buckeyehater22
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- Joined: 2/3/2008
- Location: Toledo OH USA
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NCAA Tournament Possibilities
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Saturday, May 10, 2008 11:12 AM
So the loss to the Spartans certainly didn't help our chances, but after speaking with a couple of people around the college softball world, we should still have a great seed, somewhere in the 5-8 range, which means we would host a Super Regional assuming we win the regional, which we would be hosting as well. However, to be sure, Nick Mone, a college softball insider at UCS, said that: " At the moment Michigan is definitely hosting a regional, there are no better alternatives in the Midwest. Not only do they have the team, but also the facility and the fans. Michigan did not face many of their competitors for top 8 seeding, and the likelihood that all of them will win this weekend is slim. Though I think in order to be safe they probably need losses by Oklahoma, UNC, and Stanford as Fresno State is probably out of contention with their loss to Louisiana Tech. The loss to Michigan State is not the worst thing in the world, which shouldn't be enough to knock them out unless those teams sweep through the weekend. Even in that worst case scenario with all three of those teams winning Michigan's resume is strong enough to get a top 8 seed. If just one of those teams loses Michigan almost assuredly has a spot. A lot needs to happen for Michigan to lose out on a good seed and even if it does I don't see it happening.”
The rest of my article talking about the NCAA Tournament is located here:
http://umgoblue.com/absolutenm/templates/?a=531&z=1
The loss is no doubt shocking. No way around it. Am I worried? Yes. How can we only score one run against a team against which we put a combined 21 runs on the board in two games earlier in the season? However, we'll be fine.
It was just one of those fluke games – like the Drake defeat earlier in the season. If anything, this might actually light a fire under the Wolverine women. They can do two things with this loss: let it get to them and let their confidence suffer, or look it as no team can be taken for granted. We will still host an NCAA Regional in Ann Arbor and face some teams that are not up to our level (like MSU), so it could be good because we won't overlook them. I still hope we have a high enough seed to host the Super Regional, the round after the regional which determines who will advance to the College World Series.
If you remember correctly, last year the Wolverine baseball team suffered a similar fate. Michigan entered the 2006 Big Ten Tournament as the #1-seed and was ousted in two games in the double elimination format. Rich Maloney’s group later claimed a stunning upset of #1 national seed Vanderbilt in the NCAA Regionals.
Back to the ladies…
Many softball pundits believe that Michigan will still have a seed that hosts the super regional (No. 1 – No. 8 seeds nationally). This is because of the Wolverines’ high RPI (#4) and because other teams in the top eight have lost early in their respective tournaments as well, like #6 Arizona State. Nick Mone, contributor at Ultimate College Softball, chimed in on Michigan’s potential future in the NCAA Tournament: “At the moment Michigan is definitely hosting a regional, there are no better alternatives in the Midwest. Not only do they have the team, but also the facility and the fans. Michigan did not face many of their competitors for top 8 seeding, and the likelihood that all of them will win this weekend is slim. Though I think in order to be safe they probably need losses by Oklahoma, UNC, and Stanford as Fresno State is probably out of contention with their loss to Louisiana Tech. The loss to Michigan State is not the worst thing in the world, which shouldn't be enough to knock them out unless those teams sweep through the weekend. Even in that worst case scenario with all three of those teams winning Michigan's resume is strong enough to get a top 8 seed. If just one of those teams loses Michigan almost assuredly has a spot. A lot needs to happen for Michigan to lose out on a good seed and even if it does I don't see it happening.”
This is definitely reassuring; however, you never know exactly where the NCAA Selection Committee will place Michigan. I think the committee will look at the Wolverines as a pretty good pick. They are loaded with young, bright, and talented stars across the board including veteran Samantha Findlay, who wrote her place in the NCAA memory books with her homerun in the 2005 Women’s College World Series. Michigan has also made it to the WCWS eight out of the last 13 seasons. As Nick noted, the new Alumni Field is one of the finest softball facilities in the country, and Wolverine fans have packed it for big games this year.
So what are Oklahoma, UNC, and Stanford doing? In the Big 12 Tournament, the No. 2 seed Sooners are playing Nebraska today at noon. If they win that, they will play the winner of the Missouri/Texas Tech game at 5:30 later this evening (on FSN if anyone is interested). The Big 12 Tournament game is on Sunday at 1 p.m. on FSN. In the ACC Tournament, the No. 1 seed Tarheels play at 4:30 today in the semifinals of the now-single elimination tournament (it was double elimination, but rain caused a few cancellations). UNC plays No. 5 NC State at 4:30 today. If they win that, they will play in the ACC Tournament Championship game on Sunday at noon against the Virginia Tech/Florida State winner. The PAC 10 does not have a conference tournament, so regular season games will be played this weekend. Stanford lost Game 1 against Arizona on Friday by a convincing score of 8-0 in six innings. That should eliminate Stanford's chances at a SR hosting bid. The Cardinal and Wildcats will take the field again at 3 p.m. today.
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