quote:
I watched some of the UVA/MD game earlier, but just realized that MD is the home team at UVA.
I thought that the host was the home team in game 1?
Maryland defeated UCLA, the #1 national seed, so for the purposes of bracket seeding, Maryland will be treated as if they were the national seed, even though they are on the road. UCLA would have been the home team 2 out of 3 games if they had advanced to the SR, so by beating them, Maryland gets that advantage.
This is also why Missouri State, as a national seed, is the home team against Arkansas today, even though Arkansas is hosting the SR.
There could potentially be a bizarre scenario in Omaha where Maryland, as a non-national seed, is the home team in the opening game against Missouri State, the number 8 national seed, because seeding wise they are treated as if they are UCLA.
Make sense? If Maryland wins the super regional, the bracket will treat them as if the were the top team in Omaha, even though they would likely be the eighth-best team there.