How Kentucky Baseball's resumé compares to the rest of the bubble

Kentucky Baseball has made its case as to why it should sneak into the NCAA Tournament field of 64 after a gritty showing down in Hoover, AL the last several days.

The run to the semifinals was ended in brutal fashion, as No. 1 Tennessee piled it on late with a four-run eighth inning and a six-run ninth, winning 12-2 early Sunday morning.

Even still, UK notched three wins in the SEC Tournament, making the massive final push to fight for a spot in the final field. The Wildcats knew they needed more than just one win this weekend, and they did more than deliver.

In the eyes of D1Baseball, however, it still likely won’t be enough for the ‘Cats to go dancing. The site’s tournament projections entering May 29 have Kentucky outside of the first four out. So it begs the question, how does the ‘Cats resumé stack up against its fellow bubble mates, and will they hear their name called on Monday afternoon?

Who’s in front?

The last four in and first four out currently stand as follows, according to D1Baseball:

LAST FOUR IN

61. UTSA

62. Liberty

63. Dallas Baptist

64. Old Dominion

FIRST FOUR OUT

65. Grand Canyon

66. West Virginia

67. Alabama

68. Ole Miss

With two fellow SEC teams in front of the Wildcats, a bid seems unlikely. The big kicker in the bubble talk over the course of the SEC Tournament has been the dreaded RPI.

Kentucky’s RPI of 52 is worse than the eight teams listed above, though it’s just one spot worse than West Virginia and two worse than Grand Canyon.

Dallas Baptist feels clear at the 63rd spot, as the Patriots hold the 22nd best RPI, thanks to a 34-22-1 record with six Top-25 wins, including one over No. 9 Oklahoma State and a pair over TCU.

From there, it gets iffy, and the ranking of teams 64-68 seems a bit off.

Comparing resumés

Old Dominion sits 10 RPI spots higher than UK, and the 41-19 record would normally dictate so. The Monarchs do own three Top-25 wins, defeating Southern Miss twice and Virginia once. ODU holds a 19-11 record in C-USA play, losing three series along the way.

Though the competition was much weaker, it appears as though taking care of business may be enough for ODU to make the tournament.

Despite currently being ranked No. 25, Grand Canyon is listed as the first team out entering Sunday. The Antelopes hold a 41-19 record, crushing the WAC, winning 25 of 30 conference games. GCU has defeated five Top 25 opponents five times, including Oregon State and Stanford.

Two series losses to Nevada and UC Irvine hurt a bit, but the resumé feels better than some of the other teams on the bubble.

West Virginia’s story resembles UK a bit, in that the strength of schedule may cost the Mountaineers from reaching the tournament. WVU is 33-22 (14-10 Big 12) but has just a 12-12 record on the road. A series loss to Big South champs Campbell is a blemish on the non-conference front.

The SEC rounding out the first four out

Alabama sits ahead of Ole Miss despite having a worse record in and out of conference, as well as a lower RPI. The Crimson Tide’s 31-27 (12-17 SEC) record is nearly identical to Kentucky (33-26, 12-18 SEC) while their RPI sits at 49.

The Rebels’ RPI of 40 is one of the many things that appears better than Alabama. Ole Miss is 32-22 (14-16 SEC) and fared better against conference foes this campaign. Bama went 7-14 on the road, winning just two SEC series along the way. The only kicker is head-to-head play. When Alabama and Ole Miss squared off in Oxford back in April, it was the Tide who came away with all three wins.

Ole Miss does own a sweep of LSU in Baton Rouge, but it seems as though those three losses to Bama could be the difference between getting in the tournament or not.

Where does UK fit?

In comes Kentucky. A 7-13 record on the road and a few midweek stumbles against some subpar competition has led the Wildcats to this point. UK has just three SEC series wins, but boy are they big. The ‘Cats held serve at home against tournament teams Georgia, Tennessee and Auburn. Toss in the SEC Tournament run and it feels hard to keep UK on the outside looking in.

The resumé may not be as impressive as others, but the heart and fight that head coach Nick Mingione’s team showed over the final month of the season is that of a team prepared to play in the field of 64.

Kentucky now has to lay in the bed that it made, and there can’t be too much surprise if it doesn’t make it into the big dance. Regardless, what a final push it was to run deep in the SEC Tourney and possibly end the year on somewhat of a high note.

The selection show is set to begin at noon on Monday, May 30 on ESPN2.