A few tournaments remain – conference championships in particular – before the NCAA Men’s Division I Golf Committee announces the fields May 5 for the three 2008 NCAA region championships.
Still, it’s interesting to see how things are shaping up. With the idea of trying to make each regional as equal as possible as far as strength of field is concerned, expect to see a number of teams be placed outside their home regions. This should especially be the case for teams in the East.
Based on the
Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings through April 7, 16 of the top 30 teams are located in the East, including seven of the top 10 and 10 of the top 15. In comparison, the Central has eight among the top 30 and just one in the top 10, while the West has six of the first 30, two of those in the top 10.
Here’s how I would disperse the current top-30 teams and seed the top 10 in each region (latest
Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings in parentheses):
EAST: 1. Alabama (1), 2. Charlotte (4), 3. Florida State (7), 4. Chattanooga (12), 5. Auburn (15), 6. Clemson (19), 7. UCF (20), 8. Wake Forest (22), 9. UAB (26), 10. Lamar (29).
CENTRAL: 1. Georgia (2), 2. Oklahoma State (6), 3. Florida (8), 4. Tennessee (10), 5. South Carolina (13), 6. Texas A&M (17), 7. East Tennessee State (21), 8. Michigan State (24), 9. Indiana (25), 10. Texas Tech (28).
WEST: 1. UCLA (3), 2. USC (5), 3. Georgia Tech (9), 4. Stanford (11), 5. UNLV (14), 6. Duke (16), 7. Louisville (18), 8. Wichita State (23), 9. Arizona State (27), 10. San Diego State (30).
This would give each regional four top-12 teams, five of the top 15 and seven of the top 21. Coming up with a power ranking by totaling each teams current rank, the East would be at 155, Central 154, and West 156.
Of course, things are sure to change over the next three weeks, but the bottom line, especially for teams in the East, is to be prepared to travel.
HOME COOKING: Texas landed its first victory of the season earlier this week, winning its own Morris Williams Invitational at the University of Texas Golf Club. The Longhorns, who three times this spring finished outside the top 10, shot 16-over 868 and finished six shots better than Oklahoma State in a field that included six top-20 teams.
The importance of the Texas victory can’t be understated because of this season’s new rule that requires teams to have at least .500 won-loss records against Division I schools to be eligible for the postseason. The Longhorns were 67-75-3 going into the Morris Williams, but picked up 14 wins and now stand at 81-75-3. A poor finish would have been disasterous. Instead, they have some breathing room going into the Big 12 Championship, April 25-27, where they now only need to finish 9th or better to stay above .500.
BRAINS AND BIRDIES: Alabama golfer Joseph Sykora, along with Auburn swimmer Kristen Hastrup, have been named recipients of the 2007-’08 Southeastern Conference H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. The awards will be presented May 29 during the annual awards banquet at the league’s spring meetings in Destin, Fla..
Don’t expect Sykora to be there, however. He almost assuredly should be in West Lafayette, Ind., that week competing with the rest of the Crimson Tide at the NCAA Championship at Purdue University.
Sykora will receive a $10,000 post-graduate scholarship provided by AT&T. The senior from Daphne, Ala., earned his undergraduate degree in accounting in 2007 with a 4.0 grade point average and now is enrolled in the university’s masters program in Accounting, where he also has a 4.0 GPA.
Sykora, medalist at the Topy Cup last fall, has played a key role in Alabama’s holding down the No. 1 spot in the
Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings. He was voted SEC Men’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2006 and ’07, and has been a finalist for the school’s Paul W. Bryant Student-Athlete Award the last two years.
A look ahead
What: Arizona State/Thunderbird Invitational, April 11-13, Karsten Golf Club, Tempe, Ariz.
Why it’s important: This is big for the two in-state teams on the bubble of the .500 rule for postseason eligibility. It’s the final outing before the Pac-10 Championship for host team Arizona State and rival Arizona. No. 27-ranked Arizona State enters with a record of 51-47-2, while Arizona stands at 74-72-1. The 15-team field includes 11 teams ranked in the top 100, headed by No. 17 Texas A&M.
• • •
What: Wolfpack Intercollegiate, April 11-13, River Landing Golf Club, Wallace, N.C.
Why it’s important: The pressure is on host North Carolina State. With a 44-59 record, the Wolfpack needs at least a top-5 finish in the 15-team field to have a reasonable shot of reaching .500 going into the ACC Championship. The 34th-ranked ’Pack has its work cut out, as the field features No. 7 Florida State, No. 16 Duke, No. 22 Wake Forest and No. 31 North Carolina.
Posted: 4/11/2008
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