La Tech and Marshall impact

[ColoradoCajun]

Where is the game thread?

Just made one

[CrazyCajun]

Being awarded an “at large” bid is totally different than Boeing awarded a host site.

Of course it is, but it’s not the conference tournament yet. We have, our opponents have and their opponents have roughly 22 regular season games left. That’s a lot of equation left and winning %’s TBD before conference tournaments.

[MountainDew]

I’ve had mixed opinions about the RPI for years. On one hand, there are 300+ D1 schools that play baseball and I feel it is necessary to have a ranking system like this as a sort of baseline.

But we all know the RPI giveth and the RPI taketh away. This is one of those years where the RPI isn’t in our favor. Wright State was supposed to be a boost for us but that’s not the case. Tulane is meh. The Rice series is haunting us. I like the thought of playing Rice every year between Lafayette and Houston but we should stop until they can get back to a .500 record. Of course if we do what we should have done and win the series it’s not as bad.

We’re coming up on some better matchups the last few weeks of the season. Keep playing good ball and we’ll be ok. I think a host spot will likely be out of the question though.

[lcitsh]

Brian,

Several years ago, if I am remembering the events correctly, you and Michael Lotief met and discussed the fallacies in the softball rpi. You came up with improvements, presented them to the NFCA, the NFCA brought them to the NCAA and got the changes made. Would you be willing and able to get with Coach Deggs and see about doing the same thing for baseball?

[GoneGolfin]

Brian,

Several years ago, if I am remembering the events correctly, you and Michael Lotief met and discussed the fallacies in the softball rpi. You came up with improvements, presented them to the NFCA, the NFCA brought them to the NCAA and got the changes made. Would you be willing and able to get with Coach Deggs and see about doing the same thing for baseball?

Yes, the softball RPI recommendations were actually 12 years ago. But only one of the recommendations was adopted ... the recommendation to remove RPI bonuses for conference opponents (which did help ... and was a significant unfair advantage to the elite conferences). They were too reticent to rock the boat by making any further changes at that time. There were no further requests for information in subsequent years. In the 2014 season, the Cajuns finished with the #6 RPI ranking (selection time) ... but would have been #12 under the old system. The Cajuns hosted both regionals and super-regionals enroute to the WCWS.

If Deggs/baseball ever wanted advice on the matter, I would be happy to speak with them. But I think Deggs has better things to do than to lobby the NCAA for RPI changes. I think the best tact to take at this point in time is to game the heck out of a faulty system ... and if they change the system to account for this, so be it.

Brian

[cajundiehard]

Yes, the softball RPI recommendations were actually 12 years ago. But only one of the recommendations was adopted ... the recommendation to remove RPI bonuses for conference opponents (which did help ... and was a significant unfair advantage to the elite conferences). They were too reticent to rock the boat by making any further changes at that time. There were no further requests for information in subsequent years. In the 2014 season, the Cajuns finished with the #6 RPI ranking (selection time) ... but would have been #12 under the old system. The Cajuns hosted both regionals and super-regionals enroute to the WCWS.

If Deggs/baseball ever wanted advice on the matter, I would be happy to speak with them. But I think Deggs has better things to do than to lobby the NCAA for RPI changes. I think the best tact to take at this point in time is to game the heck out of a faulty system ... and if they change the system to account for this, so be it.

Brian

You should have that conversation, on how to game the faulty system, with Coach Bab...

[UL_Cajuns]

If the SBC conference is still the #4 conference in RPI at end of season and We win every series from here on out and win the SBC regular and conf tournament.
How can we not host?

[CajunVic]

If the SBC conference is still the #4 conference in RPI at end of season and We win every series from here on out and win the SBC regular and conf tournament.
How can we not host?

If the committee says we don’t host.

[Turbine]

If the committee says we don’t host.

Explain.

Hard for a committee to justify denying the winner of the #4 ranked conference hosting privileges.

All 16 hosts coming from 3 conferences would be seen as a sham.

[CajunVic]

Explain.

Hard for a committee to justify denying the winner of the #4 ranked conference hosting privileges.

All 16 hosts coming from 3 conferences would be seen as a sham.

Can you logically think of any other reason under those circumstances that we would not host?

[Jacob81]

East Carolina and DBU both currently would host before us and neither are in a top 5 conference.

[Turbine]

East Carolina and DBU both currently would host before us and neither are in a top 5 conference.

Good point about currently.

Going forward won't their conferences drag them down a bit?

The optimistic scenario of "still #4 conference" coupled with "We win every series" and top it off with "win the SBC regular and conf tournament" would only have Louisiana climbing.

At tall order to be sure.