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Breaking down the Columbia Regional bracket: Watch out for Jacksonville

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A word of warning to ODU, South Carolina and Virginia: don’t sleep on Jacksonville, the four seed in the Columbia Regional.

The Dolphins are 16-32, and of course, for a team with a .333 winning percentage, only got into the 2021 NCAA Tournament as an AQ, winning the ASUN Tournament.

To win the ASUN, Jacksonville had to beat Liberty (39-14, RPI: 36), which went on to get an at-large bid, twice, so, there’s that.

Jacksonville also has wins at Florida (38-20, RPI: 17) and at Florida State (30-22, RPI: 45) on its resume, and a 4-4 record against teams that will be in the 2021 NCAA Tournament field.

Overlook this team at your peril, whichever bracket you end up seeing them in.

Columbia Regional Team Resumes

#1 seed ODU

  • 42-14, RPI: 7
  • 14-6 Q1, 8-5 Q2
  • Non-conference RPI: 5
  • Non-conference SOS: 11
  • Overall SOS: 33

NCAA Tournament team wins/losses in 2021

  • swept four-game series with Norfolk State (25-26, RPI: 260, MEAC AQ)
  • took two of three from Northeastern (36-10, RPI: 30)
  • split home and home with ECU (41-15, RPI: 15)
  • split with VCU (37-14, RPI: 31)
  • split eight games with Charlotte (39-19, RPI: 29)
  • defeated Louisiana Tech (40-18, RPI: 24) in C-USA championship game

Overall record vs. 2021 NCAA Tournament teams: 13-7

#2 seed South Carolina

  • 33-21, RPI: 18
  • 11-18 Q1, 8-1 Q2
  • Non-conference RPI: 36
  • Non-conference SOS: 128
  • Overall SOS: 3

NCAA Tournament team wins/losses in 2021

  • swept in three-game series at Texas (42-15, RPI: 6)
  • lost two of three at Vanderbilt (40-15, RPI: 2)
  • swept Florida (38-20, RPI: 17)
  • lost to UNC (27-25, RPI: 47)
  • took two of three at LSU (34-22, RPI: 28)
  • lost two of three to Arkansas (46-10, RPI: 1)
  • swept at Ole Miss (41-19, RPI: 12)
  • lost two of three to Mississippi State (40-15, RPI: 8)
  • lost two of three to Tennessee (45-16, RPI: 5)
  • lost to Alabama (31-24, RPI: 33) in SEC Tournament

Overall record vs. 2021 NCAA Tournament teams: 9-17

#3 seed Virginia

  • 29-23, RPI: 39
  • 12-18 Q1, 9-4 Q2
  • Non-conference RPI: 20
  • Non-conference SOS: 23
  • Overall SOS: 17

NCAA Tournament team wins/losses in 2021

  • took two of three from UConn (33-17, RPI: 23)
  • lost two of three at UNC (27-25, RPI: 47)
  • lost two of three at Florida State (30-22, RPI: 45)
  • lost three of four to Notre Dame (30-11, RPI: 11)
  • split home-and-home with Liberty (39-14, RPI: 36)
  • lost two of three to Miami (32-19, RPI: 25)
  • took two of three at Georgia Tech (29-23, RPI: 46)
  • split four games with Duke (32-20, RPI: 19)
  • swept in home-and-home with VCU (37-14, RPI: 31)

Overall record vs. 2021 NCAA Tournament teams: 11-16

#4 seed Jacksonville

  • 16-32, RPI: 202
  • 4-4 Q1, 8-9 Q2
  • Non-conference RPI: 187
  • Non-conference SOS: 104
  • Overall SOS: 86

NCAA Tournament team wins/losses in 2021

  • lost three of four to Florida (38-20, RPI: 17)
  • won at Florida State (30-22, RPI: 45)
  • defeated Liberty (39-14, RPI: 36) twice in ASUN Tournament

Overall record vs. 2021 NCAA Tournament teams: 4-3

Story by Chris Graham

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