The favorites ruled – in a big way – during Sunday’s slate of games involving teams in the CB360 top-50, with the higher-ranked squads winning nearly 90% (39-5) of the day’s top-50 games. The five upsets included only two that knocked off teams among the top-40, as Florida Gulf Coast completed its sweep at (15) Florida, 7-4 in 11 innings, while (42) Pepperdine won 2-1 at (28) Texas A&M in the series-deciding game.
CB360 Top-50 Gameday Pages:
week-2 – Feb. 18-19 | Feb. 20
Feb. 21 | Feb. 22 | Feb. 23
week 1 – Feb. 15 | Feb. 16 | Feb. 17
To be fair, many of the weekend’s matchups were fairly one-sided and were played on the home fields of various top teams … so there was likely to be a low number of upsets. Sunday’s win allowed Pepperdine to join FGCU and Alabama as underdogs that won their weekend series vs. CB360 top-50 teams (the Tide won at #40 Florida Atlantic on Friday and Saturday, but lost game-3).
Sunday’s there other upsets all came near the bottom of the top-50: Samford 6-3 vs. (44) Purdue (ay Mississippi State) … Connecticut 1-0 vs. (46) Texas Tech (in 11-inning game at UCF) … and Big Ten favorite Indiana 3-2 at (50) Georgia Southern.
In addition to Pepperdine at Texas A&M, there were seven other head-to-head series between CB360 top-50 teams that wrapped up on Sunday. Most notably, (21) Cal State Fullerton completed its sweep at (22) TCU with a 7-0 win on Sunday, while (5) UCLA bounced back from a Saturday loss at (34) Baylor to win the series on Sunday (5-4).
The five other head-to-head series ended as follows:
• (1) North Carolina won both ends of a doubleheader vs. visiting (45) Stony Brook (7-1, 9-8) for a series sweep
• (8) Oregon State also remained unbeaten, after finishing a 4-game sweep at (32) San Diego State, 7-1
• (25) UC Irvine – which swept Baylor on opening week – beat visiting (35) California, 9-1, to win that 4-game series (3-1)
• (19) Georgia Tech won its own series-deciding game, 10-1 vs. visiting (41) St. John’s
• (33) San Diego ended its 4-game home series vs. (37) Kent State with a 14-2 win (won series 3-1)
Notre Dame (cb360 #39) won for the third straight, 8-3, at Tulane, which was among the CB360 preseason top-50. It marked the first time since 1997 that a non-conference opponent has swept series at Tulane.
The weekend’s 30 series involving CB360 top-50 teams included 18 sweeps, several mentioned above (UNC, Oregon State, Fullerton, FGCU and ND), plus the following (all at home): (2) Arkansas vs. Evansville … (3) Vanderbilt vs. Monmouth … (6) South Carolina vs. Albany … (9) Stanford vs. Fresno State … (14) Florida State vs. South Florida … (16) Arizona vs. San Jose State … (17) Ole Miss vs. Rhode Island … (20) Louisville vs. Akron … (21) Miami vs. Milwaukee … (24) Texas vs. Nebraska … (29) Virginia vs. Toledo … (30) Clemson vs. Wright State … and (38) Cal Poly vs. Seattle. One other team, (13) Rice, will be looking to complete a sweep of its 4-game series at Hawaii on Monday.
There also were 11 top-50 teams competing at various tournaments over the weekend:
• (10) Kentucky and (48) Coastal Carolina, in Myrtle Beach, SC (Coastal was host team and lost 8-2 to Kentucky on Sunday)
• host (12) Mississippi State, with (44) Purdue in the field
• host (43) Central Florida, with (46) Texas Tech in the field
• (18) Oklahoma at tournament in Corus Christi, TX
• other home tournaments for (4) LSU, (11) NC State, (23) Southern Miss. and (31) Virginia Tech
The eight 2012 College World Series teams have men with mixed results so far this season, at both ends of the spectrum (unbeaten and winless) and in between (34-23 combined; .597): Florida State 7-0 … Arkansas & Arizona 7-1 … South Carolina 5-1 … UCLA 4-2 … Kent State 1-7 … Stony Brook 0-6.
The updated CB360 top-50 is included below (full release coming later). Note that the formula has some tweaks going from the preseason to this update, as the rankings from Baseball America and Perfect Game are only a top-25 (preseason also included projected field of 64) while the coaches poll does not update after the first week of the season (thus the preseason poll still is used in the CNR) … thus there are some oddities towards the bottom of this top-50 but they will be fixed next week with a new coaches poll added to the mix.
Here’s the current CB360 top-50:
1-North Carolina … 2-Arkansas … 3-Vanderbilt … 4-LSU … 5-UCLA … 6-South Carolina … 7-Oregon
… 8-Oregon State … 9-Stanford … 10-Kentucky … 11-NC State … 12-Mississippi State … 13-Rice
14-Florida State … 15-Florida … 16-Arizona … 17-Mississippi … 18-Oklahoma … 19-Georgia Tech
20-Louisville … 21-Cal State Fullerton … 22-TCU … 23-Southern Mississippi … 24-Texas
25-UC Irvine … 26-Arizona State … 27-Miami … 28-Texas A&M … 29-Virginia … 30-Clemson
31-Virginia Tech … 32-San Diego State … 33-San Diego … 34-Baylor … 35-California
36-Sam Houston State … 37-Kent State … 38-Cal Poly … 39-Notre Dame … 40-Florida Atlantic
41-St. John’s … 42-Pepperdine … 43-Central Florida … 44-Purdue … 45-Stony Brook
46-Texas Tech … 47-Appalachian State … 48-Coastal Carolina … 49-Creighton … 50-Georgia Southern
CB360 Preseason Top-50 (Composite National Rankings; includes formula description and elements)
Sunday’s top-50 games are listed below, with links for live-coverage, team game notes (weekly releases) and an assortment of postgame links (recaps from both teams, HTML & PDF stats, photo galleries, video highlights & postgame video/audio):
________________________________
Sunday’s Top-50 Matchups (Feb. 24, 2013)
(based on the CBS360 Composite National Rankings)
upsets in italics
• at (1) North Carolina (5-0) 7-10-1 … def. (45) Stony Brook (0-5) 1-6-4 (DH gm-1; UNC has clinched series, 2-0)
UNC Game Notes: HTML & PDF | SB Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | UNC Recap | SB Recap | Photos-1 | Photos-2
• at (1) North Carolina (6-0) 9-12-0 … def. (45) Stony Brook (0-6) 8-7-1 (DH gm-2; series sweep) | Live Stats
UNC Game Notes: HTML & PDF | SB Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | UNC Recap | SB Recap
• (5) UCLA (4-2) 5-7-0 … won at (34) Baylor (2-5) 4-9-2 (UCLA won series, 2-1) | Live Stats
UCLA Game Notes: HTML & PDF | BAY Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | UCLA Recap | BAY Recap | Photos | Video: Highlights & Postgame
• (8) Oregon State (8-0) 7-14-1 … won at (32) San Diego State (3-4) 1-7-0 (4-gm series sweep)
OR-St. Game Notes: HTML & PDF | SDSU Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | OR-St. Recap | SDSU Recap | Quotes
• (10) Kentucky (5-1) 8-10-0 … def. (48) Coastal Carolina (3-2) 2-6-5 (Myrtle Beach; tournament)
Kentucky Game Notes: HTML & PDF | CC Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | KY Recap | CC Recap | Live Stats
• at (19) Georgia Tech (6-1) 10-11-0 … def. (41) St. John’s (1-6) 1-6-0 (GT won series, 2-1)
GT Game Notes: HTML & PDF | StJ Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | GT Recap | StJ Recap | Live Stats
• (21) Cal State Fullerton (8-0) 7-8-3 … won at (22) TCU (0-6) 0-5-2 (series sweep)
TCU Game Notes: HTML & PDF | CSF Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | CSF Recap | TCU Recap | Live Stats | Notes | Photos
• at (25) UC Irvine (6-1) 9-16-1 … def. (35) California (4-4) 1-7-3 (UCI won series, 3-1)
Cal Game Notes: HTML & PDF | UCI Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | UCI Recap | Cal Recap | Live Stats
• (42) Pepperdine (5-2) 2-7-0 … won at (28) Texas A&M (5-2) 1-9-2 (PEP won series., 2-1)
A&M Game Notes: HTML & PDF | PEP Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | PEP Recap | A&M Recap | Photos
• at (33) San Diego (3-4) 14-14-3 … def. (37) Kent State (1-7) 2-7-2 (USD won series, 3-1)
USD Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Kent-St. Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | USD Recap | Kent-St. Recap | Live Stats
_____________________
Sunday’s Other Top-50 Games (Feb. 24, 2013)
(based on the CBS360 Composite National Rankings)
upsets in italics
• at (2) Arkansas (7-1) 10-15-1 … def. Evansville (1-5) 2-3-1 (series sweep) | Live Stats
Arkansas Game Notes: HTML (w/ video) & PDF | Evansville Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | ARK Recap | Aces Recap | Photos | Video Highlights
• at (3) Vanderbilt (7-1) 13-10-1 … def. Monmouth (1-3) 1-4-4 (series sweep)
Vanderbilt Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Monmouth Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | VAN Recap (w/ video links) | MON Recap | Live Stats
• at (4) LSU (6-1) 13-19-0 … def. Southeastern Louisiana (5-2) 1-8-1 (resume from Sat.; tournament)
LSU Game Notes: HTML & PDF | SE-La. Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | LSU Recap | SE-La. Recap | Photos
• at (6) South Carolina (4-1) 14-15-1 … def. Albany (0-4) 1-0-3 (DH gm-1; SC clinched series, 2-0)
SC Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Albany Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | SC Recap | ALB Recap | Photos | Video Highlights | Live Stats
• at (6) South Carolina (5-1) 6-10-0 … def. Albany (0-5) 4-11-2 (DH gm-2; series sweep)
SC Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Albany Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Live Stats
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | SC Recap (w/ video links) | ALB Recap | Quotes | Photos
• at (7) Oregon (6-1) 6-4-0 … def. Loyola Marymount (3-4) 1-9-2 (Ducks won series, 2-1)
Oregon Game Notes: HTML & PDF | LMU Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | ORE Recap (w/ video links) | LMU Recap | Live Stats
• at (9) Stanford (5-2) 7-10-3 … def. Fresno State (1-5) 4-9-1 (series sweep)
Stanford Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Fresno Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | STAN Recap | FS Recap | Live Stats
• at (11) North Carolina State (4-1) 18-15-2 … def. Wagner (1-1) 0-7-2 (DH gm-1; tournament)
NC State Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Wagner Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | NC-St. Recap | WAG Recap | Live Stats
• at (11) North Carolina State (5-1) 25-19-1 … def. Wagner (1-2) 4-5-4 (DH gm-2; tournament)
NC State Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Wagner Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | NC-St. Recap | WAG Recap | Video Highlights | Live Stats
• at (12) Mississippi State (9-0) 8-12-1 … def. Samford (5-4) 1-3-1 (tournament)
Miss.-St. Game Notes: HTML & PDF | PUAM Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Live Stats
… Stats: HTML & PDF | Miss.-St. Recap | SAM Recap | Postgame Notes | Video: Highlights & Postgame
• (13) Rice (5-2) 7-13-0 … won at Hawaii (0-7) 5-6-0 (Owls lead 4-gm series, 3-0)
Rice Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Hawaii Game Notes: HTML (w/ video) & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | Rice Recap | UH Recap | Photos | Video Recap | Postgame Video (Rice)
• at (14) Florida State (6-0) 8-6-1 … def. South Florida (1-4) 0-4-2 (DH gm-1; FSU clinched series, 2-0)
Florida State Game Notes: HTML & PDF | South Florida Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | FSU Recap | USF Recap | Photos | Live Stats
• at (14) Florida State (7-0) 5-7-1 … def. South Florida (1-5) 2-5-1 (DH gm-2; series sweep)
Florida State Game Notes: HTML & PDF | South Florida Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | FSU Recap | USF Recap | Photos | Video Recap | Live Stats
• Florida Gulf Coast (5-1) 7-16-2 … won at (15) Florida (3-5) 4-11-0 (11 innings; series sweep)
Florida Game Notes: HTML & PDF | FGCU Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | FGCU Recap | FL Recap | Postgame Video (FGCU)
• at (16) Arizona (7-1) 9-6-1 … def. San Jose State (2-5) 4-7-0 (series sweep)
Arizona Game Notes: HTML & PDF | San Jose Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | AZ Recap | SJSU Recap | Live Stats
• at (17) Mississippi (7-0) 5-9-0 … def. Rhode Island (0-6) 3-10-2 (series sweep)
Ole Miss Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Rhode Island Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | OleMiss Recap | URI Recap | Live Stats | Photos
• (18) Oklahoma (9-0) 10-14-0 … def. New Mexico (2-4) 8-12-3 (tournament, at Texas A&M Corpus Christi)
Oklahoma Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Iowa Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | OU Recap | UNM Recap | Live Stats
• at (20) Louisville (6-1) 2-4-0 … def. Akron (0-6) 1-6-0 (series sweep)
Louisville Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Akron Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | LOU Recap | Akron Recap | Photos | Live Stats
• at (23) Southern Mississippi (5-2) 7-15-1 … def. Alcorn State (0-9) 2-11-1 (tournament)
Southern Miss. Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Mo.-St. Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | So.-Miss. Recap | Alcorn Recap | Photos | Live Stats
• at (24) Texas (6-1) 2-9-0 … def. Nebraska (0-7) 0-2-0 (series sweep)
Texas Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Nebraska Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | TX Recap | NEB Recap | Live Stats
• (26) Arizona State (4-2) 5-7-2 … won at Tennessee (2-5) 1-5-0 (ASU won series, 2-1)
ASU Game Notes: HTML & PDF | TN Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | ASU Recap | TN Recap | Photos | Video Highlights | Live Stats
• at (27) Miami (7-0) 7-10-2 … def. Milwaukee (2-5) 6-7-0 (series sweep)
Miami Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Milwaukee Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | Miami Recap | MIL Recap | Video Highlights | Live Stats
• at (29) Virginia (7-0) 6-3-0 … def. Toledo (1-4) 3-8-2 ( series sweep)
Virginia Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Toledo Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Live Stats
… Stats: HTML & PDF | UVa Recap | TOL Recap | Photos | Video Highlights
• at (30) Clemson (5-1) 7-7-0 … def. Wright State (3-3) 0-5-1 (series sweep)
Clemson Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Wright State Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | CLEM Recap | Wright Recap | Live Stats
• at (31) Virginia Tech (6-1) 13-16-1 … def. Delaware (3-2) 4-13-1 (tournament)
VT Game Notes: HTML & PDF | DEL Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | VT Recap | DEL Recap
• at (36) Sam Houston State (3-4) 7-10-1 … def. Louisiana-Monroe (4-3) 3-7-3 (SHSU won series , 2-1)
Sam Houston Game Notes: HTML & PDF | ULM Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | SHSU Recap | ULM Recap | Live Stats
• at (38) Cal Poly (7-0) 4-12-0 … def. Seattle (1-6) 1-8-4 (series sweep)
Cal Poly Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Seattle Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | CP Recap | SEA Recap | Postgame Video (SEA)
• (39) Notre Dame (5-1) 8-14-0 … won at Tulane (3-4) 3-8-1 (series sweep)
Notre Dame Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Tulane Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | ND Recap | Tulane Recap | Live Stats
• at (40) Florida Atlantic (4-3) 3-8-0 … def. Alabama (6-1) 0-4-0 ( AL won series, 2-1)
FAU Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Alabama Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | FAU Recap | AL Recap | Live Stats
• Troy (5-1) at (43) Central Florida (4-2) – cancelled due to travel schedule (tournament)
UCF Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Troy Game Notes: HTML & PDF
• Samford (5-3) 6-8-0 … def. (44) Purdue (3-4) 3-5-0 (tournament, at Mississippi State)
Samford Game Notes: HTML & PDF | Purdue Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | SAM Recap | PUR Recap | Live Stats
• Connecticut (3-3) 1-5-0 … def. (46) Texas Tech (4-3) 0-8-0 (11 innings; tournament at UCF)
Texas Tech Game Notes: HTML (w/ video) & PDF | UConn Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | UConn Recap | TT Recap | Postgame Notes | Live Stats
• at (47) Appalachian State (3-1) 8-1-0 … def. Butler (2-4) 5-8-2 (App-St won series, 2-1
App.-St. Game Notes: HTML & PDF | BUT Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | App.-St. Recap | BUT Recap | Live Stats
• (49) Creighton at Lamar – canc. (Jays unable to make trip for YMBL Cardinal Classic)
• at (50) Georgia Southern 12 (4-1) … def. Indiana 3 (2-2) … DH gm-1; series opener (ppd on Fri. & Sat.)
GS Notes: HTML (w/ video) & PDF | IU Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | GS Recap | IU Recap | Live Stats
• Indiana (3-2) 11-16-3 … won at (50) Georgia Southern (4-2) 5-5-0 (2-gm series split)
GS Notes: HTML (w/ video) & PDF | IU Game Notes: HTML & PDF
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF | IU Recap | GS Recap | Live Stats