For a team that is well outside the top 25 in both the D1Baseball rankings and USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, the Florida Gators have one of the best resumes in the country for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Gators are ranked No. 22 overall on D1Baseball’s RPI report to close out the regular season. Florida enters the postseason with a 28-26 record, guaranteeing a win percentage greater than .500 no matter what happens in the upcoming SEC Tournament.
The Gators had the toughest regular season schedule in the country, ranking first overall in strength of schedule. There’s a lot of talent that goes to play college baseball in the state of Florida, and the Gators see most of those teams.
Breaking down Florida’s wins and losses
Similar to the NET rankings in college basketball, D1Baseball’s RPI Report features a quadrant system to better categorize each win and loss. Quadrant 1 wins can help a team win a tiebreaker when the Field of 64 is picked, but Quadrant 4 losses can have the reverse effect.
Florida played the majority of its games against Quadrant 1 opponents, going 13-17. The Gators struggled against Quadrant 2 opponents with a 2-6 record and split the four games it played against Quadrant 3 teams. Most importantly, Florida dropped just one of 12 games against Quadrant 4 opponents.
Up Next
Florida can still move up the RPI Report with a strong performance at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama. The Gators take on the Vanderbilt Commodores on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. ET.
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