SEC Tourney expanded to 12 teams

[BigOrange51]

Well as I alluded to before, they have decided to make it a 12 team tournament that starts on Tuesday. I initially thought I didn't like the idea, but I think it may end up being a good thing. Hard to imagine a lot of attendance for a single elimination Tuesday, though.

SEC Announces Change to Annual Baseball Tournament > SEC > NEWS

[TennesseeFan07]

It was only a matter of time.

[BruinVol]

Not a fan. Those 8-10 seeds that might have been able to fit their way thru the losers bracket and earn an at large bid in the NCAA now have the pressure of a single elimination game. Teams will lose bids with this format IMO

[DeerPark12]

Originally Posted by BruinVol

Not a fan. Those 8-10 seeds that might have been able to fit their way thru the losers bracket and earn an at large bid in the NCAA now have the pressure of a single elimination game. Teams will lose bids with this format IMO

A few coaches in the lower half of the league really pushed this, trying to save their jobs. From what I gather, I don't believe our coach was in favor of expanding.

[The Ron Mexico]

Personally, I'm not a fan of it. I don't care for that many teams being rewarded for a poor regular season performance. Also, I assume the tourney price will go up.

[BruinVol]

Originally Posted by DeerPark12

A few coaches in the lower half of the league really pushed this, trying to save their jobs. From what I gather, I don't believe our coach was in favor of expanding.

I can see that. Do you agree with my opinion that at large births will be lost due to the single elimination games?

[DeerPark12]

Originally Posted by BruinVol

I can see that. Do you agree with my opinion that at large births will be lost due to the single elimination games?

Hard to say. It seems in recent years that the selection committees have largely stopped paying attention to what happens in conference tournaments in baseball and softball. That may be in response to complaints that teams were being punished for poor showings in those tournaments.

One area where it actually helps is that it eliminates the two definite losses that all teams other than the champion were going to get. That will help teams that come into the tournament a couple of games over .500 but that have the RPI to get in.

I think we'll have to see how it plays out. You could very well be correct.

[ShowmeVols]

I'm assuming the conference thinks it will not decrease the number of bids it receives or the regional/national seeds of the teams that would get in either way.

If you figure a minimum of 6 SEC teams will get in anyway, this change could help the conference get a 7th or 8th or maybe even 9th bid because at least two of these bubble teams will get wins over other bubble teams. And it will do so without diminishing the records and potential regional host opportunities of the "safe" teams.

[BruinVol]

Originally Posted by DeerPark12

Hard to say. It seems in recent years that the selection committees have largely stopped paying attention to what happens in conference tournaments in baseball and softball. That may be in response to complaints that teams were being punished for poor showings in those tournaments.

One area where it actually helps is that it eliminates the two definite losses that all teams other than the champion were going to get. That will help teams that come into the tournament a couple of games over .500 but that have the RPI to get in.

I think we'll have to see how it plays out. You could very well be correct.

It certainly could help with a team that is 1 game over 500 as much as it could hurt a team with exactly a 500 record. My thinking was that a team that went into the tourney with exactly a 500 record and very high rpi would lose a bid with that one loss while under the old system would have a chance win 2 games in a row after losing to get above 500.

[DeerPark12]

Originally Posted by BruinVol

It certainly could help with a team that is 1 game over 500 as much as it could hurt a team with exactly a 500 record. My thinking was that a team that went into the tourney with exactly a 500 record and very high rpi would lose a bid with that one loss while under the old system would have a chance win 2 games in a row after losing to get above 500.

That's true, and a team that started strong but sputtered down the stretch could be left out for going 0-1 on opening day while other teams prove themselves over the next week.

I can see both sides of it, but I don't know that we'll ever have a clear answer. Different selection committees could look at it differently year-to-year.