What’s going on in the Big 12 and beyond? I expand and explain every Sunday in Postscripts at Heartland College Sports, your home for independent Big 12 coverage.
This week, it’s past time for the Big 12 baseball tournament to make this change, Doug Gottlieb nearly got his job change right and the “settlement” is here.
The Big 12’s Baseball Problem
By now, you’ve read our story about the Big 12 baseball bracket. It appears that once the tournament reaches the semifinals, it goes from a double-elimination tournament to a single-elimination tournament almost inexplicably.
I’ve covered the tournament in person the last two years (family obligations kept me away this year). It was double-elimination throughout. But that was with just eight teams. This time around the Big 12 invited 10 teams. But, still. If you’re going to be a double-elimination tournament, you should be a double-elimination tournament throughout.
I did some digging around and found that the SEC actually does something similar. Its first round is single-elimination, the next three days are double-elimination and then it goes to single-elimination for the semifinals and the finals.
The Big 12 dropped us a line after our story ran and we updated our story with this:
The new format, which is simply known as a modified double-elimination format, does, in fact, make the semifinal games single-elimination. This was done, if for nothing else but the sake of time. Teams potentially playing three games in a single day isn’t possible, so the single-elimination semifinals will ensure the tournament ends on time.
Note that the coaches voted on it and agreed to it. So there were no surprises for them.
Still, the Big 12 bracket took some social media users by surprise on Friday, I’m guessing because they were used to the old format. The pitfall is simple — the Top 2 seeds could win their first two games, lose the semifinal to a team with one loss and be out of the tournament. They wouldn’t have the benefit everyone else had of double elimination.
But since it was modified, I guess there was no need for anyone to worry, right?
But, this allows me to circle back to an argument I made in this space last year — this should really be a single-elimination tournament.
I moonlight to help our man, Derek Duke, with baseball. But I’m the basketball guy here and single-elimination suits hoops just fine. No one has issues with it. Why does it have to be different with baseball?
We live in an era of load management and monitoring pitch counts. After such a long regular season (don’t get me started on that), why are we forcing these teams to play a double-elimination conference tournament? They’re going to get that in the NCAA Tournament and that’s when it matters most.
When I covered the tournament in 2022, Oklahoma State had to play two games on Saturday just to stay alive and try to work their way back to the championship game. The Cowboys beat Texas in the morning and — are you ready for this — lost to Texas in the evening.
Are you serious? How is that useful? How is it safe for players, especially pitchers? The worst part is OSU didn’t need the extra games. The Cowboys were a national seed and hosted a regional, which they lost to Arkansas.
I get there is pride in winning a league title. But can’t we do that without grinding pitching staffs into the ground before the tournament that REALLY matters?
With the new conference alignment in July, there will be 14 Big 12 baseball teams. If not single-elimination, at least do what the ACC does. Invite the Top 12 teams and create four pools of three teams. The winner of each pool advances to the semifinals. Everyone gets at least two games guaranteed, which can help teams that are on the bubble enhance their credentials.
So Close, Doug
I forgot to write about Doug Gottlieb last week.
As I’m sure you heard Gottlieb took the head-coaching job at Green Bay. When I first saw the tweet, I thought to myself, “awesome.” Why? For years I’ve felt that Gottlieb simply wanted someone to hand him the head-coach job at Oklahoma State without putting in the work. By taking the job at Green Bay, he can prove himself as a head coach at a mid-major and, should the OSU job open up, make a proper play for it. Totally respect it.
But … so close. So, so close.
Shortly after, I read something that I thought was wrong. Gottlieb was going to continue his national, three-hour radio show, WHILE coaching the Phoenix.
No. No bueno.
That would have been a full rescind of the offer if I were that athletic director. Either you’re committed to being a coach and putting in the time or you’re not. There is no in between. I’ve been around too many coaches in my life to know otherwise. I mean, if you want to be a coach, be a coach. Commit.
If I’m OSU, I stay as far away from Gottlieb as I can, no matter what he does at Green Bay.
The Settlement Is Agreed To
Everyone has signed off on the biggest legal settlement in the history of college sports, the one that will most undoubtedly change the entire landscape of the game, from how athletes make money, how many sports schools sponsor and how schools and conferences are aligned.
It’s not over just yet. A judge still has to sign off and there are some other hoops to go through. But, by next year at this time, I fully expect college athletic departments to pay their players out of their own pockets.
If you need the summary of all of this, Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger put together this great thread that really explains what everyone is getting.
Buckle up, especially if you’re an alum of a non-Power 4 school like myself. It’s about to get wild out there.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
