RE: 2017 NCAA Baseball Tournament Thread
My take-aways from the bracket:
1. Somewhat surprised that Clemson got the host over UVA, but there are arguments to be made both ways. UVA had a very slight edge in the conference standings and finished well down the stretch. On the other hand, Clemson had a tougher schedule and a slightly better RPI. Head to head was a wash. I really thought that how Clemson finished down the stretch, coupled with UVA's "northern" geography (and so many postseason teams in that area: West Virginia, Maryland, Radford, ODU (had they made it) would have given the 'Hoos the nod, but either way there wasn't really a right and wrong answer.
2. As a sequel to the first point, UVA got SCREWED in their regional pairing, as did TCU. I mean, hot-dang, TCU the #5 seed drawing UVA and Dallas Baptist? That's one brutal tournament right there. I don't know what TCU and UVA did to tick off the selection committee, but they need to make amends before next year!
3. Miami's streak is officially over. There's a bit of bitter-sweetness to this for me. As an FSU fan, I'm happy because of the whole rivalry thing and the fact that FSU now takes over as having the longest active postseason streak in baseball. On the other hand, it's just another part of the FSU-Miami rivalry that seems to be a little bit less than it once was. My wife and her side of the family are all UM fans, so I know they're disappointed. For what it's worth, my side is all FSU (even though my parents are both from Miami, my father from Coral Gables in fact.) Back to baseball though, the committee made the right choice. After the bubble shrunk so much the past few days, there were was little doubt that they would be on the outside looking in. The committee had them first out, I actually figured them to be more like 3-4 out.
4. UCLA making the tournament is a little bit of a surprise, but I figured they'd get in because of geography and the fact that the Pac 12 only had 4 legitimate postseason teams.
5. I agree with JDGuacho, geography is a b****. I felt like the committee did a good job with what they could in terms of matchups, but it's always rough when you end up seeing the same teams over and over again. It's a difficult thing in baseball. Unlike basketball, there's not a boatload of money to be made in the tournament and transporting 30-40 players and staff, not to mention all their equipment across country is $$$$$$$$$. So really the NCAA is doing what they can. Still, I know the west coast teams always feel unfairly isolated and it's not a problem limited to just them. We in Florida have to deal with much the same thing, but due to the sheer number of teams here, rather than geographic isolation. In fact, going back the past regionals we've hosted, 75% of teams in our regional (not including us of course) have come from within a 5hr drive of Tallahassee! In fact, there's only been one year in that entire time that we haven't hosted some combination of Alabama, Auburn, Miss State, UCF, or Florida... and that one season we hosted Georgia. So the point is, geography is the primary driver when it comes where teams get sent, and that's probably how it should be due to cost. As a huge baseball fan who just wants to see new and interesting teams though, it really stinks and it especially stinks if you live in California or Florida, because that's where it's going to happen the most.
6. In the same vein, very pleased that FSU didn't get paired with Gainesville for the third year in a row. Stinks for Louisville and Kentucky fans. I like Texas Tech, but I'm hoping Arizona can pull off the upset and we can make it through our bracket so I can see the Wildcats for the first time in a long time.
7. Very impressed that the committee made Bethune-Cookman a 3-seed. They deserved to be a 3-seed based on their RPI, but I wasn't sure whether they'd do it. Maybe someone could do a bit of research, but I don't recall the last time an HBCU wasn't a 4-seed. If it's happened before, it probably was BCU that time as well, but I can't remember it ever happening. Good on them! That's one of those teams that annually makes it and is a threat to win a game or two in the regionals.
That's all I got for now, I'm sure I'll have more later!
|