MSU Baseball: How to Make the SEC Tournament
At this point in the baseball season, MSU has nothing left but the faint hope they may get to Hoover to play in the SEC Tournament. The overall record is bad (24-27), but it’s the SEC record that has them currently dead last in the conference standings.
8-19. It’s awfully ugly to look at. But somehow someway there is a chance for State to make the tournament.
The main reason for any realistic hope at all is because the final regular season series is against Tennessee, who is 13th at 8-18. They, of course, are only 1/2 game ahead of the Bulldogs because one of their games was cancelled. So we know State holds their own fate to get out of the SEC cellar.
The 12th and final spot for the tournament belongs to Georgia, who is 9-17. They also have played one less game than MSU due to a cancellation.
The 11th spot is out of reach for State, as they can only tie Alabama (11-16), but the Tide took the season series in Starkville, therefore holding the tie-breaker.
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Georgia will host Arkansas (15-11) this weekend. The Razorbacks are pretty firmly in the NCAA Tournament field with a RPI of 50, but any losses to a team like UGA with a RPI of 91 could hurt pretty bad; so they need to pick up some wins as well.
If Georgia sweeps or takes two of three from Arkansas, then MSU is eliminated.
If Georgia wins only one game vs. ARK, then MSU must sweep Tennessee to make the tournament.
If Georgia is swept by Arkansas, then MSU must at least take two of three from Tennessee.
At a minimum – Mississippi State must win the series at UT. That’s a feat the Bulldogs have only accomplished once this season (South Carolina), but it’s the least they can do this weekend to have any hope at all. John Cohen will have to enter the weekend coaching for a sweep, because in all likelihood Georgia will at least win one game at home vs. Arkansas.
It’s a pretty big hole the Dawgs find themselves in. They need all of this just to be the 12 seed and play a single-elimination game on Tuesday of next week….then if they can win that, go on a run to win the SEC Tournament and make a Regional as an automatic qualifier. To say the deck is stacked against them would be putting it mildly, but this is the hand we’ve dealt ourselves. Let’s see what happens.