Diamond Vols have everything in front of them

So where does the Vols’ resume stand heading into the final weekend of SEC play? I touched on it a little in Monday’s 3-2-1, but let’s dive into it a little deeper today.

With one weekend to go, here’s what you need to know about the Vols’ resume:

After out slugging Tennessee Tech, in what would have been a catastrophic loss Tuesday, Tennessee holds a 36-17 overall record and a 12-15 conference record

Helping UT's NCAA Tournament chances is its RPI. Tennessee’s RPI is currently 10th in the country and fifth in the SEC behind just Vanderbilt, Georgia, Arkansas, and Mississippi State.

So how do the Vols, one of just two teams in the top 30 of RPI with a losing record in conference play, have such a high RPI despite a losing conference record? The Vols are helped mightily by their 24-2 non-conference record and 16-15 record against Tier One teams, which are teams with an RPI in the top 50.

Six of those wins come from out of conference foes, and while the Vols didn’t play any elite teams out of conference, their sweep of Indiana (RPI of 28), series win over Fresno State (RPI of 47) and midweek win over Liberty (RPI of 50) have bolstered their resume.

With an RPI that high, you may think that the Vols would be a lock for the NCAA Tournament. However, the committee has used conference record as the most important indicator with RPI as a secondary measure.

Since the SEC expanded to 14 schools, 14 of the 24 teams with 13 to 15 conference wins made the NCAA Tournament.

Currently, both D1Baseball and Baseball America have Tennessee making the NCAA Tournament, both as a No. 3 seed. Baseball America has the Vols in the Louisville region and D1Baseball has them in the Chapel Hill region and included as one of their last five teams in the field.

With Tennessee currently sitting at 12 SEC wins and such a strong RPI, a series win over Ole Miss would leave the Big Orange very confident about its chances to make the NCAA Tournament. If the Vols end the regular season 14-16 in SEC play, I don’t think they’d need to win a single game in Hoover to make the NCAA Tournament.

If the Vols get swept against Ole Miss, they would have an uphill battle to make the tournament. In that case, I have a hard time seeing Tennessee make it without winning, or at least making a run to the championship game in Hoover.

Things get a little trickier if the Vols win just one game against the Rebels. With just 13 conference wins you’d think that the Vols will need some wins in Hoover.

In its most recent bracket Baseball America said that, “Tennessee needs a series win against Ole Miss— or else they’ll go to Hoover with serious work to do.”

What constitutes “serious work” is unclear, but you’d have to think that the feeling for Tennessee would be that they need at least two wins in Hoover to feel good about its chances. Remember, after the first round the SEC Tournament breaks into two, four team, double elimination tournaments, so the Vols could win two games in Hoover and still go 2-2 on the week.

Tennessee is as close as its been to making it to the NCAA Tournament in a long time, but if they want to remain on the right side of the bubble and end the SEC’s longest drought then the Vols need to add some more wins to their resume starting Thursday night with Ole Miss in town in the final regular season conference series of the year.