Doc

The BBall schools will not be jettisoned. If a "merger" happens, it will be as a negotiated split with the BBall schools keeping the name, and the FBall schools folding in with the ACC leftovers. Both conferences survive. HOWEVER, if this goes down after BSU/SMU/UH/UCF/UM/Navy/SDSU are all established, it wouldn't be such a clean move.

If not for the Pitt/Syracuse treachery, the BigEast would have had the power to poach ACC teams should schools start bolting for other conferences, and not the other way around. With all our new additions, it would be a little tricky if we just said, "sorry folks, just kidding, go back to your cDOA, we'll let Pitt/Cuse back, and a bunch of others in as well." Maybe this is what's behind Marinatto's resignation -- by adding all these new teams quickly, the BigEast may have inadvertantly placed itself in a weaker position (especially if you're a BBall school). Should the ACC collapse, THEY will obviously backfill with BigEast FBall schools. If this happens sooner, UConn/RU/UC/UL/USF have the upper hand as the establishment. If this takes a year, then Temple will at least have their foot in the door as well. If this drags on longer, then I fear you can just throw us in a pool with all the other new admits, and it would be easier to leave us out ("they'll be OK, they'll still have their rival in UCF").

Should we face Hofstra. . . their nickname is the Pride, but also go by Flying Dutchman (for the boat) or is it Flying DutchmEn, or in the case of softball, Flying Dutchwomen? Anyone know?

Congratulations! Looks like small-ball was the winning strategy. Had the Gators tried that in the sixth...oh never mind, this isn't about them. Go Bulls! Time for me to start looking for coverage at work for the CWS in case we win next weekend.

Outstanding! Three outs away.

And Lenti's bunch the first sent packing. Couldn't have happened to a more deserving coach.

For some reason, these post-season tournaments flip the home-away designations on the second day where the higher seed bats first. I think that rule needs to be changed, since there is a major strategic advantage to batting second, and the team that earned it should have the edge. In the BigEast tournment, they do a coin toss for the home designation on the final day -- complete garbage if you ask me.

They don't re-seed. The winner of the Gainesville regional would play the winner of the Los Angeles regional. We are the second-best "seed" in Gainesville and I believe FSU is the equivalent spot in their region. I'm pretty sure we would host against either Hofstra or SDSU -- not sure what happens if it is FSU.

Gators in trouble. Down 2-1 heading into the 7th and final regulation inning. Reminds me of the last time we got into the super-regionals, when the Gators were world-beaters, except when it came to FAU, losing both times and the Bulls never had to even play them.

GAME OVER. Bulls win 1-0.

WOW! That grab has likely saved the game. UCF announcer-guy can shove that one down his throat.

The video-feed anouncer is pathetic. I've had the USF audio playing alongside the video but could still hear his histrionics with those pitching changes.

Video feed is working. Bulls up 1-0!

Can't get the video either, but it sounds like USF is batting second as the "home" team.

FazaUSF: That is my concern with the NewBigEast. Its shear size (even if you ignore the non-FBall side) will make it difficult to make a "clean" merger with ACC leftovers. That would have been a different story last summer, but now, the BigEast has been forced to expand and our fate is more closely linked with those of the southern additions (UCF, UH, SMU, and maybe Memphis) than the better brands in Louisville, Cincinnati, UConn, and even Rutgers. While I can't see UCF jumping us, Temple might.

I am not a conspiracy theorist who believes that the PITT/SU raid was conducted solely by ESPN to weaken the BigEast in negotiations. The ACC did what it did for their own survival. Remember, that move came 48 hours before the Oklahoma schools were to announce a decision regarding the Pac12 and it looked like they, Texas, and TTU were heading west. Mizzou had not yet abandoned ship and were being considered by the SEC along with the strongest of the ACC football schools. The BigEast looked to gain from the BigXII collapse while the ACC was ripe for the picking. Then, just like that, Pitt gone, Syracuse gone, buy-out raised in ACC, and their future secured -- or so it seemed. Now it appears that their show of strength and solidarity wasn't all it was cracked up to be. And all of this because of BigXII expansion??? Just imagine what it'll look like when the SEC or B10 decide to add new members and can pretty much take who they want (except for Texas, ND, or other SEC/B10 schools). Those conferences aren't going to settle for just any warm body, and the ACC has the bulk of the desirable names left (not necessarily the best teams, but that's not what it's ever been about). I still see an eventual ACC/OldBigEast leftover "merger" under the ACC banner (BBall schools split and keep the BigEast name), and right now our "current" members have the edge. No way I see them taking UCF, especially over UL or even UC, regardless of geography. Keep in mind that the ACC leftovers would be predominantly BBall-first schools, and so UL/UC/UConn would all still be excellent fits if available. My worry is that if this drags on for a while (a few years), and the NewBigEast starts to blend together, we'll lose any advantage as a member of the "more-established" old-guard, and be more likely to be cast off with UCF/SMU/UH.

BBall arenas are much better when they aren't designed for dual use with hockey games. The seats are much closer to the action, particularly along the endlines. Also, much steeper allowing for a much cosier atmosphere, with the fans right up on the players (and coaches, and refs). Thumbs up to the Sun Dome. Thumbs down to Madison Square Garden, old Freedom Hall, DePaul's Rosemont/AllState, etc, with the hockey dimensions and those rickety temporary folding seats behind the endlines with such a gradual slope that row 4 is so far from the action that you might as well be watching on TV. SLU had the right idea when they left that Kiel/Savvis/ScottTrade dual-purpose mess and opened their on-campus Chaifetz Center with similar dimensions to the Sun Dome.

The brackets are up and it looks like we get the winner of St Joe's versus Coppin State. It says the location is TBD which worries me. Most of the teams with byes are listed as the second-round host; only two schools aren't and of course we are one of them. This makes me think we would/could open on the road. . . the screwing of USF athletics has no bounds. In any case, good luck to our girls. St. Joe's BARELY escaped with a win against the Lady Billikens here in Saint Louis. And SLU only won four conference games in the regular season. Should we face St. Joes, I would expect to be heavily favored. Don't know much about Coppin State's team.

The reason USF was left out is clear. We lost to DePaul (whose coach Doug Bruno still holds much power in these tight races) and despite the nonsense these committees spew about not counting up bids from each conference, they were not about to give the Big East nine bids. Stupid arithmetic. A ninth team would have forced two Big East schools into the same "half-region" and the committee doesn't like that. As soon as I saw DePaul got in, I knew it was over. Lafayette didn't steal our bid. DePaul did, with two wins in a row over Notre Dame at the end of the year. If they lose either game, we take their place as a 10-seed. I don't buy that stuff about the team collapsing. The schedule-makers didn't do us any favors with road games at WVU, Marquette, and DePaul in that late stretch. We were significant underdogs in each of those games, as well as the two against UConn. Of course, if we had won ONE of these or beaten Pitt we wouldn't be having this discussion. As for the wNIT, I think we get the automatic bid as the highest-seeded Big East team not going to the Big Dance. We were #8 and #1-7 and #10 got in. Still waiting for them to update the bracket (funny, they already list Lafayette without the "if not to NCAA" disclaimer). . .

Currently, we sit in ninth place with one game remaining.  Here is what I think can still happen: 8-seed: USF win over Seton Hall AND Pittsburgh win at 3-12 Georgetown. 10-seed: USF loss to Seton Hall AND DePaul win vs 10-5 Notre Dame. 9-seed: Anything else (USF win/PITT loss; USF loss/DEP loss). Now for our first-round opponent: As an 8-seed, it would go 8-USF, 9-SHU, 10-DEP.  We'd play Seton Hall again. As a 9-seed, it would go 7-SHU, 8-PITT, 9-USF, 10-DEP.  We'd play PITT. As a 10-seed, it would go 5-ND, 6-UL/WVU loser, 7-SHU, 8-PITT, 9-DEP, 10-USF.  We'd get Seton Hall. For the second round, UConn is locked into #1 (playing 8-9 winner) and Rutgers is locked into #2 (playing 7-10 winner).  I agree that it will likely take a win over SHU, a first-round tourney win (SHU or PITT), and a second-round win over UConn or RU to get us safely off the bubble.  No question that it's going to be a tough road.

I got my info from the same website. Under the section regarding multiple-team tie-breakers, it says you compare head-to-head records and give the advantage to the best winning percentage EVEN IF unequal games were played. If my scenario ( had played out and the conference gave the bid to someone else, I think USF would have a legitimate complaint. The hypothetical records don't come into play until the first round of going through the standings (Nova's win over then-2nd-place GU wouldn't be the difference since USF at 0-0 could hypothetically go 2-0 or 1-1 given two shots, but Nova would eventually win further down in the standings and is why they would beat us in a straight-up two-way tie).

My understanding is that in a three-way tie, you would take best-record amongst the tied teams, regardless of number of games played in the group. If it were USF-RU-NOVA, I think it would have gone: USF (1-0), RU (1-1), NOVA (0-1). And when one team moves on, you still rank teams in order of the original "mini-conference" record. It's certainly possible that I misunderstood the procedures. . . In any case, UConn won and Rutgers lost, so it officially comes to an end, no matter how you slice it. Very disappointing.

Not so sure if a win versus Seton Hall (who just took down Marquette and won seven of last eight conference games) and a first-round win in Hartford does it for the Big Dance. Even IF we go 9-7, we're looking at an 8-9 seed in the conference tourney, and maybe draw (oh, no) Pittsburgh in the first round with UConn on the horizon. The Marquette game is huge, and there is a good chance I'll be making the 6-hour drive to Milwaukee this weekend.

As if it couldn't get any bleaker, the Providence victory over WVU tonight all but shut the door on our flickering hope of making it to the conference tournament. Of course, USF must win all three remaining games (unlikely enough in itself) and have one of the following: a) UConn loses all four games -- @ RU, UL, Nova, @ GU If UConn wins at least one more game, we need Villanova to LOSE all three, and Rutgers to WIN all three. Finish with a three-way tie (USF, NOVA, RU), and we're good. Throw in either UConn or St. John's for a four-way tie at 6-10, and we're still good. Throw in both for a five-way tie, and we're out. A UConn win at Rutgers Wednesday would eliminate both scenarios and it would be mercifully over, at least unofficially by my count.

Technically this is not true.  No likelihood of going... but USF wins 3, U Conn loses 3 and USF is going to MSG... Bulls can also still catch Providence or even Villanova in a three-way tie with Rutgers. Probably best shot is to catch Providence. If the Friars drop both home games this week (WVU, Syracuse) and USF gets redemption at the "scene of the crime" last year in East Rutherford, things COULD get very interesting on Feb 28 with PC coming to town.