There will be plenty of debates between now and Sunday about which 16 teams should host a Regional in the NCAA Tournament. Did Alabama do enough to earn that right for the second time in three years and the seventh time in program history?
If you ask Tide coach Rob Vaughn, it's a no-brainer.
"The reality is we won 17 games in our league, 17 games in this league," said Vaughn following Alabama's loss to Tennessee on Wednesday.
"Our RPI, I don't know what it is after this game, but it's got to be in the top 12 at least — to me it's a no-brainer. This team went out and won every single midweek game all year. We lost one out-of-conference game all year, we've done some really good things, we won 17 games in the league with a top 12 RPI. I think it's kind of silly that we're talking about are we hosting or are we not. I think it should (be) where should we be seeded in the top 16."
Vaughn has a strong point. Alabama came into Wednesday's matchup with Tennessee with the No. 9 RPI in the country. The Tide finished the regular season with a 16-14 record in the toughest league in America and then advanced to the second round by beating Missouri on Tuesday.
Alabama's offense came to play against the Vols on Wednesday. 10 hits and 10 runs should have been more than enough. Unfortunately, what let Alabama down on Wednesday is what kept them just out of reach of the elite teams in the league.
Alabama's pitching allowed 20 hits and 15 runs to the Vols. Vaughn made the controversial decision not to give the ball to Riley Quick on short rest. A noble decision considering what was potentially at stake, and with Quick coming off Tommy John's surgery a year ago.
Instead, the ball went to Aeden Finateri, who couldn't get out of the second inning. None of the pitchers who came after him could do much against the Tennessee bats, either.
With Alabama and Tennessee finishing neck-and-neck in the standings in the SEC, a lot of pundits believed this was a de-facto "playoff" game for hosting rights.
If Alabama misses out on hosting, they only have themselves to blame
Alabama has the numbers that should be enough for them to crack the Top 16. But if they do finish just outside of that group, they really only have themselves to blame. The Tide had opportunities throughout the season that they let slip away, or this wouldn't even be a conversation.
You only have to go back to last weekend's opening game against Florida for an example. Alabama blew a 5-0 lead to drop the first game 7-6, ultimately losing the series two games to one.
Dropping a home series last month to Mississippi State still stings.
Alabama had its opportunities. It had plenty against Tennessee on Wednesday. Putting up 10 runs against a team with as good of pitching as the Vols have has to be enough.
Vaughn's lineup has plenty of pop. It's the pitching that has held this team back, and it's the pitching that will likely prevent the Crimson Tide from a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.