2 Kids One Sandbox Best Shockers
There were 14 bounded amateur analogous West Coast teams adjoin colleges East of Tempe, and the West outdid itself. They were 14-0.
Arizona, Arizona State and UC Irvine went 9-0, and I brainstorm the coaches and players at Long Beach, San Diego and Cal are somewhat appetent because they were all affected to comedy in the aforementioned NCAA sandbox.
But this absolutely aloof puts an assertion point on a trend. Back the acreage broadcast to 64 teams and went to 16 first-round regionals, West Coast teams accept baffled out-of-towners at a .672 clip, activity 117-57.
It gets better. West Coast teams accept been akin adjoin a aggregation from addition arena in a Super Bounded 12 times, and won 11 of them. The acceptable allotment for all amateur played in those regionals is .806, 25-6.
When teams from actuality comedy teams from there in the College World Series in Omaha, they win at a .590 blow (36-25), which includes three champions (Oregon State twice, Fullerton once), and three runner-up efforts (Stanford all three).
It’s aloof addition band of stats accent the bent that exists aback it comes to NCAA decisions. Teams from here, accustomed the befalling to comedy alfresco their neighborhood, prove time and afresh their prowess, and the alone affair captivation them aback are the ambit of the seeding.
It was acclaimed aftermost anniversary that the best cardinal of West Coast teams that could possibly beforehand to this week’s Super Regionals was six. Well, six fabricated it. It was additionally acclaimed that the SEC and ACC – with 24 teams, allusive to the cardinal of teams in the Pac-10, Big West and West Coast Conference (25) accumulated – had 11 affairs to move on to the Super Regionals.
Only six fabricated it. For those scoring at home, four of the SEC/ACC teams that absent did so in regionals won by a aggregation from the West. I didn’t absolutely accept to add that, did I?
It was discussed aftermost weekend that the NCAA needs to accede agriculture the baseball clash 1-to-64 like they do in basketball and stop lumping teams calm automatically by geography.
Long Beach State SID Niall Adler and I, independently, took the aftermost NCAA RPI account and acclimated those numbers to berry the absolute field. This would accept taken home regionals abroad from Michigan and Long Beach but it additionally would accept advance the 12 West Coast teams beyond nine regionals as adjoin to six, and there would accept been no added than two West Coast teams in any one regional.
Pepperdine would accept been a No. 3 berry arena at Miami with Arkansas and Texas Southern. The Waves were in the aforementioned bounded as the Hogs, but with Stanford and UC Davis.
Cal would accept been a No. 2 berry arena at Coastal Carolina with Missouri and Illinois-Chicago, instead of the Dirtbags, Toreros and Bulldogs.
San Diego would accept been a No. 2 at Georgia Tech with Mississippi and Bucknell.
UC Irvine would accept been a No. 2 and Fresno State a No. 4 arena at No. 1 North Carolina State with Alabama. Hey, new agriculture wouldn’t be perfect. UC Irvine bent a breach actuality beatific to Michigan and not accepting to accord with Fresno State.
Stanford would accept been a No. 2 at Texas A&M with Tulane and Sam Houston State. UC Davis would accept been a No. 3 at No. 1 East Carolina or Georgia with St. John’s.
Long Beach would accept been a No. 2 berry and abutting Stony Brook and New Orleans in a bounded at Arizona.
Oddly, Fullerton would accept hosted a bounded with Virginia and UCLA, additional Bethune-Cookman, and they did host the Cavs and Bruins. Arizona State would accept a No. 1 berry adjoin a agnate agglomeration as they hosted in what was the easiest bounded of the 16.
There’s no agreement that any would accept had added success in these brackets, but based on the numbers and alienated neighbors, one would like their chances.
Super Bounded Predictions:
North Carolina State at Georgia: It’s an ACC year. Georgia came out of the loser’s bracket to exhausted Georgia Tech, which ran out of pitching, aftermost week. N.C. State.
UC Irvine at LSU: I’d absolutely like to aces the Anteaters, but LSU is on such a role (23 beeline wins) and arena in the final year of their on-campus stadium. LSU.
Coastal Carolina at North Carolina: The Tar Heels casting has College World Series appellation accounting all over it. North Carolina.
Arizona at Miami: Arena Michigan, which didn’t deserve to host and was apparently a three-seed, isn’t the aforementioned as arena at Miami. Miami.
Stanford at Fullerton: I’ve chock-full aggravating to amount out how the Titans win. Some years they do it with seniors and some with kids, some years with casting and some with hitting. Bottom line, they win. Fullerton.
Texas A&M at Rice: Rice’s casting is additional alone to North Carolina. Rice.
Wichita State at Florida State: Florida State can’t be blessed to see the abiding Shockers advancing to Tallahassee, not aback the Seminoles are abashed a bit. Wichita St.
Fresno State at Arizona State: ASU’s home acreage advantage isn’t about as able in the postseason as it is in the approved season, and they’ve absent alert as hosts back the change in bounded structure. But they hit the brawl so well. Arizona State.
Long Beach State went 9-7 this division adjoin six teams in the acreage of 16, and 7-2 adjoin the three of those six opponents I see affective on. Addition band of regret.
