Bracketology heading into today

[Coach34]

I'd take a trip to UCLA

[bulldogcountry1]

There isn?t really much difference in a 2 or 3, as far as the match-up. There is a pretty big difference in how far you can expect to travel, though. We won?t get sent to an SEC host, and we aren?t going to get matched up to an SEC 2. That doesn?t leave many favorable options.

[KOdawg1]

We can win that regional. UCLA isn't anything special.

We'd quickly get bounced in a super regional vs. LSU but it'd still be a good season.

[parabrave]

I'd take this all day long.

[vv83]

We would run through that regional

[Quaoarsking]

I'd be OK with it. Better to be in a Regional with only 2 "power conference" teams rather than 3.

I doubt we make it to Omaha, but it's not like there's a top 8 team that I would actively expect us to beat.

[Quaoarsking]

Also, one thing I've noticed is that a lot of 3-seeds nowadays fit the profile of 4-seeds.

I guess it's always been the case that there are more than 16 scrub 1-bid leagues, so a few teams from those conferences would have to get a 3, but usually a few of them would be randomly good enough to deserve it. But thanks to the portal, NIL, and instant transfers, nobody good is going to stay on those rosters.

So you see 3 seeds like Austin Peay, Columbia, Xavier, Western Kentucky, etc., and sure, some of those do have OK RPIs, but there's just no way they're as good as the bubble teams. All of them have losing records against Q1 and Q2 too. All or almost all of their players would have transferred to a power conference team this season if anyone had wanted to pay them to do it.

Anyway, some hosts are going to get a 3 seed like Mississippi State, Miami, Wake Forest, Arizona State, Kansas State, etc., who was .500 or above in a major conference, and some are going to get some mid-major who really should be a 4 but can't because there's 16 teams even worse.

I guess they figure a host should be able to beat Mississippi State or Austin Peay, and it doesn't really matter. All I know is if I were a host, I'd be pretty pissed to get Mississippi State as my 3 while another team got Austin Peay. Probably doubly pissed if I were a 2 seed in that Regional.

[Todd4State]

Also, one thing I've noticed is that a lot of 3-seeds nowadays fit the profile of 4-seeds.

I guess it's always been the case that there are more than 16 scrub 1-bid leagues, so a few teams from those conferences would have to get a 3, but usually a few of them would be randomly good enough to deserve it. But thanks to the portal, NIL, and instant transfers, nobody good is going to stay on those rosters.

So you see 3 seeds like Austin Peay, Columbia, Xavier, Western Kentucky, etc., and sure, some of those do have OK RPIs, but there's just no way they're as good as the bubble teams. All of them have losing records against Q1 and Q2 too. All or almost all of their players would have transferred to a power conference team this season if anyone had wanted to pay them to do it.

Anyway, some hosts are going to get a 3 seed like Mississippi State, Miami, Wake Forest, Arizona State, Kansas State, etc., who was .500 or above in a major conference, and some are going to get some mid-major who really should be a 4 but can't because there's 16 teams even worse.

I guess they figure a host should be able to beat Mississippi State or Austin Peay, and it doesn't really matter. All I know is if I were a host, I'd be pretty pissed to get Mississippi State as my 3 while another team got Austin Peay. Probably doubly pissed if I were a 2 seed in that Regional.

Usually a 3 seed is a team that is SEC team that has had a disappointing season or a good mid major.

I think we will be a strong 3 but really hard to see us getting past a regional for me unless that's baseball happens because we have some major issues.

[The Federalist Engineer]

Love it, direct flight for me. A local airport does a Las Vegas and LA Route daily.

Do a poker night in Vegas and then LA. Awesome. If only Pepperdine were good again.

This never works out for me. A hideous and dour pairing to Hattiesburg incoming.

[Todd4State]

Best case scenairo for us in this search IMO is to make a SR.

I don't think we would make an announcement while we are still playing.

That way we could slow play BOC if we needed to.