Although selection Monday for the NCAA baseball tournaments is a world of difference from the attention given to Selection Sunday for the NCAA basketball Tournament, some of the same arguments take place afterwords. Why is this team in and why is that team not in? Why does this team get a great seed and not this one? How come certain Conferences get all the love and others not?
Well this year was no different. Despite being one of the top teams in the country North Carolina was left out. They play one of the best leagues in the country and stumbled just a little too much in league play for the committees liking. The SEC again got all kinds of love. Not surprising that they got so many teams in… but they also had a great path set for them in making the College World Series, garnering FOUR national seeds and hosting a total of SEVEN regionals. The ACC got similar love. Conversely the Big XII got much less attention from the committee and got a total of three total bids to the tournament.
Fast forward two weeks. The tickets to Omaha have been punched. Only ONE SEC schoool (top seeded Florida) remains. The ACC? They are down to one as well. There is a league that was able to get a total of THREE teams still eligible for the national title. That Conference?…. You got it the Big XII. All three teams, invited to take part in post-season won their regional and their super-regionals and are now headed to Omaha.
Now, does this mean the Committee got it wrong? Not necessarily, I guess it depends on who you cheer for. I will stick to the same argument that I have made for quite sometime. Certain major conferences get way too much credit when it comes to selection committees. It actually helps “my” conference sometimes, but that still does not make it right.
Either way, it is College World Series time. One of the greatest annual events for a baseball fan there is. If you truly love the game, you have to make it to Omaha at least once.
(a closer look at the field in the next few days)