, while 2016 and 2017 NCAA rep South Dakota State over-scheduled by 60.

With the Summit dropping down to eight teams for a season—thanks to IUPUI‘s summer departure and awaiting North Dakota’s arrival next July—the conference slate drops to only 14 games for 2017-18. And that means coaches had to find two more non-league games for November/December—a total of four more than most teams with 18-game league schedules play. So, the average of a little more than eight home games isn’t all that impressive for a 15- or 17-game non-league slate, even if it ranks 14th out of 25 mid-major leagues.

The geographic isolation of the Summit’s more northern members and the relative lack of Division I teams west of the Mississippi means this conference’s teams need to both travel considerable distances and schedule non-Division II foes to fill their sizable November and December slates. The Summit ranks third among the mid-majors in terms of non-D1 games, though its total of 27 pales in comparison to the Southland’s 45.

Of course, it would help if the four conferences that share the Summit’s footprint would schedule its members more consistently. The top four Division I leagues on this list—all with teams that are relatively close some of the eight in the Summit League— play a total of 34 games against its members. That’s just seven fewer than number of contests scheduled against teams from outside of Division I. And that total includes home-and-home series between NDSU and North Dakota and Omaha’s pair against Drake and Montana State!

Even when you break teams out by ranking, games against non-Division I foes stand out, though a total of 32 games against the bottom 100 of Division I is just as worrisome from a rankings and seedings perspective.

The fact the Summit ranks 15th in neutral-site games scheduled keeps the league from being ranked equally in terms of home and away games—and from being smack dab in the middle of D1 in both categories.

Team-By-Team Breakdown

Teams are listed in order of their Average Schedule Strength National Ranking. Numbers in parentheses are opponent’s Team Score Ranking. Logos via SportsLogos.net.

59. South Dakota State Jackrabbits

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 2 wins (UMKC, @Drake) and 3 losses (@UC Irvine, UC Irvine (N), @Wichita State)

Even with T.J. Otzelberger taking over for Scott Nagy at the beginning of last season, the beat goes on for the Jackrabbits, who pulled it together late to reach a second consecutive NCAA Tournament, albeit as a 16 seed, not the 12 seed earned in 2016. And considering this schedule—particularly the trip to the Cincinnati and Iowa-anchored Cayman Islands Classic and those road games against Kansas and Wichita State—it might be a similar story this season.

61. Omaha Mavericks

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 2 wins (@UC Santa Barbara, Montana State) and 0 losses

The Mavericks, who came tantalizingly close to earning their first NCAA bid last March, have one of the more intriguing schedules out there. Not only does Omaha travel to the Florida Panhandle for the Emerald Coast Classic and to six national brands, the Mavericks join NDSU in having two non-conference home-and-home series on their respective plates. Okay, it’s really one-and-a-half for Derrin Hansen’s squad, since the first leg of the Montana State series is in Great Falls, not Bozeman. Still, that’s the type of creativity more teams in the mid-major ranks might need to use when building schedules in the future, particularly if 20-game power league slates become the norm.

62. Oral Roberts Golden Eagles

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 1 win (Little Rock) and 4 losses (Montana (N), Tulsa, @Oakland, @Missouri State)

For the first time since 1999, Scott Sutton won’t be pacing the Golden Eagles’ sideline, and new head coach Paul Mills will attempt to rebuild a program that’s coming off a pair of losing seasons. But don’t expect much improvement with this slate. The two Division I teams visiting the Mabee Center this fall are serious threats to reach in the NCAAs as their respective conferences’ auto bid winners and there are six power conference road games too (and a trip to ASUN power FGCU). And then there’s a tricky trip to Malibu for the Pepperdine-hosted Legends Classic subregional.

196. Fort Wayne Mastodons

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 5 wins (Indiana, Miami (Ohio), Stetson, Detroit Mercy, Olivet) and 0 losses

While Mastodon fans might wish their squad had joined IUPUI in shifting to the more geographically-convenient Horizon League, Fort Wayne is still in a decent geographic position for November and December scheduling. However, Jon Coffman still needed to line up games against three non-D1 squads and to sign up for a non-exempt tournament in New Orleans to fill this season’s slate.

Three (possible future rival?) Horizon squads feature on this slate, as do road trips to both Kentucky and Indiana, a squad Fort Wayne famously defeated last season.

208. North Dakota State Bison

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 3 wins (@North Dakota) and 1 loss (@Missouri State, North Dakota)

Like Fort Wayne, the Bison have a December non-exempt tournament on tap, as they’ll head to El Paso for the Sun Bowl Classic, which could provide a pair of decent tests provided NDSU defeats UNCW in the semifinals. The customary home-and-home with North Dakota serves as a preview of next season’s Summit slate—particularly since the two games will be spread out over a longer period than the nine-day span of 2016’s series. (The Bison will also play the Missouri State twice.) However, NDSU will rack up the miles to play its more noteworthy non-league foes: Pac-12 Final Four contenders USC and Arizona and possible SEC at-large threat Mississippi State.

209. Western Illinois Leathernecks

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 2 wins (Oak Hills Christian, Milwaukee) and 4 losses (@Eastern Illinois, @Miami (Ohio), @American, Eastern Illinois)

Billy Wright enters his fourth season in charge with many questions to still answer, as only ORU’s collapse prevented the Leathernecks from a third consecutive basement finish. So, you can understand why WIU’s slate—featuring just 13 games, with nine at home and four of those against non-D1 foes—might appear underwhelming. Yes, there are road trips to Iowa State and Butler, but other than those two contests, there’s not much here for the Leathernecks to truly fear.

242. South Dakota Coyotes

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 2 wins (@Drake, Bowling Green) and 1 loss (@UMKC)

The 2017 Summit regular season champs get to stick closer to home than most of their league rivals this November and December, thanks to three very winnable games in Sioux Falls for the Sanford Pentagon Showcase. Given the weakness of the home slate and the fact that only three of the seven road games look out of reach, the Coyotes should have double-digit wins heading into league play.

275. Denver Pioneers

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 3 wins (@San José State, @Air Force, Northern Colorado) and 1 loss (@Wyoming)

Given Denver’s position on the edge of the Rockies, the Pioneers have a bit more luck in scheduling non-conference games than many of their Summit rivals. Yes, two non-D1 teams visit Magness Arena, but so do three Mountain West squads. Rodney Billups’s squad also heads to Florida for three games as part of FGCU‘s round-robin and to a pair of Pac-12 squads in Stanford and Front Range rival Colorado.

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