BB: Regionals (West) 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

[golden_dome]

Millsaps beat MC 3 times this year by scores of 20-3, 11-4 and 12-10.
I believe the NCAA Regional selections are based on the body of work over a 40 game season, not the last 4-6 games or 2 games in a tournament.
So, the body of work over 40 games should be the best criteria.  Millsaps deserves to get a Regional berth on that criteria.
Head to head should  speak volumes.  Millsaps deserves the berth based on this criteria.
Head to head 3 times with those scores screams against the position MC has a better claim to a Pool C than MC.
While we can pick something isolated to justify about anything, there isn't any reasonable argument that Millsaps does not deserve a Pool C or that there are more deserving teams.

Millsaps deserves to be in the tournament this year and I think they will get in somewhere. They do have the head to head wins. I don't think those games say much about how the teams would fare against one another on a weekend, but you certainly can't discount them. They should get in ahead of MC in my opinion.

I do think both teams should be in. Millsaps had a great season and MC has played great the final six weeks, and probably could match up with about anyone in the country with weekend pitching going. Looking a this from an MC/Millsaps perspective, it's one thing to not deserve to go, but it's another thing to be left out because you're not within 500 miles of a predetermined regional.

[infielddad]

"Looking a this from an MC/Millsaps perspective, it's one thing to not deserve to go, but it's another thing to be left out because you're not within 500 miles of a predetermined regional."

Chris, you are preaching to the choir.  Absolutely, you are correct.
The distance issue is going to raise another issue I have already commented on in terms of the strength of the Regional.
From what is being posted, the West could have 4-5 teams ranked in the top 25 to 30.
If you were interested in the strongest teams getting to Wisconsin, the Regionals would be much more balanced.  If you factored cost as a major element, you do it this way.
This occurred in 2004.  George Fox won the CWS.  TU was not far behind them, if they were behind at all.  The one difference was Scott Hyde and Fox rode him to the National Championship.  TU was as good as any team in Wisconsin other than George Fox as their record and players proved.

[d3baseballnut]

I believe they both deserve to be in.

I am working on the Bracketology threat on the national board......Do we all agree that Cal Lutheran will not receive a Pool C bid??

Does anyone have convincing reasoning/evidence, not they think they should get in, but that the committee will actually do so?

[Ralph Turner]

"Looking a this from an MC/Millsaps perspective, it's one thing to not deserve to go, but it's another thing to be left out because you're not within 500 miles of a predetermined regional."

I know that Mississippi College Men's Hoops was treated unfairly by the selection committee in 2007 because of geographic isolation.

However, every interview that I have heard with committee members say that the bids are awarded first, and then the brackets are set.  There is enough bracket flexibility to mix and match teams with brackets at this time.

[CrashDavisD3]

Any comments on this one....


Pomona
Texas-Tyler
George Fox
Hendrix or Pac Lu (Hendrix gets moved to closer regional)
Chapman
Cal Lu

[royhobbs]

Does Cal Lu get benched by an ASC team? Or is Hendrix the Monkey wrench? Sorry LA Mike, even if the SCIAC has some stronger teams than the ASC or NWC, they've rarely placed two teams in the Regionals.

[Jack Parkman]

Does Cal Lu get benched by an ASC team? Or is Hendrix the Monkey wrench? Sorry LA Mike, even if the SCIAC has some stronger teams than the ASC or NWC, they've rarely placed two teams in the Regionals.

I do not believe so.  Cal Lu finished 27-6 in the West Region, UT Dallas was in the rankings last week but lost 2 more games.  I don't see the ASC having anything to do with Cal Lu not making it.  The NWC might be the conference that could keep them out.

[BigPoppa]

I believe they both deserve to be in.

I am working on the Bracketology threat on the national board......Do we all agree that Cal Lutheran will not receive a Pool C bid??

Does anyone have convincing reasoning/evidence, not they think they should get in, but that the committee will actually do so?

I see Cal Lu as being in as of this week. Call me crazy, but I expect to see them there this week in the Regional Rankings. Cal Lu finished second in the SCIAC which in most years is a bubble team. This year, with P-P dominating the west coast in every facet, a second SCIAC team will be considered and, I think, rightfully chosen.

[d3baseballnut]

Any comments on this one....


Pomona
Texas-Tyler
George Fox
Hendrix or Pac Lu (Hendrix gets moved to closer regional)
Chapman
Cal Lu

I feel like whatever region they get sent to, it wont be close.....they have to fly no matter what.. but the committee may send them elsewhere simply for this fact, that they have to fly no matter what, might as well put a team in the west who perhaps doesnt.

[TexasBB]

This is a copy of a post I put on the national topic - Pool C. I am reposting it here since I believe all of us West Regional fans need to provoke a ground swell for action.

"I think its time to expand the tournament to a full 64 teams so that each regional will have 8 teams. As things currently stand there are only 54 teams in the tournament with 3 regions getting 8 teams and the other 5 fielding 6. There are 35 automatic Pool A bids, 6 from Pool B and 13 from Pool C. Alot of deserving potential Pool C teams are being passed over and due to travel costs some regions will never get 8 teams unless the field is expanded. A way to settle this is to expand the field by increasing the pool C slots to 23 so that each regional would have 8 teams competing.

The issue is cost but I am more concerned with fairness - treating each region the same giving them an equal amount of teams in the tournament. As West region fan we are likely to have a 6 team region comprised of as many as 5 teams ranked in the top 25 nationally with only one Pool C entry and a couple of teams with 30 wins or more will be staying at home. With an expaned field the West would be up to par with other regions with 8 teams and could add 2 more Pool C teams to the mix. Does the NCAA worry more about cost than it does about inclusion? I hope not at the expense of true student athletes. I think some type of lobbying effort for next year is needed."

Texas BB

[BigPoppa]

TexasBB- Pool C bids are awarded NATIONALLY, not REGIONALLY. Adding more Pool C bids does not guarantee any more teams in the WEST. I feel like you might think the WEST is being short-changed in the bids, but they are awarded the dsame as other regions proportionally based on the number of competing institutions in the West Region.

[CrashDavisD3]

A good example showing the quality of teams in the West was in 2008

2 of the 8 teams in the 2008 World Series came out of the West
(Linfield and Chapman)

It maybe a advantage for a West team to get shipped to another region
rather that fight it out in Linfield.

There are great teams in all parts of the country as the West has not won
the World Series in several years.

In perfect world with costs not being a issue 8 team 8 regionals or
16 team 4  regionals followed by 8 2 team super regionals
like DI/DII could solve many of the POOL C issues with the current 54 team Tournament format.

Current format has some 30 plus win teams not making while 20 plus win teams do. Even sub 20 wins teams made it last year.

[BigPoppa]

Current format has some 30 plus win teams not making while 20 plus win teams do. Even sub 20 wins teams made it last year.

But those sub 20 win teams won their way into the post-season with Conference Tournament victories. Should they be left out? If we place an arbitrary "automatic bid" at 30 wins, then why would anyone schedule anyone that might beat them out of conference. Chapman would schedule the bottom of the SCIAC to easily reach 30 wins instead of the brutal scheduel they do play. St. Thomas would not schedule Whitewater in the dome and Carthage would not play Whitewater or Wooster in Florida.

[tloc14]

Very true.  I am not a huge fan of the automatic bid from conference tournaments.  I would like to put more emphasis on winning the regular season title, but tournaments has always been the way it has gone.  There is a similar situation in NCAA basketball where teams who are bubble teams all year (or sometimes not even considered) get in the tourney via winning the conference tournament.

But, changing the automatic bids does not really solve anything.  Expanding the field might solve a little, but in 10 years will people argue that deserving teams got left out?  Probably.  I am in favor of the 64 team field and regional/super regional setup that D1 and D2 have.  I guess an arguement could be made that there arent enough D3 teams, but 64 seems to be the magic number.

[Ralph Turner]

This is a copy of a post I put on the national topic - Pool C. I am reposting it here since I believe all of us West Regional fans need to provoke a ground swell for action.

"I think its time to expand the tournament to a full 64 teams so that each regional will have 8 teams. As things currently stand there are only 54 teams in the tournament with 3 regions getting 8 teams and the other 5 fielding 6. There are 35 automatic Pool A bids, 6 from Pool B and 13 from Pool C. Alot of deserving potential Pool C teams are being passed over and due to travel costs some regions will never get 8 teams unless the field is expanded. A way to settle this is to expand the field by increasing the pool C slots to 23 so that each regional would have 8 teams competing.

The issue is cost but I am more concerned with fairness - treating each region the same giving them an equal amount of teams in the tournament. As West region fan we are likely to have a 6 team region comprised of as many as 5 teams ranked in the top 25 nationally with only one Pool C entry and a couple of teams with 30 wins or more will be staying at home. With an expaned field the West would be up to par with other regions with 8 teams and could add 2 more Pool C teams to the mix. Does the NCAA worry more about cost than it does about inclusion? I hope not at the expense of true student athletes. I think some type of lobbying effort for next year is needed."

Texas BB

An equal number of teams are being sent to the tournament.  We only have 40 teams in the West Region.  New England has about 65.  The Mid-Atlantic has nearly 60 teams.

The difference for us is that we have really good conferences that have their leader on the radar screen nationally.

In regions where a sport is strong, this is a problem for D-III.  In basketball, the midwest was loaded with great teams.  Please go read the men's basketball boards about the Sectionals in which 10 of the (D3hoops.com) top 21 teams meeting in one bracket of 15. 

http://www.d3boards.com/playoffs/mbbbracket2009.pdf

The second round matchups were:

#3 vs #5; #2 vs #8; #1 vs #4; #21 vs #7 (which was a re-match of the NWC Championship game).

We see strong teams in the West and we have to face them early.  There have been 2 national champions out of the West Region in this decade.  We are just that good.