There's a slight downgrade in the schedule during conference play, but not much of one. We still have UL, UC, UConn, throw in the arrival of Memphis and Temple, and it's still a tough conference slate. The non-conference portion looks to be strong also with Alabama, OK State, Miss State, UNLV (hopefully) and FGCU (we'll see how they are this year.
I actually think this is one of the best schedules we've had. Much like the Big East, there won't be a night off in conference play, but I don't think it will be a grueling. I think that will benefit the old Big East teams this year over the CUSA arrivals. Many of those teams knew they had an easier match against the likes of UTEP or ECU; you won't get away with that even with Rutgers or Houston.
The x-factor though will be how the officiating will call the games. Will they allow a more Big East style, banging down low? Or do we get a more finesse style, more ACC like? I hope it's the former.
Anyhow, to the original point, this is a good schedule for USF. It gives us a fair balance of cupcakes and solid games to build a resume for March. Plus, I'm so glad we get to play all the conference teams twice, so it's a balanced schedule.