With one victory this weekend, Arizona will go from being picked to finish ninth in the Pac-12 to winning the regular season title. But getting two or three victories could reap even bigger rewards for the Wildcats. Arizona (32-18, 19-8 Pac-12) holds a 1.5-game lead on second-place Oregon State (39-12, 17-9) going into their showdown Thursday through Saturday at Hi Corbett Field. Those teams also happen to be battling for a shot to host an NCAA regional in three weeks, according to D1Baseball.com’s Kendall Rogers. “Should the Wildcats win that series against OSU this weekend, I’m not entirely sure how you deny them a Top 16 if the RPI is within range,” Rogers wrote. NCAA Tournament projections from D1Baseball and Baseball America will come out Wednesday, and neither is likely to have the UA in yet. Arizona’s RPI is at 26 going into the final weekend, tied for its highest mark of the season. OSU is at 14, meaning all three games against the Beavers will count as Quad 1 contests. The Wildcats’ current record against Q1 opponents is just 2-7, a byproduct of Cal and Utah—teams they went a combined 5-1 against on the road—sitting just outside the top 60, which is the Q1 threshold for road opponents. What’s buoying Arizona’s overall resume is its nonconference strength of schedule, which is No. 1 overall. The Wildcats went 13-10 against non-league competition, with a 6-6 mark against top-50 foes, though to be Q1 they have to be top 25 for home games and top 40 for neutral-site contests. The UA played four nonconference opponents three times, and each is either leading their respective conference or in the hunt for the top spot: - Grand Canyon (WAC): 21-6, clinched title
- Louisiana Tech (Conference USA): 15-6, T-1st
- Northeastern (CAA): 15-9, 3rd
- San Diego (WCC): 20-4, clinched title
Source: https://www.azdesertswarm.com/arizona-b ... pac12-2024