• East Regional preview.
• Central Regional preview.• West Regional preview.
• Click here for Golfweek's complete postseason coverage.
I think the NCAA Men’s Division I Golf Committee did an excellent job in its selections for this week’s regional championships. This was the first time selections were made without consideration of district allocations and under the guidance of the new .500 Rule, which required teams to have a .500 or better won-loss record against Division I schools to be eligible for postseason play.
After the 28 teams that automatically qualified by winning their conference championships, the committee picked what it felt were the best 53 teams. It had to shift some teams around to balance each region, and overall I give the committee high marks for a job well done.
The one thing – there had to be something, right? – that has me scratching my head is the committee’s overall seedings. It has Georgia No. 1 and the top seed in the East; USC No. 2 and the top seed in the West; and Alabama No. 3 and the top seed in the Central.
How on earth is Alabama the No. 3 overall seed and the team to get shipped out of its region? The Crimson Tide are ranked No. 1 by
Golfweek. They won six times (in 10 stroke-play starts), including the Southeastern Conference title. USC has three victories (it lost in a playoff at the Pac-10 Championship), and Georgia has only two.
Alabama has finished higher than Georgia in each of their four meetings this season, although it is 0-2 against USC, finishing one spot lower at The Preview and two spots behind the Trojans at the U.S. Collegiate.
“We were a little surprised (about being sent to the Central),” said Tide senior and team leader Michael Thompson. “But the bottom line is we have to go out and play, and it really doesn’t matter where it is. If we play like we know we can, it doesn’t matter which region we’re in, we’ll get to the finals.”
Like Thompson, I can’t imagine the Tide not being at Purdue’s Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex for the May 28-31 finals.
Another interesting item are the seedings of the automatic qualifiers. For the most part, winning your conference championship doesn’t carry much weight when it’s time to seed the teams. Consider that of the 28 AQs, 15 are seeded between 20-27. The last four seeds in the East are AQs, as are the last six in the Central and last four in the West.
But hey, at least they are still playing.
Now for the good stuff.
Which 10 teams from each region will advance to the NCAA finals?
Here’s my picks (seedings listed):
• East (Council Fire GC, Chattanooga, Tenn.): I think the committee did a great job here and we could see the top 10 seeds move on: 1. Georgia, 2. Charlotte, 3. South Carolina, 4. Duke, 5. Chattanooga, 6. Auburn, 7. East Tennessee State, 8. Michigan State, 9. Mississippi, 10. UAB.
But keep an eye on 11th-seeded Virginia Tech, 12th-seeded North Carolina State and my darkhorse, 15th-seeded Georgia State, especially if Joel Sjoholm can continue to carry the load.
• Central (Ohio State’s Scarlet Course, Columbus, Ohio): I like the top six seeds: 1. Alabama, 2. Oklahoma State, 3. Georgia Tech, 4. Florida, 5. Tennessee, 6. Lamar. I also like No. 9 seed Texas A&M.
However, Wake Forest (7), Indiana (8) and Louisville (10) have to kick it up a notch. Traditionally, No. 12 seed Kent State plays well at the Scarlet Course, so I think it will get one of the spots. Also watch out for 11th-seeded Wichita State. My darkhorse here is 18th-seeded Illinois.
• West (Gold Mountain GC, Bremerton, Wash.): This is where many have predicted there could be the biggest shake-up. The top four seeds are solid: 1. USC. 2. UCLA. 3. Florida State. 4. Stanford. But seeds 5-10 can easily be termed questionable.
Still, I’m going down the line with Clemson (5), UNLV (6), North Carolina (7) and Texas Tech (8), with Central Florida (9), Arizona State (10) and San Diego State (11) battling for the final two spots. My darkhorse here is No. 17 California.
OK, so I’ve been known to be wrong a time or two. Isn’t that why they call me Wrong Ron?
But one thing I know for sure: I will be at Purdue for my 24th consecutive NCAA Championship (more than any active coach). The question is, who will join me?
Posted: 5/14/2008
print
email
discuss
