Dawgs jump one spot to #5. 3 of top 5 in SEC and 4 of top 10. Ole Miss up to 11.

[99jc]

Another big battle this weekend at Oxford. I like our chance of 2/3 there. We must take care of Memphis this week no let downs. Westburg and Macnamee have to get out of this current funk there in. Plumlee is becoming our X factor for a run to Omaha. I could care less if we win the SEC or tourney as long as we keep our national seed. Home field advantage is huge for us and is our ticket to CWS.

Hail State!

[BorneDawg]

We need to stay opposite of Vandy

[ShotgunDawg]

We need to stay opposite of Vandy

Vandy honestly doesn't scare me very much.

They're good, but their schedule has inflated things

[shoeless joe]

Vandy honestly doesn't scare me very much.

They're good, but their schedule has inflated things

This is very true. They are good no doubt...but what would our record be, or ole miss or LSU or whoever, if we played an east schedule?

[ShotgunDawg]

This is very true. They are good no doubt...but what would our record be, or ole miss or LSU or whoever, if we played an east schedule?

I'll say this: Other than Bleday going off & hitting HRs, they're the same team we beat last year

[basedog]

I'll say this: Other than Bleday going off & hitting HRs, they're the same team we beat last year

But they are one of the best teams in the country, as is Arkansas and of course Msu. You can add Ga as well with their pitching, let's hope we take care of OM this weekend.

Just saying

[the_real_MSU_is_us]

But they are one of the best teams in the country, as is Arkansas and of course Msu. You can add Ga as well with their pitching, let's hope we take care of OM this weekend.

Just saying

I think Shotgun's point is that they aren't vastly better than us, or the teams you mentioned... any of the top 8ish can beat each other depending on how the ball bounces, so there's no point in trying to avoid Vandy specifically

[Jack Lambert]

This is very true. They are good no doubt...but what would our record be, or ole miss or LSU or whoever, if we played an east schedule?

Only three teams have winning SEC conference record in the East.

[ShotgunDawg]

But they are one of the best teams in the country, as is Arkansas and of course Msu. You can add Ga as well with their pitching, let's hope we take care of OM this weekend.

Just saying

Absolutely

Just saying, I wouldn't worry about avoiding them in the bracket as they really aren't any different than the other top teams

[CadaverDawg]

4-2 in our next 6 SEC games, and 2-0 OOC, and we're a stone cold lock.

[BeardoMSU]

4-2 in our next 6 SEC games, and 2-0 OOC, and we're a stone cold lock.

With that finish, no way we aren't at least the #4, right?

[CadaverDawg]

With that finish, no way we aren't at least the #4, right?

3 or 4 I would guess. Depends on the 4 wins probably....it would actually be better for us to win 2 in each series and claim series wins vs winning 1 at OM and then sweeping USCe in my opinion. But I may be wrong

I really think 3-3 gets it done as long as we don't get swept by OM

[HooverDawg]

Not to get greedy, but UCLA is hands down the best team in college baseball. A lot has to happen for it to matter, but preferably we'd be the #2,3,6, or 7 national seed in order to avoid them before the national championship if possible.

[KOdawg1]

Not to get greedy, but UCLA is hands down the best team in college baseball. A lot has to happen for it to matter, but preferably we'd be the #2,3,6, or 7 national seed in order to avoid them before the national championship if possible.

An argument can be made that they are but I wouldn't say hands down. Put them through an SEC west schedule and they'd probably do about the same as us or Arky

[KOdawg1]

Can't get swept by OM this weekend. Getting swept by 2 teams in our division won't look good. That said, I don't expect us to and I actually think we win the series and lock up a national seed

[Dawghouse]

Only three teams have winning SEC conference record in the East.

And they went 3-3 versus A&M and Arkansas then swept Auburn and Bama for their west competition.

Vandy had about the easiest schedule you can have in the SEC this year. Arkansas plus the bottom 3 in the west.

[MetEdDawg]

Vandy has an SOS of 3, but don't let that fool you.

They have 25 Q1 games played compared to our 30. But when you look at what's inflating them, they have 9 Q2 games played and we only have 3. Those Q1 teams include Pepperdine and Evansville. Not exactly powerhouse programs, but those teams being Q2 are helping them keep an inflated perception of their schedule difficulty. Replace those with 6 games against Maine and Youngstown State and they are a little less inflated.

You look at us and we have 15 games against Q3 and Q4 opponents, with 12 of those 15 being Q4. That's entirely too many. We've gone undefeated against those teams, but we've played a lot of them.

Obviously it's hard to know sometimes who's going to be Q2 and who's going to be Q3. But only 3 games played against Q2 opponents is not good. We could do a mid week against a Georgia Southern or a Tulane easily. Or schedule a 3 game series with them. I'm sure the NCAA puts pressure on some southern teams to host at least one far north team to help them accommodate their lack of ability to play at home early in the season. So sometimes a Maine is something we have to just do. But Youngstown State? Need to try and do better than that.

[HooverDawg]

An argument can be made that they are but I wouldn't say hands down. Put them through an SEC west schedule and they'd probably do about the same as us or Arky

They won 2/3 at #7 Georgia Tech. Beat #18 Oklahoma State. Won 2/3 vs. #12 Oregon State. Won 2/3 at #2 Stanford. Swept #9 East Carolina. They've got the #4 Strength of Schedule in the nation. Probably a better schedule than ours or Arkansas. And they haven't lost a series all year. They're legit.

[HooverDawg]

Vandy has an SOS of 3, but don't let that fool you.

They have 25 Q1 games played compared to our 30. But when you look at what's inflating them, they have 9 Q2 games played and we only have 3. Those Q1 teams include Pepperdine and Evansville. Not exactly powerhouse programs, but those teams being Q2 are helping them keep an inflated perception of their schedule difficulty. Replace those with 6 games against Maine and Youngstown State and they are a little less inflated.

You look at us and we have 15 games against Q3 and Q4 opponents, with 12 of those 15 being Q4. That's entirely too many. We've gone undefeated against those teams, but we've played a lot of them.

Obviously it's hard to know sometimes who's going to be Q2 and who's going to be Q3. But only 3 games played against Q2 opponents is not good. We could do a mid week against a Georgia Southern or a Tulane easily. Or schedule a 3 game series with them. I'm sure the NCAA puts pressure on some southern teams to host at least one far north team to help them accommodate their lack of ability to play at home early in the season. So sometimes a Maine is something we have to just do. But Youngstown State? Need to try and do better than that.

Vandy has a series win over Arkansas, but other than that, they haven't really beaten anyone. Their second best series win would be either Tennessee or Auburn at home? They dropped series to A&M and Georgia.

[ShotgunDawg]

Not to get greedy, but UCLA is hands down the best team in college baseball. A lot has to happen for it to matter, but preferably we'd be the #2,3,6, or 7 national seed in order to avoid them before the national championship if possible.

Have you seen them and evaluated their players?

[ShotgunDawg]

Vandy has a series win over Arkansas, but other than that, they haven't really beaten anyone. Their second best series win would be either Tennessee or Auburn at home? They dropped series to A&M and Georgia.


And that Arkansas series was at home. Not in Fayetteville

[HooverDawg]

Have you seen them and evaluated their players?

Yeah. Huge UCLA baseball guy here.

[ShotgunDawg]

Yeah. Huge UCLA baseball guy here.

Oh ok. I was curious because to make the statement that you did, I'd assume you would have evaluated their players to compare to other teams.

[HooverDawg]

Oh ok. I was curious because to make the statement that you did, I'd assume you would have evaluated their players to compare to other teams.

No I haven't watched any UCLA baseball but just looking at the numbers and who they have beaten I don't think there is any doubt they are the best team in college baseball.

[StarkVegasSteve]

No I haven't watched any UCLA baseball but just looking at the numbers and who they have beaten I don't think there is any doubt they are the best team in college baseball.

Just remember, they were the number 1 overall seed in 2015 and got bounced in their own regional. It's so hard to tell with the West teams with how good they are because there's just not many good West teams anymore. It used to be 20-25 teams that would also have a legitimate shot at making it to Omaha. Now there's probably 5 or 6 at most. The SEC has really taken over as the premier conference in college baseball and the rankings have shown that the last few years.

[confucius say]

The only series vandy has played on the road against anybody with a pulse they lost. Uga and Aggie. They won road series at Bama and USCe.

[ShotgunDawg]

No I haven't watched any UCLA baseball but just looking at the numbers and who they have beaten I don't think there is any doubt they are the best team in college baseball.

Oklahoma State sucks & swept Oregon State this weekend. Be careful just looking at numbers & making big statements.

[HooverDawg]

Oklahoma State sucks & swept Oregon State this weekend. Be careful just looking at numbers & making big statements.

LOL. It's a message board, no need to be careful. I think you are just arguing to argue at this point. UCLA is a damn good team, ask anyone in the national baseball landscape and that's what they'll tell you. Look at their resume, and that is what it will tell you. Does Georgia Tech suck too? Stanford? East Carolina? UCLA hasn't lost a series all year, they are good my friend. Not sure why you're so hell bent to prove they aren't.

[Captain Falcon]

College baseball is the one sport you can’t really make definitive statements about. There are 25-30 teams capable of getting to Omaha every year depending on matchups and who gets hot in June. Then there are 10-15 teams in that group who can actually win the whole thing.

Vandy went 26-3 in the SEC in 2013 and didn’t even get to Omaha. Oregon State went 56-6 in 2017 and didn’t play for the championship. The team that won the national title for Florida two years ago was like the 5th or 6th best team O’Sullivan has had there.

[Todd4State]

LOL. It's a message board, no need to be careful. I think you are just arguing to argue at this point. UCLA is a damn good team, ask anyone in the national baseball landscape and that's what they'll tell you. Look at their resume, and that is what it will tell you. Does Georgia Tech suck too? Stanford? East Carolina? UCLA hasn't lost a series all year, they are good my friend. Not sure why you're so hell bent to prove they aren't.

West Coast baseball is VERY different from college baseball in the South. It's hard for metrics like RPI to accurately analyze it because it's almost apples to oranges.

http://warrennolan.com/baseball/2019/conference/Pac-12

As you can see 1/3 of the league has a losing regular season record- including USC which is in the top half of the league standings. And then you have Oregon and Washington hovering around the .500 mark.

If you look at the CWS the last 10 years- the SEC dominates. And Coastal Carolina a Southern mid major beat Arizona out of the PAC 12. Which makes 2013 even more frustrating.

[Todd4State]

College baseball is the one sport you can’t really make definitive statements about. There are 25-30 teams capable of getting to Omaha every year depending on matchups and who gets hot in June. Then there are 10-15 teams in that group who can actually win the whole thing.

Vandy went 26-3 in the SEC in 2013 and didn’t even get to Omaha. Oregon State went 56-6 in 2017 and didn’t play for the championship. The team that won the national title for Florida two years ago was like the 5th or 6th best team O’Sullivan has had there.

This is true. IF there is one constant the teams that win it have two legit frontline starters and a legit closer.

[HooverDawg]

West Coast baseball is VERY different from college baseball in the South. It's hard for metrics like RPI to accurately analyze it because it's almost apples to oranges.

http://warrennolan.com/baseball/2019/conference/Pac-12

As you can see 1/3 of the league has a losing regular season record- including USC which is in the top half of the league standings. And then you have Oregon and Washington hovering around the .500 mark.

If you look at the CWS the last 10 years- the SEC dominates. And Coastal Carolina a Southern mid major beat Arizona out of the PAC 12. Which makes 2013 even more frustrating.

I'm aware that all of this is true. It's also true their strength of schedule is 4th nationally, too. Not just the RPI. They've beaten solid teams from all over the country as I've already explained. They very well could lose their regional, it's baseball, but they are the best team in the country this year.