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How close was Nebraska to an at-large bid?


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I hesitate to post this because...well...mainly because it came from the OWH and Dirk Chatelain, but I saw this interesting link in his "Mad Chatter" column:

 

Aaron Fitt of Baseball America breaks down the Selection Committee’s decisions. Interesting that Michigan State got an at-large bid after a fifth-place finish in the Big Ten. Fifth!?! Looks like the Huskers were closer to an at-large berth than some of us thought.

 

And the Baseball America column has this to say about Sparty being picked over Wake Forest:

 

 

The Deacons played 21 games against the top 25 in the RPI and went just 6-15 in those games, but that still compares very favorably with Michigan State, which somehow got an at-large spot despite finishing in fifth place in the Big Ten. (Also, Wake played 12 of those games on the road in league play—at Miami, North Carolina, N.C. State and Virginia.) The Spartans finished four games out of first, three out of second and two out of third, so it's not like East Carolina, which finished sixth in a tightly bunched C-USA, just a half-game out of second place.

 

Michigan State went just 2-5 against the top 25 and 3-6 against the top 50 and 13-12 against the top 100. Wake was 15-19 against the top 50 and 17-23 against the top 100. And while Michigan State's RPI (No. 45) is in solid at-large range, the Spartans are still seven spots behind the Deacs. MSU had a chance to finish in second place if it won a season-ending home series against Penn State—and if it had done so, it would have deserved an at-large bid. Instead, the Spartans lost two of three in that series, which should have been a death blow to their case.

 

I guess the question is, do you think we were close to an at-large (likely determined by Big 10 Tournament play), or is Dirk just trolling his readers (again)?

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NU and Mich St were both bubble teams this year. Both teams on the cusp of the tourney, and could've gone either way--in or out. Mich St ended the season a bit hotter than us is all. Good luck to Sparty against Pepperdine.

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