KELVIN SAMPSON: “THIS IS REALLY A BIG TIME, BIG TIME UNIVERSITY WITH A BIG TIME CAMPUS.”
“The thing about playing in exempt tournaments is you have exempt tournaments where you can play three games; and, you have exempt tournaments where you can play four games,” Sampson said. “The reason why we chose this tournament is because it’s a four game tournament. We get to play three games at home; and, we go to BYU. And, the reason why we chose to go to BYU this year is because BYU will come back to us next year.”
Coach Sampson says the Coogs will not schedule a non-conference opponent who will not agree to a home-and-home series.
“We don’t play anybody unless they play us home and home,” Coach Sampson said point blank. "This year, we have BYU on the road. We have Oklahoma State on the road; so, BYU and Oklahoma State will be at Fertitta Center next year. Last year, we went to LSU. They come back here this year. We went to Saint Louis. They come to us this year.
"Oregon was gracious enough – because of my relationship with Dana (Oregon Head Coach Dana Altman) – that they came here this year. We’ll go back to Oregon next year.
“Scheduling is something that we work on. Not a day or week goes by that we don’t stick our hand in the scheduling pie.”