No. 12 seed Oklahoma Faces No. 5 seed Georgia In Second Round. Who Would No. 4 seed Vanderbilt Rather Play?

In Tuesday’s first round game between No. 12 seed Oklahoma and No. 13 seed Kentucky, the Sooners cruised past the Wildcats in a 5-1 victory. Oklahoma moved onto the second round of the SEC Tournament against No. 5 seed Georgia.

Oklahoma and Georgia faced off in Athens in late April, where the Bulldogs took two out of three at home against the Sooners in a closely contested series. Oklahoma took the first game 8-6, but Georgia came back and won the next two games 10-9 and 6-3.

For Oklahoma, a first round win against Kentucky more than likely cemented their spot in next week’s NCAA Tournament, but continuing to win in Hoover this week would improve their seeding and maybe give Oklahoma a more favorable draw.

On the other hand, Georgia has secured a spot to host the regional round. What is at stake for the Bulldogs this week is whether or not they can earn a spot as a Top 8 seed, which gives them a chance to host the second round of the tournament as well. In the latest tournament projections from D1baseball.com, Georgia comes in at the No. 5 overall seed in the field. For Georgia to feel comfortable about landing a spot that gives themselves an opportunity to host in the Super Regional round, taking down Oklahoma is likely a must win.

Previewing tomorrow’s matchups between the Bulldogs and the Sooners/WIldcats begs the question: who would Vanderbilt want to play in Thursday’s quarterfinal matchup?

The run Vanderbilt went on to finish the regular season was arguably sparked by the Commodores’ sweep over Georgia over Easter weekend. Including that series, Vanderbilt won four of its last five SEC series down to close conference play. 

But would Vanderbilt prefer to face Georgia again over Oklahoma? First of all, to beat a team four times in one season is difficult to do. Considering the caliber of Georgia, who is currently projected to host a regional in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, it may be advantageous for Vanderbilt to take on Oklahoma.

The Commodores went to Norman the second week of April and lost two of three against Oklahoma. But that was a long time ago. Since then, Vanderbilt’s offense has turned it up a notch and their bullpen has stayed consistent. 

Additionally, if Oklahoma did advance to Thursday night against Vanderbilt, the Sooners would be playing a third day in a row. That would mean Oklahoma would likely have less pitchers available to throw against Vanderbilt, while the Commodores would have their full arsenal of pitchers ready to go.

Whether it is Georgia or Oklahoma, Vanderbilt will take on its opponent Thursday night at approximately 6:30 p.m. CT, or 35 minutes after the conclusion of the first quarterfinal game of the day.