Our one and done in the SEC Tournament probably sealed our fate as a traveling 2 seed, but as we discussed last week, this team plays well on the road and if we get a good draw, this is a team that can make OKC.
We are projected to head to Stanford (overall 6 seed), which is matched up with Texas A&M in the Super Regional round. That would not be terrible, except for the travel to the West Coast. Let's take a look at what the projected bracket looks like:
SEC Hosts
Obviously we will not be sent to any of the SEC hosts, so here is a look at them, projected seed in parenthesis.
(4) Florida
(7) LSU
(8) Tennessee
(9) Missouri
(11) Texas A&M
(12) Georgia
(13) Arkansas
(16) Alabama
8 SEC hosts. Although I think Alabama is certainly on the bubble as a host (I personally think Arizona gets the last host spot over them). Here's something cool. We played five of these teams and won a game from all of them, and won the series against Georgia and Arkansas.
So that leaves us 8 (possibly 9 if Alabama doesn't host) landing spots.
(1) Oklahoma
(2) Texas
(3) Duke
(5) UCLA
(6) Stanford
(10) Oklahoma State
(14) Florida State
(15) Louisiana
For winning a regional, Florida State and Louisiana are the best spots to land. We swept Louisiana in the regular season and FSU is certainly beatable. The problem with playing Louisiana is that you likely have a incredibly tough Super Regional against Oklahoma or Texas, which you want to avoid as regionals as well. You also want to avoid UCLA.
So the best possible landing spots are:
Duke
Stanford
Oklahoma State
Florida State
Duke has had a nice season at 40-6, but the ACC is not strong and they did not play a tough non-conference. They dropped a game against a terrible Louisville team and a series against Virginia, which we are better than. Even if Duke is a top 4 seed, this is not a terrible draw, especially if they are matched up against Georgia in a Super Regional.
Stanford, our projected home is 43-13 against the 11th toughest schedule in the nation. This is a tougher draw than the higher ranked Duke team, but not on the level of Texas/Oklahoma.
Oklahoma State is 44-10, and finished third behind OU and Texas in the Big 12. They are good, but the rest of the Big 12 is not. Other than Baylor, the rest of the Big 12 has RPIs outside the Top 40 and Iowa State is in the 90s. Iowa State won the series against OSU. This is my preferred spot because I think they could be matched up with Arkansas in a Super Regional.
Florida State is 43-14 and somewhat battle tested, but they were 7-9 in Quad 1 games. We were 19-15. We have won in Tallahassee before, but there's a chance FSU would not have a favorable Super Regional matchup.
We are projected to head to Stanford (overall 6 seed), which is matched up with Texas A&M in the Super Regional round. That would not be terrible, except for the travel to the West Coast. Let's take a look at what the projected bracket looks like:
SEC Hosts
Obviously we will not be sent to any of the SEC hosts, so here is a look at them, projected seed in parenthesis.
(4) Florida
(7) LSU
(8) Tennessee
(9) Missouri
(11) Texas A&M
(12) Georgia
(13) Arkansas
(16) Alabama
8 SEC hosts. Although I think Alabama is certainly on the bubble as a host (I personally think Arizona gets the last host spot over them). Here's something cool. We played five of these teams and won a game from all of them, and won the series against Georgia and Arkansas.
So that leaves us 8 (possibly 9 if Alabama doesn't host) landing spots.
(1) Oklahoma
(2) Texas
(3) Duke
(5) UCLA
(6) Stanford
(10) Oklahoma State
(14) Florida State
(15) Louisiana
For winning a regional, Florida State and Louisiana are the best spots to land. We swept Louisiana in the regular season and FSU is certainly beatable. The problem with playing Louisiana is that you likely have a incredibly tough Super Regional against Oklahoma or Texas, which you want to avoid as regionals as well. You also want to avoid UCLA.
So the best possible landing spots are:
Duke
Stanford
Oklahoma State
Florida State
Duke has had a nice season at 40-6, but the ACC is not strong and they did not play a tough non-conference. They dropped a game against a terrible Louisville team and a series against Virginia, which we are better than. Even if Duke is a top 4 seed, this is not a terrible draw, especially if they are matched up against Georgia in a Super Regional.
Stanford, our projected home is 43-13 against the 11th toughest schedule in the nation. This is a tougher draw than the higher ranked Duke team, but not on the level of Texas/Oklahoma.
Oklahoma State is 44-10, and finished third behind OU and Texas in the Big 12. They are good, but the rest of the Big 12 is not. Other than Baylor, the rest of the Big 12 has RPIs outside the Top 40 and Iowa State is in the 90s. Iowa State won the series against OSU. This is my preferred spot because I think they could be matched up with Arkansas in a Super Regional.
Florida State is 43-14 and somewhat battle tested, but they were 7-9 in Quad 1 games. We were 19-15. We have won in Tallahassee before, but there's a chance FSU would not have a favorable Super Regional matchup.
