A potential National Seed scenario that concerns me ...

[GoneGolfin]

I agree but it's hard to make sense when looking at a lot of the decisions made when it comes to this. If we had a bigger stadium we could eliminate one of the two things dogging us.

Irrelevant.

Brian

[jllanclos]

As it stands right now ... absolutely. Why would they not be considered? They are right in the thick of it ... especially with an RPI rank of #4. We need that RPI to drop. I thought it was strange that Baseball America thought that Indiana's RPI would drop them out of contention due to their remaining schedule (a couple of weeks back). But like most, they seemed to only be looking at the RPI ranking of the remaining teams ... and made assumptions.

Recall that Indiana was not awarded a national seed last year (but a #1 seed). They proved themselves by going into Tallahassee winning the super regional vs. Florida State ... winning their CWS opener over Louisville. This season ...

- #4 RPI ranking
- A respectable 5-5 vs. the RPI Top 25 ... with a 6th win vs. #26 Washington ... with a game vs. #14 Louisville looming. Only (3) of these games were home games.
- A respectable Road record of 14-8.
- #27 SOS
- #16 Non-Conference RPI
- 1st place Big Ten (#11 Conference RPI ranking ... they keep trading places with the Sun Belt)
- 13-2 over their Last 15 games

Brian

Does it look like their RPI will drop?

[GoneGolfin]

If your RPI is already calculated using the RPI of your opponents, including your conference opponents... why then does the conference RPI factor into the national seeding? You already have the doubling and tripling up of RPI components in the RPI equation... and then after the RPI aligns everyone, they take into consideration the "conference RPI" to realign further?

There is plenty of redundancy in the selection process ... with RPI being the significant measuring stick that it is. This is but one of the flaws in the process.

That said, I think that a top seeded team coming from a strong conference provides further validation to the committee that awarding that top seed is the right thing to do. If you can win or place high in the strongest conferences (especially ones that historically produce national champions), it is a natural progression to consider that team as one of the top teams in the country. Are there boundary cases where this is not true ... certainly. It is entirely possible (though unlikely) for a conference to have the #1 RPI without a single team in the RPI Top 10 ... or possibly even Top 20. But to use an old adage ... nobody is going to get fired for awarding a national seed to the winner of one of the top conferences in the country.

Brian

[GoneGolfin]

Does it look like their RPI will drop?

You know the answer to that.

I will say that their remaining schedule is a bit more RPI friendly than that of the Cajuns.

Brian

[Just1More]

Does it look like their RPI will drop?

I just deducted .005 for that stupid show "Breaking Amish". That should help.

[jllanclos]

I just deducted .005 for that stupid show "Breaking Amish". That should help.

Thanks!

[GoneGolfin]

Fresno was a 4 seed in the Long Beach regional with a record of 37-27. They won that then went on to beat Arizona State in Tempe in the supers.

Correct. Not only was Fresno State a #4 seed in the 2008 Long Beach regional, they would not have made the field of 64 had they not won the WAC Tournament automatic NCAA bid. Despite winning the Rice-less WAC regular season, Fresno State was not in a position to receive an at-large bid with such a poor RPI (#89 ranking). Fresno State was also only 1-1 vs. the RPI Top 25, 1-4 vs. the RPI Top 50, and a paltry 7-13 vs. the RPI Top 100. I think this is the best NCAA cinderella story ever. Fresno State had some great teams in the late 70's, 80's, and 90's. But this is the one that broke through.

Additionally, they did it all without their ace (Tanner Scheppers) whom they lost in late April to injury. Scheppers is now a starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers.

Brian

[GoneGolfin]

Well played, well played.

I for one am not "overly" concerned about a national seed so long as we dont get screwed and are paired up against a top 3 seed for Supers.

i get playing at home for Supers, but whatever, it is what it is and 10th ranked RPI conference is a freaking joke.

Imagine where the Sun Belt would be ranked if not for the Cajuns' spectacular season.

Brian

[Just1More]

There is plenty of redundancy in the selection process ... with RPI being the significant measuring stick that it is. This is but one of the flaws in the process.

That said, I think that a top seeded team coming from a strong conference provides further validation to the committee that awarding that top seed is the right thing to do. If you can win or place high in the strongest conferences (especially ones that historically produce national champions), it is a natural progression to consider that team as one of the top teams in the country. Are there boundary cases where this is not true ... certainly. It is entirely possible (though unlikely) for a conference to have the #1 RPI without a single team in the RPI Top 10 ... or possibly even Top 20. But to use an old adage ... nobody is going to get fired for awarding a national seed to the winner of one of the top conferences in the country.

Brian

I don't (can't) disagree with a thing you said.

Besides the RPI redundancy, it's a lot easier to keep your conference near or on the podium if they're given quadruple the opportunity every single year. The process is not (easily) allowing the potential showcasing of new programs on the rise. I still believe too much redundancy exists in the reward side of the RPI.

Personally, I wish all postseason tournaments limited participation to a set number from each conference and made conference realignment arguments/strategy take on a whole new twist.

I do appreciate your answer, Brian

[Dad04]

Imagine where the Sun Belt would be ranked if not for the Cajuns' spectacular season.

Brian

A disturbing thought. Hopefully this year is an anomoly.