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