Master Lineups (pre-challenge)
All Times Eastern:
Norman Regional
[1] Oklahoma* vs. [49-64] New Mexico State – Friday 5pm
[17-32] Northwestern vs. [33-48] Harvard – Friday 2pm
UCLA Regional
[17-32] Texas Tech vs. [33-48] UC Santa Barbara – Friday 1pm
[49-64] FGCU vs. [16] UCLA* – Friday 4pm
Austin Regional
[9] Texas* vs. [49-64] Navy – Friday 2pm
[17-32] California vs. [33-48] Texas A&M Corpus Christi – Friday 11am
Athens Regional
[17-32] Florida State vs. [33-48] Troy – Friday 11am
[49-64] Winthrop vs. [8] Georgia* – Friday 2pm
Fort Worth Regional
[5] TCU vs. [49-64] Marist – Friday 6pm
[17-32] Tulsa vs. [33-48] North Carolina State – Friday 3pm
Winston Salem Regional
[17-32] Florida vs. [33-48] Pepperdine – Friday 12pm
[49-64] George Washington vs. [12] Wake Forest* – Friday 3pm
Chapel Hill Regional
[13] North Carolina* vs. [49-64] William & Mary – Friday 1pm
[17-32] Mississippi State vs. [33-48] Denver – Friday 10am
Champaign Regional
[17-32] Louisville vs. [33-48] Drake – Friday 2pm
[49-64] UWGB vs. [4] Illinois* – Friday 5pm
Charlottesville Regional
[3] Virginia* vs. [49-64] St. John’s – Friday 1pm
[17-32] Minnesota vs. [33-48] Princeton – Friday 10am
Oxford Regional
[17-32] Columbia vs. [33-48] Georgia Tech – Friday 1pm
[49-64] Alabama State vs. [14] Ole Miss* – Friday 4pm
Columbus Regional
[11] Ohio State* vs. [49-64] Buffalo – Friday 1pm
[17-32] Vanderbilt vs. [33-48] Notre Dame – Friday 10am
College Station Regional
[17-32] Oklahoma State vs. [33-48] New Mexico – Friday 12pm
[49-64] Eastern Kentucky vs. [6] Texas A&M* – Friday 3pm
USC Regional
[7] USC* vs. [49-64] Idaho – Friday 4pm
[17-32] San Diego vs. [33-48] San Diego State – Friday 1pm
Durham Regional
[17-32] Stanford vs. [33-48] Tennessee – Friday 10am
[49-64] South Carolina State vs. [10] Duke* – Friday 1pm
Blacksburg Regional
[15] Virginia Tech* vs. [49-64] East Tennessee State – Friday 2pm
[17-32] South Florida vs. [33-48] Boise State – Friday 11am
Waco Regional
[17-32] LSU vs. [33-48] UTSA – Friday 4pm
[49-64] Bryant vs. [2] Baylor* – Friday 7pm
The committee did follow the final set of rankings to a T and did use H2H to swap TCU/A&M and USC/UGA as expected. No real surprises from what I was expecting.
Instant takeaways from the bracket above:
I think UCLA has to like its draw since it already beat Texas Tech once this year back on the Kickoff weekend. Granted it was a tight 4-1 win but at least they know what they’ll face.
Can Cal go into the state of Texas for the 2nd year in a row and play the roll of spoiler? I think they definitely give Texas a good close match but Texas should come through.
North Carolina is going to have its hands full with Mississippi State assuming State can get past Denver – which is no gimme (see Florida 2 years ago about that one).
Ole Miss is going to face a tough 2nd round opponent regardless of whether it’s Columbia or Georgia Tech. Both are tough, tough teams that will challenge Ole Miss in virtually every spot including doubles. Rebels might not be able to afford losing the doubles point in the 2nd round.
Ohio State is going to have a tough 2nd round match if Vanderbilt gets past Notre Dame. Vandy is probably stronger at 1, 2, and 3 though Ohio State will have the edge down low.
Texas A&M isn’t going to get beat in the 2nd round this year. Probably will be playing with a chip on their shoulder after getting dropped down to #6 and it’s likely 2nd round opponent, Oklahoma State, was one of the bottom #2 seeds.
Duke has to be shaking its head after seeing Tennessee in the same bracket this year after the Vols upset them a year ago. Tennessee isn’t the same team this year but Stanford on the other hand is hungry for more. Stanford is stout in doubles and Tom Fawcett will go toe to toe with Nicolas Alvarez – assuming Alvarez plays after missing the ACC Tournament with a muscle injury.
Virginia Tech better be ready for what’s coming to town because they get the honor of hosting 3 conference champions who are each firing on all cylinders right now. East Tennessee State just missed being a #3 seed by 1 spot so they’re more than capable of playing with Virginia Tech.
I completely agree. San Diego is constantly getting a raw deal in the NCAA tournament. The committee should try to avoid rematches as much as possible. SD has already played SDSU this year as well, their 1st round opponent.
I don't know if UCLA should like its draw. It doesn't make much sense that Texas Tech and UCLA have to play each other again, when they could have just as easily sent Tech to play USC. USC I bet is sick of playing San Diego, and San Diego is probably even more sick of playing USC, which it seems to do every other year in the NCAAs in addition to meeting every year in the regular season. San Diego's coach, Brett Masi, used to be the Peter Smith's assistant at USC. Familiarity breeds contempt, as they say. Maybe in this case an upset too, who knows, but neither coach could be happy about this.