Which is the last time we went into an NCAA tournament with this much hype, this much chance to win a natty.
We weren’t #1 going into the Dance in '94, though. We dropped to #2 after losing to Kentucky in the SEC tournament. We’d been ranked #1 a total of nine weeks during the year, in December-January and then in February into early March. And even before the championship game, they were saying we weren’t smart enough to beat Duke.
This year, we took over #1 in April in the coaches poll, and a lot earlier than that in Baseball America. Took everybody’s best shot for most of the season, and won every series. Then the tournament. And I don’t think anyone is saying we’re not good enough to win it. We’re the #1 overall seed for a reason. Just gotta get it done in the next four weeks.
It comes down to whether Vandy is playing single elimination or double against the same team. I think they are better than tenn in a 3 game series. So are we. But single elimination changes the game. That said from here on out Vandy should out perform tenn.
If everyone plays/pitches to their capability, VU should beat EOE. But Rocker and Leiter can both have off days, and the VU bullpen is shaky. Tennessee won its game by staying close to Leiter and then beating the relievers. Vandy has also had even more trouble finding a third starter than we have.
Anyway, Vandy is in our bracket, not theirs. They’re not going to see the Vols until the champonship series, and the only way we have a three game series with VU is if one of us comes out of the loser’s bracket and forces a seventh game. It’s also possible that we won’t play Vandy at all in Omaha, even if we both get there.
I thought the same thing the other day. The baseball team has been more dominant this year than the '94 team, but still it is a good analogy. Let’s hope there are the same results
I don’t know how you figure the big 12 teams. I think TCU, Tech and Texas all similar. Not much telling if they kept improving. The games in February are hardly predictors of June battles. How many top 8s make it to Omaha is a guess but some will disappear.
I told my AzState fan friend that they need to beat the shorthorns. He agreed. He used to live in Houston and went to a regional when the Sun Devils played in Austin. The weekend convinced him that other schools get screwed when playing tea sippers and that he really dislikes burnt orange.