Cajun resume, impact games, and potential seeding

[GoneGolfin]

The Cajuns dropped a loss from their Q1 record today when James Madison dropped from #40 to #41. The Cajuns currently sit at 6-6 in Q1 games.

Georgia Southern really needs to win tonight to secure a spot in the RPI Top 60. This would .

#1 Secure/preserve 3 wins for the Cajuns' Q1 metric
#2 Keep JMU out of the RPI Top 40 (refrain from adding a loss to the Cajuns' Q1 metric)
#3 Will be an RPI boost for the Cajuns (played Georgia Southern 3 times, JMU once)
#4 Will be an RPI boost for #26 Southern Mississippi (they played Georgia Southern . but not JMU), potentially getting them into the RPI Top 25 with a win tomorrow (hopefully over Georgia Southern). USM in the RPI Top 25 along with Georgia Southern in the RPI Top 60 puts the Cajuns at 8-7 in Q1 games. This would certainly be a #2 seed in my mind.

Additionally, #62 Nicholls is on the cusp of being an RPI Top 60 team with their winning the SLC tournament title. But given that they are .0013 back of #60 Louisville with no more games to play, it will be difficult. Other teams ahead of Nicholls and within range have finished playing as well.

Brian

[GoneGolfin]

I have the following twelve schools as likely #2 seeds. It is possible that one or more become national seeds, but that does not matter for our purposes here. There are also some that might be #3 seeds, but I am being conservative. These are not in any particular order.

East Carolina
Wake Forest
Mississippi State
LSU
Vanderbilt
Arizona
Dallas Baptist
South Carolina
UC Irvine
San Diego
Southern Mississippi
Louisiana Tech

This leaves four spots for what I believe will be six potential schools vying for these last #2 seeds.

#24 Alabama
13-17 Conference (Tie 7th place)
0-1 Conference Tournament
15-20 Q1, 2-0 Q2, 3-1 Q3, 13-1 Q4
#34 NC RPI
#7 SOS #158 NC SOS
8-12 Road

#29 Nebraska
16-8 Conference (2nd place)
4-1 Conference Tournament
3-1 Q1, 15-12 Q2, 14-5 Q3, 6-2 Q4
#30 NC RPI
#37 SOS #10 NC SOS
15-9 Road
8-2 Last 10

#36 West Virginia
19-11 Conference (4th place)
0-2 Conference Tournament
5-8 Q1, 13-8 Q2, 6-5 Q3, 9-1 Q4
#61 NC RPI
#43 SOS #135 NC SOS
14-14 Road
5-5 Last 10

#37 Louisiana
23-7 Conference (Conference Champion)
0-2 Conference Tournament
6-6 Q1, 6-4 Q2, 12-4 Q3, 16-4 Q4
#76 NC RPI
#64 SOS #83 NC SOS
14-5 Road
7-3 Last 10

#32 Central Florida
14-15 Conference (8th place)
2-1 Conference Tournament
4-8 Q1, 9-5 Q2, 11-4 Q3, 11-2 Q4
#24 NC RPI
#41 SOS #149 NC SOS
12-9 Road
6-4 Last 10

#48 Texas
20-10 Conference (3rd place)
0-2 Conference Tournament
12-9 Q1, 6-4 Q2, 4-1 Q3, 13-8 Q4
#90 NC RPI
#29 SOS #30 NC SOS
11-5 Road
6-4 Last 10

I did not include #34 Northeastern, #35 Coastal Carolina, #38 UNCW, #39 Xavier, #40 TCU, #41 James Madison, #42 Connecticut, #43 Maryland, #44 Charleston, #45 Kansas State, #46 Illinois, or #47 Georgia Tech in the formal evaluation above as they have resumes that do not make the cut. A few of them are on the bubble for a tournament bid (Northeastern, Coastal Carolina, Xavier, James Madison, etc.). #43 Maryland will not make the field.

Of this group of six, I would have the Cajuns in the Top 3. As such, I think there is a strong possibility of the Cajuns being a #2 seed.

Brian

[GoneGolfin]

The Cajuns dropped a loss from their Q1 record today when James Madison dropped from #40 to #41. The Cajuns currently sit at 6-6 in Q1 games.

Georgia Southern really needs to win tonight to secure a spot in the RPI Top 60. This would .

#1 Secure/preserve 3 wins for the Cajuns' Q1 metric
#2 Keep JMU out of the RPI Top 40 (refrain from adding a loss to the Cajuns' Q1 metric)
#3 Will be an RPI boost for the Cajuns (played Georgia Southern 3 times, JMU once)
#4 Will be an RPI boost for #26 Southern Mississippi (they played Georgia Southern . but not JMU), potentially getting them into the RPI Top 25 with a win tomorrow (hopefully over Georgia Southern). USM in the RPI Top 25 along with Georgia Southern in the RPI Top 60 puts the Cajuns at 8-7 in Q1 games. This would certainly be a #2 seed in my mind.

Additionally, #62 Nicholls is on the cusp of being an RPI Top 60 team with their winning the SLC tournament title. But given that they are .0013 back of #60 Louisville with no more games to play, it will be difficult. Other teams ahead of Nicholls and within range have finished playing as well.

Good night for the Cajuns. Both Southern Mississippi and Georgia Southern win to setup the tournament championship game tomorrow. I am also glad the conference is not required to play one or more if necessary games before the championship game.

Regardless of what happens in tomorrow's game, George Southern will finish in the RPI Top 60. The question is whether Southern Mississippi can inch their way into the #25 spot with a win tomorrow. It will be close, but they may come up just short. They trail #25 Alabama by .0036.

Brian

[cajundiehard]

I'm torn on who to root for. Thinking USM possibly getting into the Top 25 won't make too much of a difference on Cajuns destination. and I'd like to see the SBC get as many teams in as possible. so I think I'm good with GA Southern stealing a bid at this point. I do like that Blancato kid. He's got a lot of heart and grit.

Who might get another at-large from the Belt? JMU and/or Coastal? Unfortunately, I think Troy's season is over. JMO.

[GoneGolfin]

I'm torn on who to root for. Thinking USM possibly getting into the Top 25 won't make too much of a difference on Cajuns destination. and I'd like to see the SBC get as many teams in as possible. so I think I'm good with GA Southern stealing a bid at this point. I do like that Blancato kid. He's got a lot of heart and grit.

Who might get another at-large from the Belt? JMU and/or Coastal? Unfortunately, I think Troy's season is over. JMO.

See other thread.

Brian

[CajunSID]

See other thread.

Brian

1. Texas A&M
2. Louisiana
3. Texas
4. Automatic qualifier

It makes too much sense imo. Geography, balance is there. Only question is 2-3 UL/Texas matchup for 2nd year in a row.

If Miss St gets a regional, then maybe they go there if USM gets shipped off. If not those 2, all bets are off.

[sportsfanatic21]

D1Baseball this morning has the Cajuns as the 2 seed in Tallahassee, playing UCF in the first game

https://d1baseball.com/stories/2024-.4-projections/