Texas Tech dropped out of the top 8, replaced by TCU. Moo U is still top 8 but could drop out, possibly in favor of Florida or the Rebnecks should one of them win the SECT. Stanford is also a top 8 possibility.
The Southern Miss regional is still paired with ours.
Fairfield is still in the field despite losing in its conference tournament. Thus MAAC champ Rider is stealing someone’s bid. Their first “first four out” team is Florida Atlantic which is #52 RPI. Meh.
Last four in include Bama and LSU. Georgia is also in. That makes 10 SEC teams. Including SoCar which is listed as a host as a 2 seed because Old Dominion did not bid to host.
I would not like this at all. It would be yet another scenario where - IMO - the team likely to emerge from the other Regional would be a SEC team who is very familiar with us, who is NOT intimated by a trip tp Baum-Walker, and has a chip on their shoulder because we beat them earlier in the season. LSU is always dangerous in the NCAAT, whether as a top seed, or otherwise. And with Mainieri stepping down, they now have a “cause” to rally behind.
Sounds a lot like the S. Carolina and Ole Miss Supers we’ve hosted recently. Those were very difficult to win and advance from.
You may say that ALL teams in the Supers will (or should be) “hard outs”. I don’t disagree. I simply prefer that our hard-earned homefield advantage in fact provides more of an impact in our favor than it does when other SEC teams come in for a Super.
I feel the #1 overall seed should be somewhat “protected” against having to face a conference foe. I realize it would be impossible to arrange that many teams to prevent it from happening for every top 8, but the #1 should not have to do it.