AUSTIN — It's the question facing the Longhorn baseball team since they were booted from the Big 12 conference tournament after losing to Oklahoma 3-1: “Will the UT host a NCAA regional?”
UT's chances of hosting a regional relies on its Rating Percentage Index (RPI), among other factors. And this figure can make or break a team on the bubble of an NCAA Tournament.
The Big 12 regular season champions certainly have no concerns about getting into the playoffs to try to advance to the College World Series in Omaha.
However, the Longhorns have proven to be a better team at home than on the road, so hosting a regional in Austin would be a big advantage.
Baseball websites from Baseball America and D1 Baseball had Texas in the top 16 before Big 12 tournament play. As a top 16 team, they would host one of the regionals, with experts guessing teams such as Houston or Cal State Fullerton would visit Austin and take on the potential No. 1 seed Texas.
These prognostications were based partly on RPI. Texas had an RPI as high as No. 14 before playing in the Big 12 conference tournament. But after losing to Kansas and Oklahoma, the Longhorns dropped to No. 21 in the RPI rankings.
Teams such as Texas A&M, UConn, Minnesota and Duke passed them in the process. It’s an ever-changing index, with teams constantly moving up and down after every game. But anything outside of the top 16 puts you on the bubble to host a regional.
As of Friday morning, Texas improved its ranking to No. 22. Hello, Bubble!
Top teams like Florida, Stanford, Arkansas and Oregon State have little to worry about. But teams just above and below No. 16 could ebb and flow and find themselves biting their fingernails, waiting until Sunday night’s announcement of the sixteen regional hosts.
So, keep your eyes on the RPI movement over the weekend and see if UT has enough to stay at home for the first round of the playoffs.
