Defend the Block: Hunter Describes Assembling of U-M's Non-Conference Slate
9/14/2021 11:48:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Features
On this week's edition of the "Defend the Block" podcast, director of basketball operations Chris Hunter, one of the busiest people around Michigan men's basketball, breaks down his important role in the creation of the Wolverines' recently released non-conference schedule. Hunter also discusses the situation around the regularly scheduled home-and-home series with Kentucky, his role and evolution as a member of this staff, and his early reviews of the Wolverines.
By Brian Boesch
Michigan men's basketball's regular-season schedule consists of two parts -- a 20-game Big Ten slate that was released last week, and a non-conference portion that fills most of the Wolverines' games during the first seven weeks of the season. While the Big Ten office handles the conference slate, the non-conference schedule is a complicated puzzle that Michigan's staff puts together.
Programs want to craft a non-conference schedule that looks favorable to the NCAA Tournament committee. They strive for the right balance of home games to road games, along with potential neutral-site challenges to prepare for the postseason. Also, they must navigate around holiday breaks, exam week, and other student-related challenges.
In other words, scheduling in college basketball can be quite the roller coaster. Michigan men's basketball is fortunate to have Chris Hunter, the team's director of basketball operations, in charge of the proceedings.
"(Non-conference scheduling) is always a bit of a process, and always a relief when you can have all those slots filled," Hunter said on this week's edition of the "Defend the Block" podcast.
Hunter works several years in advance, planning out a few of the known commodities before moving on to the rest of the schedule. For example, this season, Hunter blocked off the Wolverines' game within the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, which takes place the week after Thanksgiving. The Wolverines also had a return trip to Central Florida to complete a home-and-home deal that began last season in Ann Arbor. Michigan's presence in the Roman Main Event, a two-game tournament in Las Vegas from Nov. 19-21, had been set for quite some time, too.
From there, Hunter works with head coach Juwan Howard to determine dates that would fit, and opponents who could potentially fill those dates. Then, Hunter makes, and receives, a ton of phone calls.
"Sometimes, it just happens organically, and sometimes you gotta go out there and work and find teams that will fit your need in those dates that you want to play," Hunter said.
Sometimes, you get a curveball thrown at you, as well. Michigan was supposed to host Kentucky for a high-profile matchup at Crisler Center in early December. Hunter learned late in the process that the Wildcats would not be coming to Ann Arbor.
"(With) some challenges with their schedule and some of the priorities of their athletic department, they elected to kind of rework that home-and-home series and cancel that game," Hunter said. "It kind of sucked because that was a really marquee home game that our fans were looking forward to, (and) we were looking forward to, but we were very fortunate to be able to get an opponent like San Diego State to come in here and fill that slot."
Indeed, San Diego State will come to town on Dec. 4 for one of six non-conference home games. Michigan will play five non-conference games away from Ann Arbor, including the first Coaches vs. Racism game, pitting the Wolverines against Prairie View A&M, a Historically Black Colleges and Universities representative from Texas, on Nov. 13 in Washington, D.C. Hunter said that Coach Howard is open to new opportunities, and this will be a unique event that will serve several purposes.
"We want to tackle some things, get our guys some education, and then also put some light on what we wanted to talk about with racism, and then play an HBCU and give those guys an opportunity to get some light on their school," Hunter said. "We're looking at this as one of those things where it can grow into something that could be bigger."
Michigan crafted a non-conference schedule with the intent of becoming something bigger. If those first few weeks go the way that the Wolverines intend, then these 11 games will prepare the team for a repeat bid in the Big Ten, and even more come March and, potentially, April.
• MGoBlue Podcasts
