NCAA Baseball Tournament Selection Show

[AuroraHawk]

While Heller’s plea certainly makes a solid case and Kyle’s piece was wonderful advocacy, my belief is that such efforts are chasing windmills.

I currently believe that Iowa’s chances of seeing its name called in the next hour or so are pretty much zero.

That written, I’ll be watching the show with my beat Iowa cap on inside out and backwards - hoping. Anyone else going to do so?

 

[Packer54]

While Heller’s plea certainly makes a solid case and Kyle’s piece was wonderful advocacy, my belief is that such efforts are chasing windmills.

I currently believe that Iowa’s chances of seeing its name called in the next hour or so are pretty much zero.

That written, I’ll be watching the show with my beat Iowa cap on inside out and backwards - hoping. Anyone else going to do so?

Winning only 5 of the last 9 was a killer.

 

[Alum-Ni]

And Nebraska gets put in the Fayetteville Regional with the #1 overall seed Arkansas

WTH

 

[iowaHawkeyes2323]

Big ten is only getting 2 I think

 

[Alum-Ni]

Maryland gets a #3 seed

#1 East Carolina (41-15)
#4 Norfolk State (25-26)

#2 Charlotte (39-19)
#3 Maryland (28-16)

 

[AuroraHawk]

Maryland a #3? Michigan has to be nervous.

 

[OutbackBowl2017]

And Nebraska gets put in the Fayetteville Regional with the #1 overall seed Arkansas

WTH

Yeah, that makes no sense when UNC and Bama gets in at 30-27 and 27-25. Strength of schedule is all I’m hearing on the at large bids as to why they are in.

 

[Alum-Ni]

I'd rather have Maryland's draw than what the Huskers were dealt

 

[Alum-Ni]

Fairfield in as a #3 seed in the Austin Regional

 

[Alum-Ni]

Michigan gets in as a #3 seed

SOUTH BEND REGIONAL
#1 Notre Dame (30-11)
#4 Central Michigan (40-16)

#2 Connecticut (33-18)
#3 Michigan (27-17)

 

[Alum-Ni]

 

[Alum-Ni]

And that's it...........Big Ten gets three teams in

 

[OutbackBowl2017]

Not playing a non con schedule and conference tournament really hurt the B1G. Thanks Kevin Warren. Male appendage.

 

[Alum-Ni]

LAST FOUR IN (RPI)
Alabama (32)
Michigan (88)
North Carolina (47)
UC-Santa Barbara (51)

FIRST FOUR OUT (RPI)
Baylor (44)
Pittsburgh (50)
Georgia (41)
Ball State (48)

If a team has a COVID issue come up in the next 24 hours, then they will be replaced by the teams in the "FIRST FOUR OUT" in the order they are listed

 

[Alum-Ni]

 

[Alum-Ni]

 

[Alum-Ni]

 

[Alum-Ni]

Pitt goes from being one of the 20 potential host sites to not making the tournament at all.

 

[IowaHawkeyeFBnBB4Life]

The rich get richer, and the good old boy system is in place. Sometimes I think the powers fear the Big Ten becoming a force in baseball. If you go sub .400 in conference then tell us conference play doesn’t matter as long as that RPI is high.

Nebraska going to Arkansas? That’s a joke. If you want story lines or DVH/Bolt shock value then pair them as a possible regional.

I’ll also say it, Michigan in is a joke. I 100% believe they were essentially given a mulligan due to their CWS run. Yeah, I know they took a series from Iowa, but it’s called a season for a reason.

I’m not convinced Iowa would have made it had they won the NW series.

Also, shame on the conference. Not having a non conference and tournament hurt the conference and teams. It’s really a disgrace.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

The rich get richer, and the good old boy system is in place. Sometimes I think the powers fear the Big Ten becoming a force in baseball. If you go sub .400 in conference then tell us conference play doesn’t matter as long as that RPI is high.

Nebraska going to Arkansas? That’s a joke. If you want story lines or DVH/Bolt shock value then pair them as a possible regional.

I’ll also say it, Michigan in is a joke. I 100% believe they were essentially given a mulligan due to their CWS run. Yeah, I know they took a series from Iowa, but it’s called a season for a reason.

I’m not convinced Iowa would have made it had they won the NW series.

Also, shame on the conference. Not having a non conference and tournament hurt the conference and teams. It’s really a disgrace.

And the conference officials will tell you it was out of their hands (aka "they don't care....").

 

[AuroraHawk]

If you haven’t done so (and if you are a DMR a subscriber), Chad Leistikow’s interview with Rick Heller was incredibly enlightening. Given the limited number of scholarships that he has to work with and the difficulties that Iowa faces regarding awarding academic scholarships to players to “offset” the limited number of athletic scholarships vis-a-vis what other schools can provide, he faces a steep uphill climb to land top talent at UI.

That’s why we won’t see Iowa active in the NCAA transfer portal. He will continue to target community colleges but I just don’t see him being able to grab top talent in the transfer portal. Hard to grab top talent in the portal - particularly out of state - when you can’t offer full ride scholarships.

It is also a tough “sell job” when a SEC school comes calling in a top Iowa HS player (i.e. Calvin Harris) and can say “Look, Iowa has a nice little program and all but it will either need to win the B1G tournament or finish in top 3 to play in the NCAA tournament. We just need to be one of the top 10 teams in the SEC and we’re dancing.”

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

If you haven’t done so (and if you are a DMR a subscriber), Chad Leistikow’s interview with Rick Heller was incredibly enlightening. Given the limited number of scholarships that he has to work with and the difficulties that Iowa faces regarding awarding academic scholarships to players to “offset” the limited number of athletic scholarships vis-a-vis what other schools can provide, he faces a steep uphill climb to land top talent at UI.

That’s why we won’t see Iowa active in the NCAA transfer portal. He will continue to target community colleges but I just don’t see him being able to grab top talent in the transfer portal. Hard to grab top talent in the portal - particularly out of state - when you can’t offer full ride scholarships.

It is also a tough “sell job” when a SEC school comes calling in a top Iowa HS player (i.e. Calvin Harris) and can say “Look, Iowa has a nice little program and all but it will either need to win the B1G tournament or finish in top 3 to play in the NCAA tournament. We just need to be one of the top 10 teams in the SEC and we’re dancing.”

The Big Ten should fold up on baseball then, like the SEC does with wrestling.......

 

[IowaHawkeyeFBnBB4Life]

If you haven’t done so (and if you are a DMR a subscriber), Chad Leistikow’s interview with Rick Heller was incredibly enlightening. Given the limited number of scholarships that he has to work with and the difficulties that Iowa faces regarding awarding academic scholarships to players to “offset” the limited number of athletic scholarships vis-a-vis what other schools can provide, he faces a steep uphill climb to land top talent at UI.

That’s why we won’t see Iowa active in the NCAA transfer portal. He will continue to target community colleges but I just don’t see him being able to grab top talent in the transfer portal. Hard to grab top talent in the portal - particularly out of state - when you can’t offer full ride scholarships.

It is also a tough “sell job” when a SEC school comes calling in a top Iowa HS player (i.e. Calvin Harris) and can say “Look, Iowa has a nice little program and all but it will either need to win the B1G tournament or finish in top 3 to play in the NCAA tournament. We just need to be one of the top 10 teams in the SEC and we’re dancing.”

Did he rule out the portal all together then?

 

[AuroraHawk]

Did he rule out the portal all together then?

He didn’t mention it at all. The discussion involved the number of scholarships that he has available (pretty sure he said 11.5) for 35 roster spots. He mentioned that, when it is difficult for a school like Iowa to award academic scholarships on top of academic scholarships, it is difficult to compete against schools that can essentially offer full rides to every single player on the roster.

Sounded to me like it was a problem across the board for schools in B1G.

Let me be clear … the NCAA limits scholarships to 11.5 for all baseball programs but other schools are less stringent on what financial assistance they will offer those players to supplement the athletic scholarships.

 

[IowaHawkeyeFBnBB4Life]

He didn’t mention it at all. The discussion involved the number of scholarships that he has available (pretty sure he said 11.5) for 35 roster spots. He mentioned that, when it is difficult for a school like Iowa to award academic scholarships on top of academic scholarships, it is difficult to compete against schools that can essentially offer full rides to every single player on the roster.

Sounded to me like it was a problem across the board for schools in B1G.

Let me be clear … the NCAA limits scholarships to 11.5 for all baseball programs but other schools are less stringent on what financial assistance they will offer those players to supplement the athletic scholarships.

11.7, sounds like some in conference schools get around this but not Iowa.

 

[BeepBeepInMyJeep]

Certainly, perception will probably always be an issue. But one thing we could have controlled were results against Illinois and NW. Take 2 out of 3 there from each of them and it was probably enough to slide in. Still, this was a pretty flawed team. There wasn't enough pop or consistency from the offense, and the Saturday and Sunday starters never took a next step. Only Nedved and Leonard were reliable out of the pen (and neither were truly dominant) and we surrendered far more walks than we drew.

 

[DodgerHawki]

Certainly, perception will probably always be an issue. But one thing we could have controlled were results against Illinois and NW. Take 2 out of 3 there from each of them and it was probably enough to slide in. Still, this was a pretty flawed team. There wasn't enough pop or consistency from the offense, and the Saturday and Sunday starters never took a next step. Only Nedved and Leonard were reliable out of the pen (and neither were truly dominant) and we surrendered far more walks than we drew.

Like most teams, they had some flaws. Certainly the injuries and COVID shutdown right before the season started were really impactful.

Jack Dreyer was really good in 2020 before the season shut down. Was probably going to be Iowa's #1 pitcher, hurt his elbow last fall and was out all year. Wallace ended up being Big 10 pitcher of the year. With Dreyer and Wallace as 1-2, all of a sudden Iowa has a very formidable staff, and the ripple effect would have impacted the bullpen.

The COVID shutdown for the 2 weeks preceding the start of the season really hurt Iowa. Then Iowa had the toughest teams in the league right away. Fullard and Martin had early season injuries which slowed them as well. Then Peyton Williams missed a chunk of time too.

Team was first in the league in OBP, 7th in Slugging, 5th in runs. Pitching was 5th in ERA. The top 5-6 teams in runs and ERA were nearly matched to the top 5 teams, with exception of Illinois, which was next to last in ERA. The series against Northwestern and Illinois were tough, especially winning the first game in each series. Iowa stranded 30 guys on base in the series. Baseball is weird sometimes.

All things considered, including how Iowa does or does not allocate non-sports money to players on non-revenue teams, it's amazing that Iowa is even competitive.

 

[DodgerHawki]

Not playing a non con schedule and conference tournament really hurt the B1G. Thanks Kevin Warren. Male appendage.

This is correct. When it comes down to it, when everyone else is playing non-conference games and the Big 10 is not, it's going to hurt the Big 10 teams. And they do have a point. It's one thing to say "the Big 10 is good," but in other leagues they actually play outside the league to allow teams to determine how good or bad they are.

Amazingly bad decisions by the Big 10 have consequences.

 

[onlyTheObvious]

Big ten schools would have preferred to cancel all sports. The ACC SEC and NCAA are not just going to ignore that.

 

[AuroraHawk]

Big ten schools would have preferred to cancel all sports. The ACC SEC and NCAA are not just going to ignore that.

Bullish-t.

 

[onlyTheObvious]

Bullish-t.

They couldn’t wait to be the leaders in cancelling football. The bread winner of all sports. Without the SEC and ACC there would have been no football or basketball.

 

[AuroraHawk]

They couldn’t wait to be the leaders in cancelling football. The bread winner of all sports. Without the SEC and ACC there would have been no football or basketball.

Bullsh-t.