Current status: Super Regionals complete.
New readers should consult a separate page that gives some general background information on the records, polls, RPI, ISR, etc information included in the table below. (An "N" indicates a "national" seed.) As usual, the polls and data are from from Monday, 30 May 2011, when the regional pairings and seedings were announced. Again, many thanks to Boyd Nation for the pseudo-RPI and ISR information generated from his database. We also have the official NCAA RPI available but that information is still only used in my discussion area.
The average (mean) ISR for the field is 112.8,
plus or minus a standard deviation of 8.2.
The median ISR is 113.75.
The highest pseudo-RPI ranking without a bid was LSU (26). The lowest pseudo-RPI with an at-large bid was St. John's (54), and it was clear from an ESPN interview with a selection committee member that St. John's was the last team in and LSU was the last one out. The highest ISR without a bid was also LSU (116.1). The lowest ISR with an at-large bid was Jacksonville (108.4), just behind St. John's (109.0) and Dallas Baptist (110.8).
Note: The NCAA identified the regions only by location, so the region numbering scheme is my own creation, reflecting the seeding of the associated super regional and identifying which of the two paired regionals has a top-8 nationally seeded team. The regional names are also my own, carrying on a tradition started by Craig Gowens (aka the perpetual "Commissioner of the SWC") on Usenet.
Super Regional Summary:
I order these results in almost the same way the NCAA does (they use 1-8, 5-4, 2-7, 6-3), reflecting the pairings in the CWS brackets.
Super Regional 1: UC Irvine 0 6 2
at Virginia 6 4 3 ===> meets 8
Super Regional 8: Dallas Baptist 0 2
at California 7 6 ===> meets 1
Super Regional 8 played at Santa Clara, CA.
Super Regional 4: Connecticut 1 2
at S. Carolina 5 8 ===> meets 5
Super Regional 5: Texas A&M 6 9 11 ===> meets 4
at Florida St 2 23 2
==========================
Super Regional 2: Miss. St 1 4 6
at Florida 11 3 8 ===> meets 7
Super Regional 7: Arizona St 3 1 2
at Texas 1 5 4 ===> meets 2
Super Regional 3: Stanford 2 5
at N.Carolina 5 7 ===> meets 6
Super Regional 6: Oregon St 1 3
at Vanderbilt 11 9 ===> meets 3
==========================
Complete Results:
Note: All series start on Friday, 3 June. The order here is by national seed, not by future CWS pairing (which is the 1-8, 5-4, 2-7, 6-3 order used in NCAA brackets) or the seemingly random order resulting from alphabetizing them by the host city.
NCAA Record Polls Boyd Nation
Seed Team Result W L T CB BA RPI ISR etc....
==== =============== ====== ======= == == === === ===============
Region 1 [Northeast] - Charlottesville, VA
-------------------- -------------------
N1 * Virginia WW W 49- 9 2 2 2 127 ACC champ (Coast#1, #1)
2 E Carolina LWWL 39-19 -- 23 27 114 Conf USA #3
3 St. John's (NY) WLL 35-20 . . 54 109 Big East #2
4 Navy LL 33-23 . . 189 95 Patriot champ (#1)
Region 1a [Pacific] - Los Angeles, CA
------------------- ---------------
3 * UC Irvine WW W 39-16 20 -- 43 118 Big West #2
1 UCLA LWWL 33-22 12 17 34 118 Pac-10 champ (#1)
4 San Francisco WLL 30-23 . . 93 111 West Coast champ (#1)
2 Fresno St LL 40-14 27 -- 21 120 WAC champ (#2)
===> Super Regional 1: UC Irvine 0 6 2
at Virginia 6 4 3 ===> meets 8
==========================
Region 2 [Swamp] - Gainesville, FL
---------------- ---------------
N1 * Florida WW W 45-16 1 1 3 125 SEC champ (East#3, #3)
2 Miami (FL) WLWL 36-21 18 16 16 116 ACC #5 (Coast#4)
3 Jacksonville LWL 36-22 . . 47 108 Atlantic Sun #2
4 Manhattan LL 34-17 . . 107 104 Metro Atl champ (#1)
Region 2a [Piedmont] - Atlanta, GA
-------------------- -----------
3 * Miss. State WW W 34-23 . . 30 114 SEC #6 (West#2t)
1 Georgia Tech LWWL 40-19 9 12 8 119 ACC #3 (Coast#2)
4 Austin Peay WLL 33-22 . . 119 103 Ohio Valley champ (#1)
2 So. Miss. LL 39-17 29 25 20 117 Conf USA #2
===> Super Regional 2: Miss. St 1 4 6
at Florida 11 3 8 ===> meets 7
==========================
Region 3 [East] - Chapel Hill, NC
--------------- ---------------
N1 * North Carolina WW W 45-14 10 13 1 125 ACC #4 (Coast#3)
3 James Madison WLWL 40-17 28 -- 60 108 Colonial champ (#1)
4 Maine LWL 32-22 . . 161 98 Amer.East champ (#2)
2 Fla Internatnl LL 40-18 -- 20 24 115 Sun Belt #2
Region 3a [West] - Fullerton, CA
---------------- -------------
2 * Stanford WW W 32-20 23 24 15 119 Pac-10 #5
4 Illinois LWWL 28-24 . . 135 102 Big Ten champ (#1)
1 CSU,Fullerton WLL 40-15 8 8 13 122 Big West champ (#1)
3 Kansas St LL 36-23 . . 41 112 Big-12 #6
===> Super Regional 3: Stanford 2 5
at N.Carolina 5 7 ===> meets 6
==========================
Region 4 [Atlantic] - Columbia, SC
------------------- ------------
N1 * South Carolina WW W 45-14 4 4 6 123 SEC #1 (East#1t)
2 Stetson WLWL 41-18 . . 23 112 Atlantic Sun #1
3 NC State LWL 34-25 . . 32 113 ACC #7 (Atl#3)
4 Ga. Southern LL 36-24 . . 80 106 Southern champ (#5)
Region 4a [Southeast] - Clemson, SC
--------------------- -----------
2 * Connecticut LWWWW 41-17 16 18 46 112 Big East #1
1 Clemson WW LL 41-18 19 14 7 121 ACC #6 (Atl#2)
3 Coastal Carol. WLL 41-18 21 -- 40 114 Big South champ (#1)
4 Sacred Heart LL 34-21 . . 84 102 Northeast champ (#2)
===> Super Regional 4: Connecticut 1 2
at S. Carolina 5 8 ===> meets 5
==========================
Region 5 [South] - Tallahassee, FL
---------------- ---------------
N1 * Florida St WW W 42-17 11 6 4 123 ACC #2 (Atl#1)
3 Alabama WLWL 33-26 . . 35 112 SEC #7 (West#2t)
2 Central Fla LWL 38-21 . . 18 114 Conf USA #4
4 Bethune-Cookman LL 36-23 . . 120 100 MEAC champ (#1)
Region 5a [Midwest] - College Station, TX
------------------- -------------------
1 * Texas A&M WW LW 42-18 6 7 10 120 Big-12 champ (#2)
2 Arizona LWWWL 36-19 22 -- 25 118 Pac-10 #4
3 Seton Hall WLL 33-23 . . 55 107 Big East champ (#4)
4 Wright State LL 36-17 . . 144 103 Horizon champ (#1)
===> Super Regional 5: Texas A&M 6 9 11 ===> meets 4
at Florida St 2 23 2
==========================
Region 6 [Mideast] - Nashville, TN
------------------ -------------
N1 * Vanderbilt WW W 47-10 3 3 5 128 SEC #4 (East#1t)
4 Belmont LWWL 36-24 . . 73 107 Atl Sun champ (#6)
3 Troy WLL 42-17 -- 21 50 113 Sunbelt #1
2 Okla. State LL 35-23 . . 36 114 Big-12 #4
Region 6a [Northwest] - Corvallis, OR
--------------------- -------------
1 * Oregon St WW W 38-17 13 15 31 120 Pac-10 #2t
3 Georgia LWWL 31-30 . . 17 114 SEC #5 (East#4)
2 Creighton WLL 44-14 25 -- 29 116 Mo-Valley champ (#1)
4 Ark-Little Rock LL 24-32 . . 150 100 Sun Belt champ (#8)
===> Super Regional 6: Oregon St 1 3
at Vanderbilt 11 9 ===> meets 3
==========================
Region 7 [Central] - Austin, TX
------------------ ----------
N1 * Texas WLWWW 43-15 5 5 12 120 Big-12 #1
3 Kent State WW LL 43-15 24 -- 38 112 MAC champ (East#1, #1)
2 Texas State LWL 40-21 . . 37 114 Southland champ (#1)
4 Princeton LL 23-22 . . 162 96 Ivy champ (Gehrig #1)
Region 7a [Mountain] - Tempe, AZ
-------------------- ---------
1 * Arizona St WW W 39-16 14 10 9 123 Pac-10 #2t
2 Arkansas LWWL 38-20 26 19 14 118 SEC #2 (West#1)
3 NC-Charlotte WLL 42-14 . . 76 108 Atl-10 champ (#1)
4 New Mexico LL 20-39 . . 132 102 Mtn West champ (#6)
===> Super Regional 7: Arizona St 3 1 2
at Texas 1 5 4 ===> meets 2
==========================
Region 8 [Bayou] - Houston, TX
---------------- -----------
3 * California LWWWW 31-20 30 -- 44 118 Pac-10 #6
2 Baylor WW LL 29-26 . . 28 112 Big 12 #5
N1 Rice WLL 41-19 17 9 11 120 Conf USA champ (#2)
4 Alcorn State LL 27-28 . . 211 92 SWAC champ (East #1)
Region 8a [Plains] - Ft Worth, TX
------------------ ------------
3 * Dallas Baptist WW LW 39-17 . . 45 111 Independent #1
4 Oral Roberts LWWWL 36-20 . . 88 106 Summit champ (#1)
1 TCU WLL 42-17 7 11 19 118 Mountain West #1
2 Oklahoma LL 41-17 15 22 22 118 Big-12 #3
===> Super Regional 8: Dallas Baptist 0 2
at California 7 6 ===> meets 1
Super Regional 8 played at Santa Clara, CA.
==========================
Related information:
In addition, I include the usual list of "bridesmaid" teams. Several of these were obvious, others stood out in Boyd's rankings, and some were picked to provide long-term perspective. There are none missing with an ISR of 112 or above.
This list of possible teams is of particular interest with the expansion of the tournament to 64 teams. One can compare the thresholds used in past years (where we also have RPI and ISR data) to those used with the expanded field. Teams that exceed the objective thresholds in the pseudo-RPI and ISR which lead me to think they deserve consideration are flagged in the table below. However, it is important to note that these numeric scores from computer rating formulae are not the only criteria used by the selection committee, nor should they be the only criteria used.
Decisive criteria listed by the NCAA selection committee in the past have included strength of non-conference schedule and performance in the conference tournament in addition to the overall season performance numbers we tabulate here.
Examination of past tournaments suggested that conference finish was undoubtedly the reason every team with a pseudo-RPI high enough to make the field strictly by the numbers (those marked with an "*") was left out by the committee. This is clearly the case for LSU this year, as they did not even make the 8-team SEC tournament, and also applies to the other teams flagged with a * or X.
Finally, Great West conference champ Utah Valley University (210) did not
get an automatic bid because that conference is only playing baseball for
its second season (having expanded from football to all sports in 2008,
but not including baseball until the 2009-2010 season). You might also
notice that their weaker teams are at the bottom of the heap with the weaker
teams from the MEAC and SWAC.
Comparison of the pseudo RPI with the NCAA's official RPI shows
no signficant differences and totally reasonable explanations for
why a few teams from the top 50 (marked with a * below) did not get
an invite to the tournament.
Overlooked ? (ordered by ISR, records may not be accurate)
----------
Record Polls Boyd Nation
Seed Team W L T CB BA RPI ISR etc....
==== =============== ...... ======= == == === === ===============
X* LSU 36-20 . . 26 116 SEC #10 (West#6)
X Oregon 33-26 . . 53 115 Pac 10 #8
X Gonzaga 32-18 . . 72 114 West Coast #2
CSU,Bakersfield 33-22 . . 52 112 Independent #3
Long Beach St 28-27 . . 65 112 Big West #4
* Mississippi 30-25 . . 39 112 SEC #9 (West#5)
Texas Tech 33-25 . . 48 111 Big 12 #7
Southeastern LA 35-22 . . 57 110 Southland #4
* Auburn 29-29 . . 42 110 SEC #8 (West#2t)
Hawaii 34-25 . . 67 110 WAC #1
Southern Cal 25-31 . . 89 110 Pac 10 #7
* E. Tenn St 36-21 . . 33 110 Atlantic Sun #5
Elon 36-21 . . 49 110 Southern #1
Wichita St 39-26 . . 71 109 Mo Valley #2
Mercer 39-20 . . 56 109 Atlantic Sun #4
Nebraska 30-25 . . 59 109 Big-12 #9 (BigTen next)
Missouri St 33-23 . . 62 109 Mo Valley #4
Fla Atlantic 32-25 . . 51 108 Sun Belt #5
Houston 27-32 . . 58 108 Conf USA #6
Stony Brook 42-12 . . 81 108 Amer East #1
Mich State 36-21 . . 83 107 Big Ten #2
U. LA-La 31-27 . . 77 106 Sun Belt #3
Wake Forest 25-31 . . 66 106 ACC #8 (Atl #4)
Pittsburgh 33-23 . . 140 102 Big East #3
Central Mich 31-27 . . 133 102 MAC #3 (West #1)
Monmouth 36-19 . . 114 101 Northeast #1
Utah Valley 34-22 . . 210 98 Great West champ (#1)
Longwood 28-18 . . 244 90 Independent #2
NJ Tech 20-35 . . 293 75 Great West #5
Alabama St 14-29 . . 294 72 SWAC (East #4)
Florida A&M 17-40 . . 295 71 MEAC #6
Chicago St 9-41 . . 296 69 Great West #8
Alabama A&M 10-39 . . 298 69 SWAC (East #5)
UMES 9-41 . . 299 65 MEAC #5
Coppin St 5-39 . . 297 63 MEAC #7
NC Central 7-39 . . 300 61 Independent #8
---------------
X - denotes team with Boyd's computer ranking above the 113.75
median for regional tournament teams. The lowest ISR of an
at-large team was 108 (Jacksonville).
* - denotes team with a higher pseudo-RPI than the natural cutoff
for a 64-team tournament after automatic bids are used up [45].
==== =============== ====== ======= == == === === == ===============