2024 Season

[gtbeak]

For further comparison here is a list of Wake's out of conference games:
Fordham
Illinois
Akron
UNC Greensboro (L)
Dayton (3)
NC A&T
Binghamton (2)
Elon
Georgetown
Coastal (L)
High Point
Liberty
UNC Greensboro
Coastal
UNCW (L)
Elon (L)
App State
High Point
Western Carolina (3)
NC A&T

No SEC teams on that list. Heck only one Power 5 team on the list and Illinois is not a powerhouse. Granted a couple games against Coastal but this OOC schedule isn't a murder's row.

In conference we played the same teams except they had Notre Dame and Louisville while we had Pitt and Miami. So we faced all tournament teams other than BC while they faced the two teams that didn't make the tournament. Granted they swept BC but that just means that three of our wins were against better teams. I have to admit I'm scratching my head to understand why we are a bubble team and they aren't?

Illinois won the Big 10 regular season, they are really good. UNC Greensboro, UNC Wilmington, and High Point are all at or near the top of their respective leagues. Coastal is down a little from where they were 5 or so years ago, but still a likely NCAA team. Georgetown is surprisingly a pretty good team this year, not likely a tourney team but I think their RPI is around 60 or 65. As I wrote above, only 5 or so really bad games in the list. This is what CDH or CJR or whoever the coach is has to do...schedule the schools like the ones mentioned above, schools that aren't a murderer's row (that is covered by the ACC and UGa), but schools that are respectable. Obviously who those schools are next year will be a little different from who they were this year, but I would propose we get on the horn right now with the coach at Bowling Green, a Big Ten school like Purdue or Michigan, and hopefully find one who is interested in a weekend in Atlanta in late February.

I really miss the Atlanta Classic where we would have three northern schools come in and play a game against us, Kennessaw St, and Georgia St. It was usually a top half the league Big Ten school, a school like Kent St, and then a 3rd little sisters of the poor type team. That was fun to see how each of the Atlanta schools did against similar competition.

 

[FredJacket]

My point remains the same. RPI is what it is. Math. It is also a bad/flawed tool for comparing teams that have not played each other... even 2 teams in the same conference with quite a few common opponents.

Bashing Hall for this outlier of a season schedule-wise seems like just a shot because you want to take one. This was the softest schedule I recall. Alternative possibility... he tried for better & for a number of possible reasons... he couldn't swing it. Seems just as plausible as he is a terrible coach... even at scheduling.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

We HAVE to go 1-1 or better in the ACCT to make the NCAAT IMHO.

We are 9th seed in the ACC and 8 ACC teams are expected to get an invite to the NCAAT. Going 0-2 will probably put us lower ranking, 0-2 certainly wouldn't move us up.

If season stopped today, we have a 46 RPI which is below the typical 40-45 cutoff area. Going 0-2 on neutral field against UVa (RPI=12) and FSU (RPI-8) will keep us in about the same RPI position. (***** / bash on guys IIWII.)

We are 4-6 in the last 10 games now and would be 3-7 if we go 0-2. So can't play the end of season momentum argument.

 

[FredJacket]

We HAVE to go 1-1 or better in the ACCT to make the NCAAT IMHO.

We are 9th seed in the ACC and 8 ACC teams are expected to get an invite to the NCAAT. Going 0-2 will probably put us lower ranking, 0-2 certainly wouldn't move us up.

If season stopped today, we have a 46 RPI which is below the typical 40-45 cutoff area. Going 0-2 on neutral field against UVa (RPI=12) and FSU (RPI-8) will keep us in about the same RPI position. (***** / bash on guys IIWII.)

We are 4-6 in the last 10 games now and would be 3-7 if we go 0-2. So can't play the end of season momentum argument.

We're 8th in ACC in RPI. Louisville is 9th. [heads explode]

Our last 10 include road series v Clemson (#7) & FSU (#8). Home v Duke (20).

We need to pull hardest against Loiusville in the ACCT. I'm actually concerned they win their pool & that would hurt us quite a bit... if we don't do same.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

We're 8th in ACC in RPI. Louisville is 9th. [heads explode]

Our last 10 include road series v Clemson (#7) & FSU (#8). Home v Duke (20).

We need to pull hardest against Loiusville in the ACCT. I'm actually concerned they win their pool & that would hurt us quite a bit... if we don't do same.

I knew you'd use L'Ville RPI

Sure we played good teams in our last three series, kind of what we will get being 3 seed if we make it to the NCAAT. We gave up 32 runs to Clemson, 28 to Duke and 29 to FSU. We are fairly consistent.

So I have set my expectations accordingly.

 

[FredJacket]

I knew you'd use L'Ville RPI

Sure we played good teams in our last three series, kind of what we will get being 3 seed if we make it to the NCAAT. We gave up 32 runs to Clemson, 28 to Duke and 29 to FSU. We are fairly consistent.

So I have set my expectations accordingly.

Yeah... don't confuse my opinion we've done enough to be in as the "8th" ACC team... with me believing we are a great team setup for a deep run. We're not that. A deep run would be a BIG (& nice) surprise.

The team has finish almost exactly how I expected. Middle of [ACC] pack... with a good enough resume for a bid. Pretty much at their ceiling based on roster that started the season.

 

[gtbeak]

We're 8th in ACC in RPI. Louisville is 9th. [heads explode]

Our last 10 include road series v Clemson (#7) & FSU (#8). Home v Duke (20).

We need to pull hardest against Loiusville in the ACCT. I'm actually concerned they win their pool & that would hurt us quite a bit... if we don't do same.

You stole my thunder, Fred, on the ACC tourney! Spot on that we have to root very hard against Louisville this week.

 

[MWBATL]

Pretty much at their ceiling based on roster that started the season.

I must be an idiot. I thought we had some pitchers who…IF they had kept improving…would change us into a stronger team than what we got. Cam Hill’s outstanding summer in Cape Cod. Terry Busse’s hot start last year. Finatieri (sp?) and the new transfers….i thought we’d pitch better. I just don’t understand how this program has consistently ranked in the bottom quadrant of ACC pitching for most of the last decade.

 

[FredJacket]

I must be an idiot. I thought we had some pitchers who…IF they had kept improving…would change us into a stronger team than what we got. Cam Hill’s outstanding summer in Cape Cod. Terry Busse’s hot start last year. Finatieri (sp?) and the new transfers….i thought we’d pitch better. I just don’t understand how this program has consistently ranked in the bottom quadrant of ACC pitching for most of the last decade.

Not an idiot.

I'm sure many (or most) agree with you. I considered new pitching coach (unknown). Transfers... no way to know how pieces & chemistry would come together. Just too many unknowns for me. A lot went well ... more than bad now that we're here & have seen the progress.

Plus what all the experts & prognosticators were saying... nobody had Ga Tech make the tournament as far as I know.

 

[Techcaster572]

I must be an idiot. I thought we had some pitchers who…IF they had kept improving…would change us into a stronger team than what we got. Cam Hill’s outstanding summer in Cape Cod. Terry Busse’s hot start last year. Finatieri (sp?) and the new transfers….i thought we’d pitch better. I just don’t understand how this program has consistently ranked in the bottom quadrant of ACC pitching for most of the last decade.

Aeden is better suited for long relief but had to be our Friday night starter as Cam Hill hasn’t become the cape cod pitcher everyone expected

Still might happen but hasn’t yet.

I truly didn’t like the move of Terry Busse to the starter role as that experiment failed last season. I think he was better suited for the pen. Too much tweaking imo has hurt him the most.

Logan MaGuire has dealt with on again off again injuries that has affected him. Imo he’s definitely got the stuff to be a Saturday starter but that as well didn’t pan out this year.

Tate and Carson are pleasant surprises but they are both 18 year old freshmen and that’s tough to be put into the rotation that soon as pitching in hs is much different than in college.

Another freshman that has impressed is Kovala but again another freshman learning how to pitch in college.

Again another key piece in the future will be Riley Stanford. He finally hit 97 mph against fsu and got the save in game 3. Another kid that is a red shirt freshman coming off injury

Dawson Brown, Ben King, Brett Thomas, Mason Patel, Brett Barfield and Cam Jones are solid pitchers but not necessarily elite to help win the series like Clemson and fsu on the road or to make a deep run in the acc tournament.

The series against uva was won mostly because of big time offense.

 

[gtbeak]

My point remains the same. RPI is what it is. Math. It is also a bad/flawed tool for comparing teams that have not played each other... even 2 teams in the same conference with quite a few common opponents.

Bashing Hall for this outlier of a season schedule-wise seems like just a shot because you want to take one. This was the softest schedule I recall. Alternative possibility... he tried for better & for a number of possible reasons... he couldn't swing it. Seems just as plausible as he is a terrible coach... even at scheduling.

I don't consider it a "shot" because Nuke, seconded by myself, was highlighting what a poor schedule it was from an RPI POV before the season even started. If we just started posting this line of thought these past few weeks, then yeah, but it was obvious before the start of the season. To your point, perhaps Hall does try to schedule better on non-conference weekends and no one wants to play us, that is possible. I don't know if it is similar to football where you have to pay your non-conference opponents to come pay you, but if it is, perhaps we get out-bid.

 

[Techcaster572]

We're 8th in ACC in RPI. Louisville is 9th. [heads explode]

Our last 10 include road series v Clemson (#7) & FSU (#8). Home v Duke (20).

We need to pull hardest against Loiusville in the ACCT. I'm actually concerned they win their pool & that would hurt us quite a bit... if we don't do same.

Definitely need to root against the cards the most. I agree.

16-14 in acc is solid but if they go 0-2 in acc tournament, their rpi should end at 53-55

Another team to root against is Florida since they took 2 of 3 from uga and got back to over .500 overall. Need them to go 0-2 in sec tournament so they are .500 overall and eliminated from regional discussion as they are 23 in rpi so if they win one, they are likely in

 

[MWBATL]

Definitely need to root against the cards the most. I agree.

16-14 in acc is solid but if they go 0-2 in acc tournament, their rpi should end at 53-55

Another team to root against is Florida since they took 2 of 3 from uga and got back to over .500 overall. Need them to go 0-2 in sec tournament so they are .500 overall and eliminated from regional discussion as they are 23 in rpi so if they win one, they are likely in

Wasn’t Florida consensus preseason pick to win the SEC?

 

[GTNavyNuke]

I must be an idiot. I thought we had some pitchers who…IF they had kept improving…would change us into a stronger team than what we got. Cam Hill’s outstanding summer in Cape Cod. Terry Busse’s hot start last year. Finatieri (sp?) and the new transfers….i thought we’d pitch better. I just don’t understand how this program has consistently ranked in the bottom quadrant of ACC pitching for most of the last decade.

We still have Hall. Till that changes expect the same.

 

[FittedJacket]

On the topic of “stolen bids” keep an eye on the Big East. Surprisingly they weren’t as bad an RPI conference as they usually are. If UConn doesnt win their tournament they can be a Two Team conference if Georgetown or possibly St. John’s wins their tournament. UConn has a regional resume without having to win their tournament.

 

[FittedJacket]

I think we will benefit in regional selection as a result of the PAC 12 and the Big Ten also being way down this year.

 

[Techcaster572]

We still have Hall. Till that changes expect the same.

This!

 

[Techcaster572]

Wasn’t Florida consensus preseason pick to win the SEC?

Yep

They were top 10 most of the early season despite numerous losses and finally got voted out

25 losses is a big deal imo

 

[FredJacket]

We still have Hall. Till that changes expect the same.

There's always possibility that changes and things are still the same. I consider this quite likely. New era & GT just isn't playing the same game the big daddys play.

I'm also fine with finding out asap.

 

[gtbeak]

I have finished my primer on the conference tourneys. It is a 3 page Word doc, so I have to figure out how I can post it, or even if I can. Can I upload a file to this site?

Until I figure that part out, the summary is as follows:

Root for (or against):
East Carolina in AAC tournament
Indiana St in Missouri Valley tournament
San Diego over Portland in West Coast tournament
Lamar in Southland tournament
UConn over Xavier in Big East tournament
Northeastern over Charleston or UNC-Wilmington in Coastal Athletic
Nebraska and Illinois over Indiana and Ohio St in Big Ten
Dallas Baptist or Louisiana Tech in Conference USA
Southern Miss and Louisiana over Coastal Carolina, James Madison, or Troy in Sun Belt
Oregon St, Arizona, and Oregon over Cal in PAC12
Oklahoma, Oklahoma St, West Virginia and Kansas over TCU and Kansas St in Big 12
Mississippi St over Ole Miss in SEC 1st round
UGA (yuk) over LSU in SEC 1st round
Root strongly against Louisville in ACC pods.