High Point coach Flynn Clayman knew he had an opportunity after the Panthers upset Wisconsin in the NCAA tournament. Based on his team’s signed games for next season, it seems he’s made the most of it.
Clayman said in March that the Panthers hadn’t been able to get matchups against high majors. So he’s gone out and scheduled ones that he could. The Panthers’ slate will be much stronger this year, featuring the likes of LSU, Washington State, Liberty, Saint Louis, George Mason and Miami-Ohio.
With two more decent games coming from a conference challenge with the Southern Conference, High Point will play at least eight contests that should be Quad 2 or better. And that sets up the Panthers to both earn their way into the NCAA tournament and make some noise if and when they get there.
What’s notable with High Point’s scheduling is that most of these aren’t against Power 6 schools. The only ones on there so far are LSU and Washington State, and the Cougars even agreed to come to High Point. Otherwise, High Point’s going the route of playing quality mid-majors who also don’t have an easy time getting games.
That’s smart scheduling on Clayman’s part. Here’s why it matters.
High Point’s Helping Itself and Its Opponents
The battles with Saint Louis and George Mason perfectly exemplify why this approach works. High Point’s finding the other teams who aren’t getting games and giving them one. This helps the Panthers in two ways. It impresses the selection committee, and it gives High Point fans something to look forward to watching.
George Mason and Saint Louis aren’t going to balk at coming to High Point. Both programs agreed to home-and-home series with the Panthers, with High Point traveling to Saint Louis this year and George Mason next season. That gives each school two years of a recognizable, competitive matchup against a program their fans know can play.
Fans want to see good opponents in their building. Now and then, High Point can convince a team like Washington State to make the trip, but that usually doesn’t happen. Most times, the mid-major has to travel, and its fans only get to see it on television. But when both are mid-majors, both are fine with traveling one year and hosting the other.
More importantly, a loss won’t hurt either school. Both are likely to be Quad 2 teams, which don’t really count against the squad who loses. That means they’re opportunities, and they’ll make both teams better in the long run, win or lose.
High Point’s Getting Creative
Agreeing to play Miami (OH) makes complete sense. It seems that the teams couldn’t make the dates work for a home-and-home, but a neutral-site game works too. Charleston, West Virginia sits almost equidistant between them, and several other sites could be a reasonable host to a one-time meeting.
That’s often how big-name programs get each other on the schedule. Duke did that last year with Michigan, playing the Wolverines in DC. A home-and-home would have been even better, but the neutral-site clash gave advantages to both teams, including experience against another formidable opponent.
High Point and Miami are in the same situation. Both can only benefit from a neutral site game, and it’s a creative way to add even more meat to the schedule. Both Clayman and Miami coach Travis Steele deserve credit for making it happen.
High Point’s Preparing For Expansion
This point might get overlooked: the expansion to 76 teams in March Madness necessitated a new approach. High Point had to do something like this to keep itself away from the play-in games.
The additional play-in games have changed the equation for both big and small schools alike. Better resumes will be necessary to impress the committee enough to keep a team out of play-in purgatory. For a college like High Point, it will be absolutely critical.
The Panthers will want to stay out of the play-ins, and that means winning enough to keep their seed. High Point isn’t taking chances with a subpar schedule, not with the deck stacked even more in favor of the big names.
High Point Charted Its Own Path
It’s been said before, but college basketball mid-majors do not have to operate entirely on the power conferences’ terms. This gives programs a legitimate counter when bigger schools refuse to schedule evenly matched opponents.
What makes this even better for the sport is how repeatable it is. If the heavyweights will not schedule you, find other strong mid-majors willing to do it and build a résumé that way.
High Point and Flynn Clayman recognized that reality. If the Panthers want national respect, they need strong opponents on the schedule. They accomplished that here.
Assuming these teams hold up their end competitively, High Point should benefit enormously from the experience. And if the Panthers can turn these games into long-term growth, the investment becomes even more valuable.
More importantly, success with this model could encourage other programs to follow it. Coaches and athletic departments are constantly searching for ways to improve postseason chances while also generating revenue and attention.
If High Point gets back to the NCAA tournament with this approach, it could become a blueprint for other mid-majors moving forward. It will not be easy, but the Panthers spent last season asking for an opportunity. Now they have one. What comes next is up to them.
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