2009-2010 schedule released

finally. now we know which low-major teams NU will (hopefully) beat up on in December before falling apart down the stretch. since we already knew about the ACC Challenge game at NC State as well as the ND matchup in the Chicago Invitational, there aren't many surprises. even the Butler and Stanford home games were expected since they're return games from last season. aside from that, the schedule doesn't have much meat to it.

i haven't taken a close look at the numbers for those teams, but i'm concerned about the lack of away games. NC State is the only true road game out of conference (and one of just nine overall), so if this team is hoping to get an at-large bid, i don't see how that can help the RPI. NUsports.com is going the other way, i suppose in an effort to sell tickets, and is promoting this schedule with "a school-record 20 games" ...as if that is some kind of actual record.

i also think it would have been cool if the athletic department had used some creativity in releasing the schedule. that might have created a bit more buzz.