NCAA Baseball Tournament Thread

[boomstick 1,315]

9 hours ago, Brad_ATX said:

Well NC State is the 16 seed, meaning the lowest ranked regional host.  We actually got a better draw than South Carolina in that regard.

As for LSU, by rule you can't put multiple SEC teams in the same regional.  When you have as many teams as we did make the tourney, somebody's gonna have to travel.

Kentucky is debatable.  Good series wins this year, but they also went 13-17 while playing in the weaker division of the SEC (still tough though).  Committee values conference record.

LSU is probably the best candidate of the traveling SEC schools to make a long trip like that. Their fans will go regardless of the distance. My thing with Kentucky is the committee valued conference records this year, but that hasn't been the case in past years. Auburn got into the tournament in 2015 with a 13-17 SEC record. And Kentucky's OOC body of work was really strong. 13-17 certainly isn't a good record and they have some bad series losses, but that shouldn't be the only criteria used to choose teams because it's so uneven. Saying Northeastern got in over Kentucky because they won their regular season isn't good enough IMO because NE probably doesn't win 8-9 games in the SEC this year.

I think the committee needs to lay down some hard, non-negotiable rules so teams know where they stand to help eliminate some of the debate. Whether it be a conference record standard similar to bowl games or a weighted scale on conference records based on strength of the conference or the committee releasing a preliminary field or talking about their primary foucses on a particular year, I think something needs to be done so that the goal posts aren't moving every year and teams have a clearer picture of where they stand. 

[AU64 10,122]

53 minutes ago, boomstick said:

LSU is probably the best candidate of the traveling SEC schools to make a long trip like that. Their fans will go regardless of the distance. My thing with Kentucky is the committee valued conference records this year, but that hasn't been the case in past years. Auburn got into the tournament in 2015 with a 13-17 SEC record. And Kentucky's OOC body of work was really strong. 13-17 certainly isn't a good record and they have some bad series losses, but that shouldn't be the only criteria used to choose teams because it's so uneven. Saying Northeastern got in over Kentucky because they won their regular season isn't good enough IMO because NE probably doesn't win 8-9 games in the SEC this year.

I think the committee needs to lay down some hard, non-negotiable rules so teams know where they stand to help eliminate some of the debate. Whether it be a conference record standard similar to bowl games or a weighted scale on conference records based on strength of the conference or the committee releasing a preliminary field or talking about their primary foucses on a particular year, I think something needs to be done so that the goal posts aren't moving every year and teams have a clearer picture of where they stand. 

The problem is...it is a committee....and lots of voices are going to be heard and lots of constituencies are going to be considered....so like in basket and even in the football playoffs, there is not going to be agreement.     And the make-up of the committees change which  can make a difference ...who has the dominant voices, etc. 

Just seems that many of us have come to believe that "baseball is different"  but in reality, the system is pretty much the same with a bunch of automatic bids who would not be there otherwise and then the ranked teams.   And the same arguments are made when deciding who plays where.  The rule to spread teams out works and prevents a bunch of SEC or ACC teams from eliminating each other in the regionals......which is probably how we ended up playing Clemson out in California in basketball.   LSU looked like the last in ...so seems to me that it was appropriate for them to do the traveling.   And if you don't take geography into account, you have a lot of games played in front of an empty park...or where distant teams have no fan support.   Below RPI 30-35 or so, I doubt there is much difference in the strength of most teams and the automatic teams so just scatter them around where they are close to home with an easy bus trip home after a couple days.  

All in all, I thought the first round looks pretty good and only a few teams had cross country trips to take other than some of the higher seeds who were moved to create some balance.  JMO but looks like every site this weekend has 2 good teams, one possible threat and one team who will be gone after two games. 

Looking forward to it and trying to figure out how many games I can watch at one time 

[AuburnTaco 11]

20 hours ago, JaegerWolf said:

Hi. NC State fan here. I have 2 tickets for your game against Northeastern Friday. 1 adult and 1 youth (under 17). You can have them for face value + $5. (only because I had to pay service fees and tax). Total would be $30. I live in Rolesville so I could meet you somewhere. 

BTW, if any of y'all want to discuss the regional, here is the NC State board. 

https://247sports.com/college/north-carolina-state/Board/PackPride-Sports-103752

 

Always liked Auburn. I work with some Auburn grads. It seems our schools are pretty similar. Pull hard for them every year in the Iron Bowl. Y'all's relationship with Bama is similar to ours with the Tarholes.

Hey Man!  By any chance do you have two adult tickets, or could I bring an adult on the youth ticket? I am in need of two adult tickets.  Thanks checking with me and let me know what you got!

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

16 hours ago, AU64 said:

agree...one grand daughter over there and probably another on the way next year....couldn't get them to consider AU because of the distance.....hope NCSU does well except when they play us...

I wanted NC State in the SEC instead of Mizzou ...and I still think Mizzou is an uncomfortable fit. NC State would've been a lot more fun and probably more competitive.

[JaegerWolf 22]

2 hours ago, AuburnTaco said:

Hey Man!  By any chance do you have two adult tickets, or could I bring an adult on the youth ticket? I am in need of two adult tickets.  Thanks checking with me and let me know what you got!

You're in luck. Just talked to my buddy at work who was looking to sell his 2 adult tickets. They're better seats than mine. Section Nine. He'll take $35 for the two. Just let me know. I can meet you somewhere in WF. I'm new to your message board, I don't see any kind of private message feature, but I might be just missing it.

[JaegerWolf 22]

59 minutes ago, Tigerbelle said:

I wanted NC State in the SEC instead of Mizzou ...and I still think Mizzou is an uncomfortable fit. NC State would've been a lot more fun and probably more competitive.

 

Trust me, the vast majority of Wolfpack fans wanted to exit the ACC for the SEC. The rest of the country has no idea what it's like to be under the thumb of a UNC-CHeat dominated Board of Governors, in a state dominated by UNC-CHeat lawyers and UNC-CHeat journalism grads. The ACC office is nothing but a UNC-CHeat good ol' boys club. 

[JaegerWolf 22]

Thought I would pass along a post that was made on our board regarding our 2 teams. Figured it might be of interest to some of you.

 

Comparison of some of the stats between NC State and Auburn as the #1 and #2 seeds in the regional

BA.....Pack .288......Auburn .278 
HR....Pack 81.....Auburn 66 
2B.....Pack 82.....Auburn 111 
3B.....Pack 16.....Auburn 3 
SB.....Pack 63.....Auburn 45 
Runs per game.....Pack 6.98.....Auburn 7.00 
Hits per game.....Pack 9.77.....Auburn 9.30 
Runs Allowed.....Pack 4.38.....Auburn 4.57 
ERA....Pack 3.63....Auburn 4.15 
Fielding Pct.....Pack .971....Auburn .975 
Errors....Pack 60.....Auburn 54

Pack W/L at home is 27-9.....Auburn W/L on the road is 7-13

All is all it just looks like two very evenly matched teams in most areas. We both have five players with double figure HR's. Brown as our top pitcher has thrown 89.2 innings in 15 starts with a 6-2 record and a 2.17 ERA with 26BB and 90K.....Mize as their top pitcher has thrown 102.2 innings in 15 starts with a 9-5 record and a 3.07 ERA with 10BB and 140K. The thing about Mize that really jumps out is his 14:1 K to BB ratio....that is very impressive.

 

After this post someone else pointed out y'all's SOS was #11 and ours was only #42, so some of those numbers might be skewed.

[AuburnTaco 11]

45 minutes ago, JaegerWolf said:

You're in luck. Just talked to my buddy at work who was looking to sell his 2 adult tickets. They're better seats than mine. Section Nine. He'll take $35 for the two. Just let me know. I can meet you somewhere in WF. I'm new to your message board, I don't see any kind of private message feature, but I might be just missing it.

Ill take them.  I just sent you a private message.  If you look at the top of the screen you will see an envelope and that is where you can read messages and send private ones.  Let me know if you are having trouble finding it.  Thanks again

[boomstick 1,315]

7 hours ago, JaegerWolf said:

Thought I would pass along a post that was made on our board regarding our 2 teams. Figured it might be of interest to some of you.

 

Comparison of some of the stats between NC State and Auburn as the #1 and #2 seeds in the regional

BA.....Pack .288......Auburn .278 
HR....Pack 81.....Auburn 66 
2B.....Pack 82.....Auburn 111 
3B.....Pack 16.....Auburn 3 
SB.....Pack 63.....Auburn 45 
Runs per game.....Pack 6.98.....Auburn 7.00 
Hits per game.....Pack 9.77.....Auburn 9.30 
Runs Allowed.....Pack 4.38.....Auburn 4.57 
ERA....Pack 3.63....Auburn 4.15 
Fielding Pct.....Pack .971....Auburn .975 
Errors....Pack 60.....Auburn 54

Pack W/L at home is 27-9.....Auburn W/L on the road is 7-13

All is all it just looks like two very evenly matched teams in most areas. We both have five players with double figure HR's. Brown as our top pitcher has thrown 89.2 innings in 15 starts with a 6-2 record and a 2.17 ERA with 26BB and 90K.....Mize as their top pitcher has thrown 102.2 innings in 15 starts with a 9-5 record and a 3.07 ERA with 10BB and 140K. The thing about Mize that really jumps out is his 14:1 K to BB ratio....that is very impressive.

 

After this post someone else pointed out y'all's SOS was #11 and ours was only #42, so some of those numbers might be skewed.

Good stuff. Looks like we’re starting Burns on Friday and throwing Mize Saturday. Do you think Avent holds Brown for Saturday and throws Johnson Friday against Army?

[AU64 10,122]

Considering recent performances I am not sure it matters what the pitching order is for AU.     Both front line AU starters have been OK...just need the hitting to return.

[JaegerWolf 22]

8 hours ago, boomstick said:

Good stuff. Looks like we’re starting Burns on Friday and throwing Mize Saturday. Do you think Avent holds Brown for Saturday and throws Johnson Friday against Army?

 

I'm pretty certain that will be the plan. But Avent is known around these parts as the Evil Genius, so nothing would surprise me. If we can't beat Army with our #2 starter, we're not going very far anyway.

[boomstick 1,315]

1 hour ago, JaegerWolf said:

 

I'm pretty certain that will be the plan. But Avent is known around these parts as the Evil Genius, so nothing would surprise me. If we can't beat Army with our #2 starter, we're not going very far anyway.

Kinda how I feel too. Taking nothing away from Northeastern, but if Burns can’t beat the Huskies, our regional trip will be short lived. 

[NCSURedskin 13]

Another Pack fan dropping in! Hope you guys enjoy Raleigh, hoping we can pull it out, but I have never had any issues with Auburn, so if y'all do get the best of us this weekend, hope y'all go to Florida and beat them! Make sure you try Char Girll and if you like good italian go to Amedeo's on Western(it's not far at all from the stadium).  

[boomstick 1,315]

57 minutes ago, NCSURedskin said:

Another Pack fan dropping in! Hope you guys enjoy Raleigh, hoping we can pull it out, but I have never had any issues with Auburn, so if y'all do get the best of us this weekend, hope y'all go to Florida and beat them! Make sure you try Char Girll and if you like good italian go to Amedeo's on Western(it's not far at all from the stadium).  

I've had to travel to Raleigh several times the last 2-3 years for work. Usually stay in NE Raleigh because my work takes me to Knightdale when I'm there. I've really enjoyed my trips there. Fun place to visit.

[ellitor 33,079]

3 hours ago, AU64 said:

Considering recent performances I am not sure it matters what the pitching order is for AU.     Both front line AU starters have been OK...just need the hitting to return.

I love Casey but a 6.75 ERA in his last 3 starts is nowhere near ok. That said, I believe in him & would put him against our stiffest competition.

[ellitor 33,079]

On 5/30/2018 at 9:18 AM, boomstick said:

I think something needs to be done so that the goal posts aren't moving every year and teams have a clearer picture of where they stand. 

Kind of hard to do.in a good number of cases when comparing resumes its like apples to oranges because of the vast numbers of teams & conferences. There's not that much overlap in most resumes to do a true comparison.

[mustache eagle 2,397]

Then, in theory, the RPI should have the greatest influence on the tournament ... and we should have a host spot.

i like our regional but my biggest concern is our away record 

[boomstick 1,315]

4 minutes ago, ellitor said:

Kind of hard to do.in a good number of cases when comparing resumes its like apples to oranges because of the vast numbers of teams & conferences. There's not that much overlap in most resumes to do a true comparison.

I don't think it would be easy, but there has to be a more equal way to compare unequal resumes. Comparing conference records of bubble teams as a heavily considered metric doesn't fly for me. I have no problem with Northeastern or Troy getting in, but to not put Kentucky into the field with their resume says to me something is broken about the selections. Their resume was too good not to be one of the 33 at-large berths.

[ellitor 33,079]

1 minute ago, mustache eagle said:

hen, in theory, the RPI should have the greatest influence on the tournament

It does but the raw number rank is not the end-all-be-all. There are strengths & weaknesses within every resumes & some categories within the RPI simply matter more in most cases such as road work & record versus top competition as it should.

[boomstick 1,315]

5 minutes ago, mustache eagle said:

Then, in theory, the RPI should have the greatest influence on the tournament ... and we should have a host spot.

i like our regional but my biggest concern is our away record 

I don't have a problem with us not hosting. I thought we had a strong resume, but a few others did as well. Our RPI ended up being 14th, which isn't far from NC State or Coastal. I just have a problem with Tanner saying Kentucky's conference record was the their biggest downfall. It seems way too short-sighted.

[ellitor 33,079]

12 minutes ago, boomstick said:

Comparing conference records of bubble teams as a heavily considered metric doesn't fly for me.

Totally agree. Given the unequal balance of most conference schedules it shouldn't matter as much as it does. For example, Us finishing 7th in the SEC, 3 spots away from the last SEC team that got a host, I think played a big factor in us not getting to host.

12 minutes ago, boomstick said:

to not put Kentucky into the field with their resume says to me something is broken about the selections. Their resume was too good not to be one of the 33 at-large berths.

Unfortunately the NCAA committee has been consistent here though. SEC teams only winning 13 games & finishing outside the RPI top 25 have always missed the NCAA Tourney. I agree though that it's lazy thinking by the committee.

 

[boomstick 1,315]

2 minutes ago, ellitor said:

Totally agree. Given the unequal balance of most conference schedules it should matter as much as it does. For example, Us finishing 7th in the SEC, 3 spots away from the last SEC team that got a host, I think played a big factor in us not getting to host.

Unfortunately the NCAA committee has been consistent here though. SEC teams only winning 13 games & finishing outside the RPI top 25 have always missed the NCAA Tourney. I agree though that it's lazy thinking by the committee.

 

For me, if Tanner had said Kentucky didn’t get in because they went 0-4 in the last four SEC games and didn’t do enough down the stretch to get in, I’d be all on board. I think it’s just the way Tanner gave his reason for them not getting in that irks me. 

[ellitor 33,079]

11 minutes ago, boomstick said:

For me, if Tanner had said Kentucky didn’t get in because they went 0-4 in the last four SEC games and didn’t do enough down the stretch to get in, I’d be all on board. I think it’s just the way Tanner gave his reason for them not getting in that irks me. 

Agreed. It was a lazy explanation.

[JaegerWolf 22]

13 hours ago, boomstick said:

Good stuff. Looks like we’re starting Burns on Friday and throwing Mize Saturday. Do you think Avent holds Brown for Saturday and throws Johnson Friday against Army?

 

 

Question answered.

 

[AuburnTaco 11]

3 hours ago, NCSURedskin said:

Another Pack fan dropping in! Hope you guys enjoy Raleigh, hoping we can pull it out, but I have never had any issues with Auburn, so if y'all do get the best of us this weekend, hope y'all go to Florida and beat them! Make sure you try Char Girll and if you like good italian go to Amedeo's on Western(it's not far at all from the stadium).  

I am an Auburn fan living in the Triangle and I second the Chargrill recommendation, or if you want good food for real cheap then go to Cookout.