D1Baseball Weekly Chat: May 24 • D1Baseball
It was a huge final weekend of the regular season and now we press on to conference tourneys. Aaron and Kendall take your questions.
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Questions related to Nebraska and Big Ten baseball copied below
TOAST: Serious question. At this point in the season, are your rankings based on their postseason position for seeding, or based on the actual 25 best teams in the country, in that order?
Aaron Fitt: They're really not based on postseason seeding, as you will see if you compare the projections with the Top 25. Just an obvious example, we've got Texas No. 2 in the rankings but still projected as he No. 3 national seed behind Vandy (although personally I argued this week that Texas should be the No. 2 national seed now that it has won the Big 12 regular season title). Anyway -- there are still certain "poll dynamics" at work in the Top 25 that are not factors in our postseason projections.
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Krey: Other than game #1 in the Regionals, what is the advantage of being a 2-seed over a 3-seed?
Aaron Fitt: Well that's it, it's just a matter of getting a more favorable matchup in the first game, theoretically at least. And also being the home team in that matchup.
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Jack Krauel: Who are the four pre-determined host sites that are not hosting in your opinion as of today?
Kendall Rogers: Jack -- I think Pittsburgh is very much off the board. No shot they host at this point. I would have Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech out but within striking distance, South Carolina very close, and Charlotte as the leader......for now. C-USA tourney and South Carolina's road in Hoover will matter here, IMO.
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Mike: Thoughts on Nebraska potentially getting a one seed?
Kendall Rogers: I don't think the Huskers get a one-seed at this point. I think if you see someone traveling as a one-seed, it would be someone like North Carolina State should it roll through the ACC Tournament. Nebraska, for me, will be a two-seed, and an incredibly difficult two-seed to face. My hope is that the Huskers get sent to one of the "easier" regionals.
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Brandon: How about the job Will Bolt is doing in Nebraska? He may have finally woken a sleeping giant in Lincoln, as I've always thought the Huskers had everything in place to be the premier Big Ten program. That team will be trouble wherever they end up going, though they seemed destined to go play against former coach Dave Van Horn in the Fayetteville regional. What are the odds of the Huskers somehow finding a way to beat the #1 team in the nation on their own turf?
Kendall Rogers: Brandon -- Will and his staff have done a great job. Will was a terrific, hard-nosed player, and he learned under two excellent coaches in Dave Van Horn and Rob Childress. So, it's no surprise to me that he was ready for this job. Did I expect NU to win the Big Ten this year? Not really. I'm happy for Will and his staff, especially Lance, whom I actually went to high school with. As for the regional pairings, I don't think the Huskers end up at the No. 1 national seed right now, so rest easy!
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FittsMagic: More RPI talk: is there a chance that RPI only gets used when the committee wants to provide reason for certain choices and ignore it in other sports?
Aaron Fitt: Feels about right! Nobody cherry-picks metrics to fit their narrative like the Division I Baseball Committee!
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Guest: Chance for Nebraska being a 1-seed in a remote Regional? Maybe in the Zags regional, or say Pittsburgh?
Aaron Fitt: Kendall kinda dismissed the chances for this earlier, but I'm not so sure. Nebraska's record in the Big Ten is really loud for me; it's a .725 winning percentage and a 3.5 game lead in the standings. What else can they really do? I think if they win that last series against Michigan, the Huskers have a real chance to be a 1-seed on the road (in Spokane or maybe Charlotte? But not Pitt. I don't think Pitt gets a home regional regardless.)
Kendall Rogers: I actually agree with Aaron on the idea of sending NU somewhere as a one seed -- just don't think the committee would do it. If Nebraska wins that Michigan series, I hope I'm wrong.
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