NCAA Tournament bubble: 5 SEC teams finish with 13 conference wins

For the past few weeks, a handful of SEC baseball teams have been focused on the number 13.

No, don’t worry, Swifties aren’t trying to take over another sport. Thirteen is considered a “magic” number of sorts in the world of SEC baseball.

As Aria Gerson of The Tennessean notes, every SEC team that reached 13 regular-season conference wins with a top-30 RPI since 2012 has made the NCAA Tournament.

RELATED: SEC Baseball Tournament bracket set after wild final day

The 2024 SEC baseball regular season wrapped up Saturday. Things worked out so that there are 5 SEC teams finished at the 13-win mark in conference play. All 5 are top-30 in RPI.

Six other SEC squads finished with 17 conference wins or more. Those 6 teams are considered safely in the NCAA Tournament, with many likely to host NCAA Regionals. Gerson notes that the SEC has never had more than 10 teams make the field of 64.

If the SEC is capped at 10 bids, the 5 teams with 13 conference wins could be fighting for 4 spots. There is the SEC Tournament champion automatic bid to also keep in mind. (Ole Miss, which finished 27-28 overall and 11-19 in SEC play, is the SEC Tournament’s 12-seed and on the outside looking in of the NCAA Tournament picture.)

Ahead of the SEC Tournament, here’s a rundown of the NCAA Tournament resumes for the 5 teams with 13 conference wins:

RPI/SOS via WarrenNolan.com

Alabama (33-21 overall)

• RPI: No. 18
• Strength of schedule: No. 5
• Quad 1 record: 13-18
• Q2: 4-1
• Q3: 4-1
• Q4: 14-1
• Series results vs. other 4:
  • South Carolina: Series win (2-1)
  • LSU: W (2-1)
  • Florida: n/a
  • Vanderbilt: n/a
• SEC Tournament: Tuesday vs. 10-seed South Carolina

South Carolina (33-21)

• RPI: No. 19
• SOS: No. 7
• Q1: 9-18
• Q2: 6-1
• Q3: 4-1
• Q4: 14-1
• Series vs. other 4:
  • Vanderbilt: W (3-0)
  • Alabama: L (1-2)
  • Florida: W (2-1)
  • LSU: n/a
• SEC Tournament: Tuesday vs. 7-seed Alabama

Florida (28-26)

• RPI: No. 24
• SOS: No. 1
• Q1: 13-17
• Q2: 2-6
• Q3: 2-2
• Q4: 11-1
• Series vs. other 4:
  • LSU: W (2-1)
  • South Carolina: L (1-2)
  • Vanderbilt: L (1-2)
  • Alabama: n/a
• SEC Tournament: Tuesday vs. 8-seed Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt (35-20)

• RPI: No. 27
• SOS: No. 16
• Q1: 10-17
• Q2: 3-0
• Q3: 6-0
• Q4: 16- 3
• Series vs. other 4:
  • South Carolina: L (0-3)
  • LSU: W (2-1)
  • Florida: W (2-1)
  • Alabama: n/a
• SEC Tournament: Tuesday vs. 9-seed Florida

LSU (36-20)

• RPI: No. 30
• SOS: No. 21
• Q1: 7-13
• Q2: 11-5
• Q3: 4-0
• Q4: 14-2
• Series results vs. other 4:
  • Florida: L (1-2)
  • Vanderbilt: L (1-2)
  • Alabama: L (1-2)
  • South Carolina: n/a
• SEC Tournament: Tuesday vs. 6-seed Georgia

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.