Maryland took two of three against UCLA to advance to the Super Regionals (which is essentially the sweet 16).
UCLA was the No. 1 seed for the entire tournament.
Maryland beat UCLA 2-1 on Monday night.
Maryland and Illinois both advance to the Super Regionals.
What's my take: Believe it or not, I come out of this tournament feeling that Michigan State isn't that far away from being a team that can make the Super Regionals. I realize that MSU didn't make the field of 64 this year (was No. 66 as the second team out). But in watching Maryland face the No. 1 overall seed, the Bruins were dealt the same 2-1, tight medicine from the Terps that MSU received in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. It was almost the exact same game. That doesn't mean MSU is as good as UCLA, but if you're good enough to battle 2-1 with Maryland for nine innnings in the Big Ten Tournament, then you might be solid.
Secondly, Illinois breezed through its regional to advance to the Super Regional. I didn't see any team play Illinois as tough as MSU did when MSU lost to Illinois 2-0 in the Big Ten semifinals.
Overall, 5 SEC teams made the Super Regionals, along with 4 ACC teams, 2 Big Ten teams, 1 Big 12 team and four mid-majors (Cal State Fullerton, Missouri State, VCU, Louisiana Lafayette).
The Big Ten was a non-factor in this tournament for two or three decades. But Indiana made it to Omaha two years ago. Indiana narrowly lost in the Super Regionals last year. Maryland narrowly lost in the Super Regionals last year as an ACC team and is back now as a Big Ten team.
I think the takeaway is that if you can compete in the top third of the Big Ten right now, you can compete for a trip to Omaha.
I don't know for sure if MSU had the pitching depth to win a third or fourth game in an NCAA Regional. We saw some other quality teams (Columbia and Radford) run out of pitching today and give up 20 runs. I don't know if MSU has the depth to go that long on a stage like this.
But judging MSU's tournament performance against two teams going to the Super Regionals, and perhaps farther, I have to say that MSU can hang with just about anybody. They didn't make the NCAA Tournament this year, but they might be closer to being a legit contender for Omaha now than they were two or three years ago when they won the Big Ten regular season title, simply because they are facing more Super Regional teams on a regular basis now, and hanging in there just fine.
I never, ever thought of MSU baseball as a program that could conceivably get to Omaha. Never thought I would think in those terms. But MSU might as well aim for it, because they aren't far away.
UCLA was the No. 1 seed for the entire tournament.
Maryland beat UCLA 2-1 on Monday night.
Maryland and Illinois both advance to the Super Regionals.
What's my take: Believe it or not, I come out of this tournament feeling that Michigan State isn't that far away from being a team that can make the Super Regionals. I realize that MSU didn't make the field of 64 this year (was No. 66 as the second team out). But in watching Maryland face the No. 1 overall seed, the Bruins were dealt the same 2-1, tight medicine from the Terps that MSU received in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. It was almost the exact same game. That doesn't mean MSU is as good as UCLA, but if you're good enough to battle 2-1 with Maryland for nine innnings in the Big Ten Tournament, then you might be solid.
Secondly, Illinois breezed through its regional to advance to the Super Regional. I didn't see any team play Illinois as tough as MSU did when MSU lost to Illinois 2-0 in the Big Ten semifinals.
Overall, 5 SEC teams made the Super Regionals, along with 4 ACC teams, 2 Big Ten teams, 1 Big 12 team and four mid-majors (Cal State Fullerton, Missouri State, VCU, Louisiana Lafayette).
The Big Ten was a non-factor in this tournament for two or three decades. But Indiana made it to Omaha two years ago. Indiana narrowly lost in the Super Regionals last year. Maryland narrowly lost in the Super Regionals last year as an ACC team and is back now as a Big Ten team.
I think the takeaway is that if you can compete in the top third of the Big Ten right now, you can compete for a trip to Omaha.
I don't know for sure if MSU had the pitching depth to win a third or fourth game in an NCAA Regional. We saw some other quality teams (Columbia and Radford) run out of pitching today and give up 20 runs. I don't know if MSU has the depth to go that long on a stage like this.
But judging MSU's tournament performance against two teams going to the Super Regionals, and perhaps farther, I have to say that MSU can hang with just about anybody. They didn't make the NCAA Tournament this year, but they might be closer to being a legit contender for Omaha now than they were two or three years ago when they won the Big Ten regular season title, simply because they are facing more Super Regional teams on a regular basis now, and hanging in there just fine.
I never, ever thought of MSU baseball as a program that could conceivably get to Omaha. Never thought I would think in those terms. But MSU might as well aim for it, because they aren't far away.
