When Josh Schertz found out he had inherited a schedule with only one opponent determined and 12 to find, he knew anything was possible for the 2024-25 St. Louis University nonconference season.
After deciding to play in a multi-team event in Florida, the event fell apart. So, Schertz lined up an MTE for Chaifetz Arena.
Power conference programs were not interested, so he scheduled numerous West Coast mid-major opponents.
And when options to complete the schedule fell through – several schools rejected buy-game offers at Chaifetz – SLU wrapped things up by scheduling two NAIA opponents in Avila and William Woods.
“We obviously studied it pretty in depth,†Schertz said. “We didn’t go into it with the intent to play two non-DI schools. That’s not something that will be a scenario every year. But when we looked at it, five of six Mountain West teams that made the (NCAA) tournament played two non D-Is. There’s a perception that it gives you no pathway to the tournament, and that’s obviously not correct.â€
People are also reading…
There was a preference to play non-Division I teams over opponents that might not be good for SLU’s NET ranking.
Among his examples from last season, San Diego State played Point Loma Nazarene and Saint Katherine and ended up No. 20 in the NET. Boise State played Vanguard and Western Oregon and finished No. 26. Utah State played South Dakota Mines and Northwest Nazarene and was No. 38.
Schertz contends that SLU will have least four Quad 1 and 2 games in the mix. He also believes the Atlantic 10 has given the Billikens home-and-home matchups against what could be four of the top teams in the conference.
With neutral court games against Santa Clara and Wichita State and road games against Illinois State, Grand Canyon and San Francisco, SLU will play two exhibitions to meet its 19-game requirement for Chaifetz Arena. Those games have not been finalized.
The home schedule now includes Avila, Loyola Marymount, Quinnipiac, UMass-Lowell, Jackson State, Chicago State, Wofford and Williams Woods.
“I think it’s a sneaky under-rated home schedule,†Schertz said. “Wofford will probably be picked to win the Southern Conference. UMass-Lowell could win its conference. Quinnipiac is coming off a 24-win season.â€
There were many things that worked against SLU’s scheduling.
Schertz thought for a time the Billikens were set to play in an MTE that included power conference opponents. The event isn’t happening. SLU had competition for buy games – those in which an opponent is paid to play on the road – and some didn’t work out.
Schertz is working on exhibition games, and even those now involve a new wrinkle. The NCAA in recent days announced that exhibition games between two D-I teams will be allowed if the purpose is to raise funds for a charity. SLU is researching possibilities.