http://espn1420.com/bracket-pairings-set...ournament/

I'd say Troy and Louisiana have the easier bracket.

The other side of the bracket features Coastal Carolina, South Alabama, and Georgia Southern... that is brutal. Whoever makes it through that mine field is worthy.

Just a reminder that the SBC's deal with ESPN+ begins on Tuesday with the first round of the tournament. If you want to watch the tournament, you will have to shell out the 4.99 per month now.

There is a 7 day free trial available though, so in theory, you could subscribe, watch all 6 days of tournament play, and then cancel right before your card gets charged.

(05-19-2018 11:22 PM)BirdofParadise Wrote:  http://espn1420.com/bracket-pairings-set...ournament/

Hey Bird, I took the Liberty to write up your preview on AState for you: Hopefully we last long enough it can be used:

#9 Arkansas State: 20-31 (11-19 SBC) Head Coach: Tommy Raffo

Summary: It was not long ago that the Sun Belt had left the Red Wolves for dead. They sat at 4-14 in Conference Play after a home sweep at the hands of Troy. However, the Calendar turned to May, and like most Tommy Raffo teams before them, the Red Wolves picked things up, winning series @ South Alabama, vs Texas State, and @ Little Rock to close the year, making the tournament for the 9th straight year

Strengths: A-State has gotten consistent pitching most of the year from its front line starters. Brady Welsh is not the most spectacular pitcher in the league, but he finds ways to get outs and keep his team in games. Nate Alberius is not as consistant as Welsh on Saturday, but when on is among the league's best. Alberius has been at his best when his team needed him most, producing complete games against Louisiana and Little Rock, and throwing 8.1 innings of 1 run ball against South Alabama. Those two have provided enough that a solid but not spectacular offense was able to get going. Kyle McDonald has 15 homers this season and is most likely an All Conference starter at 1st base. Jeremy Brown in front of him is hitting just under .400 in conference play. They have capable hitters in front and behind them in Drew Tipton and Winston Welch. If the pitching is on, the offense is good enough that the Red Wolves can win games

Weaknesses: Depth remains the biggest issue for this club. Outside of Welsh, Alberius and relievers Peyton Culbertson and Bo Ritter, the bullpen has bordered somewhere between mediocre and just plain bad. After the top 4 guys, no other player has an ERA below 7. There have been flashes from guys like Carter Holt, who is currently the #3 starter and Coulton Leee, but not enough consistency to produce much. Despite some of the strengths on the offensive side, the Red Wolves have been decimated by injuries. Both Justin Felix and Alex Howard, the two top returning hitters coming into the season were lost in pre season forcing Jacob Jablonski and Cullen Ray into regular playing time. While both have improved since the start of the season, the lineup continues to be weak at the bottom of the order.

Outlook: As most in the Sun Belt can attest by now, you can never count out a Tommy Raffo coached team in the Tournament. A-State has won at least 2 games in the Sun Belt Tournament for 8 straight years, and has developed a knack for knocking some of the bigger names out. This team does not have the depth to win the tournament, but if they can get by UTA on Tuesday, they certainly have the capability to ruin a couple teams seasons along the way.

I started to write up something snarky about UTA’s epic tank, then thought better of it.

Instead I’ll just say is it football season yet? Oh wait, right. Haven’t played a down since late November of ‘85.

Well is it basketball season yet? Oh right. We cut Cross out and have a new coach who lost all of the old recruits and such.

Well, I guess the softball team will take the highlight with a NISC final appearance.

(05-20-2018 01:16 AM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(05-19-2018 11:22 PM)BirdofParadise Wrote:  http://espn1420.com/bracket-pairings-set...ournament/

Hey Bird, I took the Liberty to write up your preview on AState for you: Hopefully we last long enough it can be used:

#9 Arkansas State: 20-31 (11-19 SBC) Head Coach: Tommy Raffo

Summary: It was not long ago that the Sun Belt had left the Red Wolves for dead. They sat at 4-14 in Conference Play after a home sweep at the hands of Troy. However, the Calendar turned to May, and like most Tommy Raffo teams before them, the Red Wolves picked things up, winning series @ South Alabama, vs Texas State, and @ Little Rock to close the year, making the tournament for the 9th straight year

Strengths: A-State has gotten consistent pitching most of the year from its front line starters. Brady Welsh is not the most spectacular pitcher in the league, but he finds ways to get outs and keep his team in games. Nate Alberius is not as consistant as Welsh on Saturday, but when on is among the league's best. Alberius has been at his best when his team needed him most, producing complete games against Louisiana and Little Rock, and throwing 8.1 innings of 1 run ball against South Alabama. Those two have provided enough that a solid but not spectacular offense was able to get going. Kyle McDonald has 15 homers this season and is most likely an All Conference starter at 1st base. Jeremy Brown in front of him is hitting just under .400 in conference play. They have capable hitters in front and behind them in Drew Tipton and Winston Welch. If the pitching is on, the offense is good enough that the Red Wolves can win games

Weaknesses: Depth remains the biggest issue for this club. Outside of Welsh, Alberius and relievers Peyton Culbertson and Bo Ritter, the bullpen has bordered somewhere between mediocre and just plain bad. After the top 4 guys, no other player has an ERA below 7. There have been flashes from guys like Carter Holt, who is currently the #3 starter and Coulton Leee, but not enough consistency to produce much. Despite some of the strengths on the offensive side, the Red Wolves have been decimated by injuries. Both Justin Felix and Alex Howard, the two top returning hitters coming into the season were lost in pre season forcing Jacob Jablonski and Cullen Ray into regular playing time. While both have improved since the start of the season, the lineup continues to be weak at the bottom of the order.

Outlook: As most in the Sun Belt can attest by now, you can never count out a Tommy Raffo coached team in the Tournament. A-State has won at least 2 games in the Sun Belt Tournament for 8 straight years, and has developed a knack for knocking some of the bigger names out. This team does not have the depth to win the tournament, but if they can get by UTA on Tuesday, they certainly have the capability to ruin a couple teams seasons along the way.

I'm sure I'll be stealing some of this. Nicely done.

(05-20-2018 02:27 AM)FoUTASportscaster Wrote:  I started to write up something snarky about UTA’s epic tank, then thought better of it.

Instead I’ll just say is it football season yet? Oh wait, right. Haven’t played a down since late November of ‘85.

Well is it basketball season yet? Oh right. We cut Cross out and have a new coach who lost all of the old recruits and such.

Well, I guess the softball team will take the highlight with a NISC final appearance.

of course nothing's for sure until fall enrollment, but the mav website still shows all the returning players and redshirts from last season..which ones are for sure not coming back?

So GS and South tie for the third-best record in the Sun Belt and get rewarded by having to play each other, while the Cajuns with their 5th-best record get to play someone from seeds 7-10 on their second game. I hope the coaches are taking note of the sheer lunacy of this.

(05-20-2018 12:48 AM)chiefsfan Wrote:  Just a reminder that the SBC's deal with ESPN+ begins on Tuesday with the first round of the tournament. If you want to watch the tournament, you will have to shell out the 4.99 per month now.

There is a 7 day free trial available though, so in theory, you could subscribe, watch all 6 days of tournament play, and then cancel right before your card gets charged.

It actually began with the softball tournament

(05-20-2018 08:57 AM)EigenEagle Wrote:  So GS and South tie for the third-best record in the Sun Belt and get rewarded by having to play each other, while the Cajuns with their 5th-best record get to play someone from seeds 7-10 on their second game. I hope the coaches are taking note of the sheer lunacy of this.

Yup. No point in divisions. We played several years skipping an opponent without divisions.

(05-20-2018 08:57 AM)EigenEagle Wrote:  So GS and South tie for the third-best record in the Sun Belt and get rewarded by having to play each other, while the Cajuns with their 5th-best record get to play someone from seeds 7-10 on their second game. I hope the coaches are taking note of the sheer lunacy of this.

Well, you did get to play 18 home conference games this year. So there's that.

Hey. It is what it is. And it ain't gonna change any time soon.

Just go play.

(05-20-2018 09:33 AM)warhawk09 Wrote:  

(05-20-2018 12:48 AM)chiefsfan Wrote:  Just a reminder that the SBC's deal with ESPN+ begins on Tuesday with the first round of the tournament. If you want to watch the tournament, you will have to shell out the 4.99 per month now.

There is a 7 day free trial available though, so in theory, you could subscribe, watch all 6 days of tournament play, and then cancel right before your card gets charged.

It actually began with the softball tournament

Yes but only cat mom watches the SBC softball tournament

(05-20-2018 10:11 AM)BirdofParadise Wrote:  

(05-20-2018 08:57 AM)EigenEagle Wrote:  So GS and South tie for the third-best record in the Sun Belt and get rewarded by having to play each other, while the Cajuns with their 5th-best record get to play someone from seeds 7-10 on their second game. I hope the coaches are taking note of the sheer lunacy of this.

Well, you did get to play 18 home conference games this year. So there's that.

Hey. It is what it is. And it ain't gonna change any time soon.

Just go play.

Actually the Cajuns will play somebody 7-9
If 10 wins CCU plays them

(05-20-2018 08:57 AM)EigenEagle Wrote:  So GS and South tie for the third-best record in the Sun Belt and get rewarded by having to play each other, while the Cajuns with their 5th-best record get to play someone from seeds 7-10 on their second game. I hope the coaches are taking note of the sheer lunacy of this.

I bet Troy is happy about the setup this year.

Predicting Troy vs coastal championship game

(05-20-2018 11:29 AM)Artemis Silver Bow Wrote:  Predicting Troy vs coastal championship game

I’m not predicting anything

Louisiana will be tough to beat at their house

(05-20-2018 11:20 AM)rokamortis Wrote:  

(05-20-2018 08:57 AM)EigenEagle Wrote:  So GS and South tie for the third-best record in the Sun Belt and get rewarded by having to play each other, while the Cajuns with their 5th-best record get to play someone from seeds 7-10 on their second game. I hope the coaches are taking note of the sheer lunacy of this.

I bet Troy is happy about the setup this year.

Ya it’s a better bracket for sure. However Louisiana. At home

(05-20-2018 11:35 AM)Atlanta Trojan Wrote:  

(05-20-2018 11:20 AM)rokamortis Wrote:  

(05-20-2018 08:57 AM)EigenEagle Wrote:  So GS and South tie for the third-best record in the Sun Belt and get rewarded by having to play each other, while the Cajuns with their 5th-best record get to play someone from seeds 7-10 on their second game. I hope the coaches are taking note of the sheer lunacy of this.

I bet Troy is happy about the setup this year.

Ya it’s a better bracket for sure. However Louisiana. At home

Well,, here's something to ponder. Two things....

This is the sixth time the Cajuns have hosted. They have only reached the finals twice (1997-lost So. Alabama, 2013-Lost FAU)

And, the last time the home team won the tournament was in 2000 (South Alabama-5 seed)

That home stuff isn't what it's cracked up to be at tournament time. JMO

Home field advantage plays a limited role in the tournament. Cajuns get the advantage of playing last and avoiding the heat the first day, but one bad weather day and that advantage goes away. One loss and the advantage goes away.

Some examples: 2015 Troy scheduled the late game, but one poor start by their ace meant the 2nd seeded Trojans got sent to the losers bracket. They finished the night game after 11pm Central, and then had to turn around and play 12 hours later against a team that had several hours more rest. Trojans tired quickly in the elimination game and were 2 and Q out of their own tournament before anyone knew what happened.

2016 Texas State got screwed by a Texas Afternoon Thunderstorm. Storm hit on a Thursday afternoon, after two elimination games earlier in the day had finished, and before Texas State played their scheduled 7:30 winners bracket game. The 3 plus hour delay, made it physically impossible for the league to get all 4 games in that day, so the Bobcats game got moved to 11am the next day. Negating the home field crowd advantage entirely, and putting them in the unenviable position of having to play an elimination game later that same day if they lost. They lost game 1. Looked fatigued in game 2 and lost, and were out of the tournament

Georgia Southern almost broke the home team curse last year in that disaster of a tournament, but having to play in essence 3 elimination games in a 36 hour period thanks to the Weather did them no favors.

The home team should always play game three, but never do.