Baseball SEC Tournament bracket & discussion

LSU losses a boatload of top guys last year and struggles early on in the season, including losing a series to the Gators but here they are playing for the SECT Championship. There is something that is undefinable on a team (grit?) that makes a difference when you start slow but figure it out and finish in a flash as LSU has it (and while we’re at it Vandy) and here we are Gators’ fans waiting to see if we get in the Dance. If you don’t show up, compete and play your way in… and have to wait for a Selection Committee….

 

UTK beats Vandy. Oh, Hosanna, it's the lesser of two evils!

I hope UTK beats LSU in the championship. The game has no implication on our Gators. I only hate UTK's coach, but despise the whole state of Louisiana.

 

They made it.

 

LSU has a legit NIL plus for whatever reason them (and Tennessee) are able to recruit way more across the whole country. We have 80-90% instate guys which ultimately isn't a bad thing. I'd take a long look at how Tennessee's players seem to improve a ton from freshman to junior year while too many of our guys plateau or get worse when opponents figure out weaknesses.

 

There have been several references to D1Baseball as a reliable source for info on the Regionals. I read D1B regularly and believe they are a pretty solid resource. I think they are accurate on predicting the field- they typically miss on 2-3 at large bids, but that's typically on bubble teams. On the other hand, they have a much weaker record on predicting which teams are placed in which Regional. NCAA has a policy on sending teams to the closest Regional that they regularly follow- EXCEPT FOR WHEN THEY DON'T USE IT. Gators play noles more often than they play any SEC team- that will be true even more often after expansion. There is a good chance Gators end up in Tally, but a somewhat smaller chance they travel farther, maybe much farther.

Something from D1B that is mostly missed on this board is their explanation of how they- and the NCAA committee- rank potential at large teams. While making it clear that the relatively poor record is an important consideration, they also point out objective and subjective reasons that the Gators are in. Records matter, but less than the aggregate of other criteria. Many Gator fans are over-the-top mad that there have been so damn many losses- no one is pleased with the record. But Regional bids don't take into consideration complaints from fans, bids are awarded to eligible teams that have performed at the highest level. Highest level generally is based on who teams played and who they beat. Every year, several conferences have teams that have great records achieved against relatively weaker opponents. If those teams don't earn the conference's bid- in almost all conferences, that means a tournament win- that means the good team get no bid. For example Columbia- a team swept by the Gators- won the Ivy regular season by a big margin, but lost in the tournament. No bid, in spite of a better record than the Gators (26-15, 17-4). Several other teams up for at large bids have better conference and overall records, but they played much weaker opponents. The committee uses data built on the quality of opponents, including data based rankings- RPI and KPI. Using the same data, DIB ranks Gators above seven other teams they predict get in. There have been plenty of posts that Gators don't deserve a bid, apparently based on the posters' anger over the losses, rather than on actual bid criteria. I highly doubt the Gators will advance, they might go two and BBQ, but they earned a bid based on the official criteria for getting one.

 

Probably one of the best posts I’ve read in a long time. You are right, you can’t get caught up in 28 and 27 record.
I actually think this team could be very tough to be if we put Cags on the mount first and not wait to be down a game. The logic for holding him back always puzzled me. I have to think if we get in Sully has to be aggressive and pitch Cags- Clemente- Jamison and then Liam- Cade- Neely game 2. Obviously, obviously this is a perfect world world, and we are doing well in the first game to pitch Jake and Jameson. I don’t think this team is made to get deep pitching wise, so our best bet is to go out with our best from the very start and try to win the game one and that’s Cags.

 

Here we go again. LOL.

 

Since back from injury (last 3 series) I would argue Peterson has been UF's best starter

 

The Vols really don't have a ton of in state talent so have to go out of state to recruit. I can recall when they had a pipeline to SFla when Delmonico was there. Vitello seems to be doing a good job of that , is a good coach and has made the Vols into a serious contender.

As for their players improving more, that seems rather subjective to me. Maybe this will be their year, but so far Vitellos best team didn't even makes the cws and the two times they have made it to Omaha they were early exits.

 

This

 

Seems like this thread praising LSU at Florida's expense didn't age all that well.

Paraphrasing comments above "what matters is how you finish" and LSU is finished for the season while the Gators play on.