Virginia was 21-5 in its first 26 games; in its final 29, the record was 14-15, and this included a 2-7 finish in ACC regular-season play against Pitt, Cal and Louisville, none of whom are NCAA Tournament-bound.
Eye test being what it is, Virginia, at 35-20, with an RPI at 23, is NCAA Tournament-bound; not that we should be expecting much when they get there.
“I have full confidence in this club’s ability to win an ACC Tournament. We’ve done it before, and this team is more talented than some teams that I have done it with. I have full confidence in this team’s ability to win a regional and continue to advance,” first-year UVA coach Chris Pollard said on Saturday, after the 10-5 loss at Louisville that clinched that series loss – not sure if he’s trying to sell us on the idea, his team, or himself.
It’s probably 2 and 3 there; the ship has long since sailed on those outside the clubhouse.
This Virginia team has been Jekyll and Hyde – winning two of three at North Carolina (43-10, RPI: 5) and two of three at home against Wake Forest (38-18, RPI: 18) and Virginia Tech (29-23, RPI: 47) while sweeping a home-and-home with Liberty (38-18, RPI: 36); then getting woodshedded in a sweep at Pitt (30-23, RPI: 50) and losing two of three to Cal (29-25, RPI: 55) and Louisville (30-26, RPI: 83) and a midweek home game to JMU (21-32, RPI: 171).
Virginia is 7-9 in Quad 1 and 9-7 in Quad 2; its resume stacks up well against other likely #2 regional seeds in that respect.
- Oregon State: 43-12, RPI: 17, Quad 1: 2-3, Quad 2: 10-3, SOS: 61
- Wake Forest: 38-18, RPI: 18, Quad 1: 6-14, Quad 2: 8-2, SOS: 16
- West Virginia: 37-13, RPI: 19, Quad 1: 8-4, Quad 2: 9-7, SOS: 64
- Oklahoma: 32-19, RPI: 20, Quad 1: 8-13, Quad 2: 9-6, SOS: 6
- Kansas: 39-16, RPI: 21, Quad 1: 9-6, Quad 2: 11-8, SOS: 68
- Cincinnati: 37-19, RPI: 22, Quad 1: 13-11, Quad 2: 4-3, SOS: 37
- Virginia: 35-20, RPI: 23, Quad 1: 7-9, Quad 2: 9-7, SOS: 15
- Coastal Carolina: 36-19, RPI: 24, Quad 1: 6-6, Quad 2: 10-5, SOS: 25
- Arkansas: 36-19, RPI: 25, Quad 1: 14-13, Quad 2: 4-1, SOS: 12
- Mercer: 43-13, RPI: 26, Quad 1: 1-7, Quad 2: 7-3, SOS: 124
- Missouri State: 32-18, RPI: 27, Quad 1: 5-8, Quad 2: 5-9, SOS: 46
- Jacksonville State: 42-13, RPI: 28, Quad 1: 7-8, Quad 2: 7-2, SOS: 117
- Oklahoma State: 36-19, RPI: 29, Quad 1: 8-11, Quad 2: 10-2, RPI: 51
- Miami: 36-17, RPI: 30, Quad 1: 7-8, Quad 2: 7-6, SOS: 50
- Tennessee: 36-19, RPI: 31, Quad 1: 11-10, Quad 2: 2-3, SOS: 24
- Central Florida: 31-20, RPI: 32, Quad 1: 5-8, Quad 2: 10-5, SOS: 21
The resume is solid #2 seed, even with the stumble down the stretch.
“But we have to play better,” Pollard conceded after the series loss at Louisville. “We have to get better in all three phases than we were the last two days. That starts with our coaching staff and me. We’re committed to these guys. We’ll get back to practice on Monday and get ready for a big week in Charlotte. We have a lot of baseball still left ahead of us.”
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Chris Graham
