Bring on the bats. If you love to watch offense, this is the regional for you, as some of the nation’s best offenses descend on Corvallis. Oregon State, UC Irvine and Nicholls are all in the top 25 nationally for runs scored, while Tulane averaged double digit runs per game in winning the American Conference tournament.
One of the best things about the 64-team bracket the NCAA uses for most sports is how it quickly fixes selection committee errors. When a team gets seeded too high or too low, they still get the opportunity to prove their critics right or wrong. That’s likely the case in Greenville.
The Rangers face a greater concern than South Florida in June: the Florida power play. The Panthers now have five power play goals in the past three games, connecting on 41.67% of their advantages. That’s not how New York wins games.
Kentucky’s hitting and speed has gotten it to this point. The Wildcats are a new baseball power, and they win by taking the extra base and hitting situationally. But the Wildcats’ strength can become their weakness in the wrong matchup, and Indiana State could be the wrong matchup.
This year, NC State’s got some more hitting on its side, but South Carolina’s still got an edge in pitching. But the Gamecocks’ defense really let down last week. If they don’t clean that up, they’ll open the door for James Madison.
The good news for Oklahoma is that it didn’t get an early welcome to the SEC with its regional draw. The bad news is that it still got a brutal No. 2 seed in Duke. With Oral Roberts and Connecticut also here, nobody in Norman is here just to make up numbers.
Can Clemson finally make it out of a regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium? The Tigers have hosted five regionals over the past 11 seasons, and they’re yet to make it to the super regionals.
North Carolina has to be looking longingly at No. 3 seed Texas A&M’s draw. While the Aggies appeared to get a gift-wrapped draw, the Tar Heels got a dogfight at just one seed lower. LSU has a pair of aces, Wofford ranks second nationally in runs and LIU has a strong strikeout pitcher.
When you get a battle of contrasting teams, you’ve got a recipe for a good regional. That’s exactly what we have in Charlottesville, where the host Cavaliers attempt to hit their way past the pitching of Mississippi State and St. John’s.