Hard for me to be too down on the team when looking at it from 30,000 feet since I thought they'd finish .500 in the league with some breaks and good injury luck. They obviously exceeded that, which is nice. I can't help but feel though that they left a lot of meat on the SEC bone and pretty much gave away some games that they absolutely should have won. Also hard to ignore that way too many SEC loses were beatdowns... and that'll happen to anyone, but there were a couple too many this season. All things considered though, 16-14 in league play (and undefeated in midweek) was quite an accomplishment for a team that struggled mightily to hit in league play, had very inconsistent starting pitching early on, and ended up with just a handful of guys in the (deep) pen that were SEC level reliable on most weekends. Still, this team could have, and should have finished 18-12, putting them alone at 4th in the SEC and sewing up a super regional spot. Questionable coaching decisions and strategies (pitching decisions/changes, certain lineups, gratuitous use of the shift, etc) aside, there was an underlying issue within this team that seemed to stick with them for most of the season after conference play began... they didn't have a sharp edge to them (IMO). hard to see it at times on TV, but watching in person, it's like a huge group of nice guys who at times come across as uninspired and not very energetic. I'm not sure if the whole post game issue with the Ohio State snapchat thing sorta curtailed their energy some, but it was not where it needed to be (and a far cry from that 2023 team that JJ inherited after the LSU series... though I get there were some extenuating circumstances there that helped lead to such a squad.
Anyway, it's late, I've been out since the end of the Bama game and haven't really dug into #'s and such. Maybe tomorrow. But for now, I'll stand by that Bama is probably on the good side of the bubble. The problem is, they are in a no win situation with having to play Mizzou. Win the game, get zero RPI bump (may actually lose a few points again). Heaven forbid, Bama comes out sleepy and sluggish and loses the game, it's a killer. But a looming matchup with the Vols could prove to be massive. If Bama can win those 2 though, they are hosting.
Also, I feel sorta bad for whatever regional host draws Florida as a #2 seed. That's what they should be, but they are playing much more like a high #1 right now.
Anyway, it's late, I've been out since the end of the Bama game and haven't really dug into #'s and such. Maybe tomorrow. But for now, I'll stand by that Bama is probably on the good side of the bubble. The problem is, they are in a no win situation with having to play Mizzou. Win the game, get zero RPI bump (may actually lose a few points again). Heaven forbid, Bama comes out sleepy and sluggish and loses the game, it's a killer. But a looming matchup with the Vols could prove to be massive. If Bama can win those 2 though, they are hosting.
Also, I feel sorta bad for whatever regional host draws Florida as a #2 seed. That's what they should be, but they are playing much more like a high #1 right now.
It is one of the reasons I'm in the "exceeded" group. I saw a post on X that said UT, UM, and UofArk weren't swept this season. We know Bama wasn't. That's another reason. 
