Selection committee makes puzzling decisions

The NCAA selection committee took one step forward with its 16 regional hosts and two giant steps back with the release of the NCAA regional field on Monday.

The committee earned warranted praise on Sunday by awarding the 16 regionals to teams that certainly are worthy of much praise. On Monday, though, the committee reassured the college baseball community that the Tim Weiser-led group wasn’t immune to blunders, controversy and downright shameful selections.

It’s also an interesting coincidence much of the controversy surrounding Monday’s selections concerns the Big 12. Weiser spent seven years as the athletic director at Kansas State; he also currently is the deputy commissioner for the Big 12 Conference.

It was a big day for the Big 12 and not such a great day for others. Oklahoma earned a national seed that was somewhat deserving considering it established amazing consistency in Big 12 play. The committee, though, threw everyone for a loop by including Baylor and Oklahoma State – two bad and undeserving teams – in the regional field.

Baylor finished the Big 12 tournament with a solid 2-1 record, but its play in Oklahoma City last week certainly didn’t warrant a bid when you consider how the Bears finished the regular season. In addition to getting swept by a horrible Nebraska team to finish the regular season, the Bears also lost 10 straight conference games to end the season. Yeah, a nice new school record for the regional-worthy Bears, right? Hardly.

In equally comical fashion, Oklahoma State was included in the field of 64. The Cowboys did play a good non-conference schedule and finished that portion of their schedule with a fabulous 22-6 record. However, OSU’s play in non-conference doesn’t diminish the fact they finished Big 12 play with a horrendous 9-16 record and won just two series in conference play.

“Oklahoma State’s non-conference strength of schedule was very high, and it was 22-19 against top-100 teams,” said Weiser, NCAA committee chairman. “OSU no doubt had some really bad losses in conference play, but there’s also things such as RPI, SOS and non-conference record on its side. The Cowboys looked good compared to other teams on the docket.”

Baylor also was rewarded for playing a good non-conference schedule.

“Baylor only played two games against teams that had an RPI of 200 or higher, and it had 19 wins against top-100 RPI teams. Those were distinguishing factors in adding them to the mix,” Weiser said. “They had some really nice wins, such as against TCU and UC Irvine, among others.”

Baylor and Oklahoma State’s inclusions came at the expense of teams such as Rhode Island, Dallas Baptist, Eastern Illinois, Notre Dame, Western Carolina, Missouri State, San Diego, Duke, Tulane and Illinois.

Rhode Island, Dallas Baptist and Missouri State had the biggest gripes.

Rhode Island finished its season with a 37-20 record and an RPI of 53. The Rams also made a point to hit the road early in the season with games against N.C. State, Santa Clara, Miami, Ohio State, Cal State Fullerton and Oklahoma State. From a scheduling standpoint, there isn’t much the Rams could’ve done differently. Or so we thought, according to Weiser.

“I can’t agree that they did a great job of scheduling or URI would be in the field,” Weiser said. “Twelve of Rhode Island’s losses were to teams rated above 100 in the RPI. That was a significant issue for us.”

What Weiser failed to admit is that the Rams play in the Atlantic 10 conference. Sure, the Rams lost a few games in conference. However, they don’t have free rein to leave the league. To puts things in perspective, the A-10 has exactly two teams &ndash Rhode Island and Xavier &ndash that finished the season with RPIs below 100.

Dallas Baptist is another team that was snubbed. The Patriots, who are an independent and have no set conference schedule, compiled a 38-17 record and an RPI of 36. They also scheduled several good mid-week opponents.

The committee, though, said the Patriots’ resume wasn’t up to par with teams such as Baylor and Oklahoma State.

“They had a strength of schedule in the triple digits and that was an issue,” Weiser said. “They were discussed heavily, but another part of the issue was the fact they only won five of their 17 games against top RPI teams.

Missouri State also had an intriguing case for an at-large bid. The Bears failed to win the MVC tournament, but won the MVC regular season title, won a non-conference series at Oregon State and finished the season with a 34-20 record.

“The process here certainly is an art, it’s not a science,” Weiser said. “There were teams such as Eastern Illinois and Missouri State that won regular season titles but weren’t included in the field of 64. Frankly, though, we did a blind ballot vote and this is the situation we came up with.”

The committee passed its first test and earned a glowing review when it released the 16 regional hosts. After the release of the field of 64, though, the committee’s grade dropped a couple grades.

The lesson for teams in power conferences is to play tough non-conference schedules and just hope you finish six games under .500 in conference play. Do those two things and you’ll be in the postseason field.

For northern teams and those in the less fortunate leagues, just play a tough non-conference schedule and win some of those games. Okay, check that, play a tough non-conference schedule, win some of those games and be flawless in conference play.

Sounds fair, doesn’t it?

In the day and age where the committee claims all conferences are created equal, this year’s selections, particularly with bubble teams, suggests otherwise.

It’s the same ‘ole committee after all.

• Does the NCAA selection committee have a personal vendetta against UC Irvine coach Mike Gillespie or something? Okay, we’re seriously joking about that, but you would think it’s true by UC Irvine’s crazy road to Omaha. The Anteaters finished 21-2 in the Big West and have the head-to-head over fellow national seed Cal State Fullerton. However, the Anteaters got a regional that includes Fresno State, Virginia and San Diego State. Fullerton, meanwhile, has a cupcake regional with Utah, Georgia Southern and Gonzaga as the other teams in the regional. Also worth mentioning is the fact Fullerton was the No. 2 national seed. Irvine was the No. 6 seed.

“Part of Fullerton earning a higher national seed than UC Irvine had to do with the fact Irvine had a triple digit non-conference strength of schedule, while Fullerton played an incredibly difficult non-conference schedule,” said Weiser. “How Irvine finished head-to-head with Fullerton and in the Big West standings was part of the discussion, but there are various pieces to the puzzle.”

• The committee surprised us when it sent Virginia out to the Fullerton regional last season. Well, the committee was again up to its old tricks and sent the Cavaliers out to the Irvine regional. The Cavaliers didn’t put together a particularly strong regular season resume, but won the ACC tournament with a perfect 4-0 record. There’s no question the Cavaliers didn’t earn a No. 2 seed, but shipped across the country for a second straight year? That was a little harsh.

“We can certainly understand Virginia getting sent to the West Coast seems like punishment,” Weiser said. “But the Cavaliers had a less than stellar record against top-100 RPI. Some are going to say this is punishment, but I look at it as more rewarding other teams for playing well against some of the top RPI teams.”

• There was some debate on the merits of Tulane and Southern Miss in the regional field. The Green Wave failed to impress in the Conference USA tournament, but finished the season with nice series wins over East Carolina and Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, played well in the conference tournament but finished the regular season with four-straight conference series losses.

“Southern Miss had the head-to-head against Tulane 3-2 and I think this was a good case where we could use the head-to-head formula,” Weiser said. “Southern Miss also had the higher RPI, which also was part of the discussion.”

• The selection committee surprised many when it decided to give Oklahoma and Florida national seeds with Rice, Florida State and Ole Miss the odd teams out. Oklahoma wouldn’t be one of my eight national seeds, but I can at least see why the committee rewarded the Sooners with a national seed. Florida, though, dropped two of three to Ole Miss at home. The Rebels, meanwhile, won the SEC regular season title along with LSU. Rice put together a fantastic resume without two its top pitchers most of the season. FSU, though, was the best team in the ACC in the regular season and certainly should’ve earned a national seed based on that alone.

“Awarding the last two national seeds was a very close decision,” Weiser said. “What happened with Florida and Florida State is that the Gators took two of three from FSU in the regular season. That was one piece of the puzzle, but honestly, it was pretty close for the last couple spots.”

• The Fort Worth regional is rather intriguing. TCU is the No. 1 seed and captured the Mountain West regular season title. Texas A&M has underachieved much of the season but still has a good team. Then there’s Oregon State, which has won two of the last three national titles. Also, don’t sleep on Rob Cooper’s Wright State Raiders. There are three teams that could win this regional, but Texas A&M is the favorite. Don’t think for a second the committee wasn’t thinking of the possibility of a Texas-Texas A&M super regional in two weeks.

• Look for the Louisville regional to be full of surprises. The Cardinals are the favorite to win the regional, but Indiana most certainly is capable of upsetting the Cardinals in the first game. Middle Tennessee State has one of the nation’s best offenses and Vanderbilt played very well in the SEC tournament with left-handed pitcher Mike Minor leading the way. UL is the favorite but all four teams could win this regional.

• Rice played Sam Houston State to open the NCAA tournament last season. It will do it again this season. The Bearkats had a better team last season but still are capable of upsetting the Owls. Kansas State starting pitcher A.J. Morris makes his return to the Houston area, where he grew up in nearby Tomball, Texas. Xavier, meanwhile, surprised everyone by earning a No. 3 seed in this regional.

• East Carolina earned a regional host and it wasn’t a surprise. ECU’s regional, though, should be very competitive with South Carolina and George Mason in the mix. The conventional thought is to assume South Carolina and East Carolina will meet for the regional title. However, keep an eye on George Mason with Scott Krieger, Justin Bour and Chris Henderson leading the way at the plate. The Patriots are much better than most No. 3 seeds and they’ll prove it later this week.

• Arizona State has an intriguing regional with Kent State, Oral Roberts and Cal Poly in the field of four. Kent State has the talent to upset Arizona State. Though it’s unlikely the Flashes upset the Sun Devils, it will force the Devils to throw right-handed pitcher Mike Leake in the regional opener. ORU is a good team and Cal Poly could be a dark horse in this regional. The Mustangs didn’t play their best brand of baseball at the end of the season, but have the personnel to surprise some teams.

• In some seasons, the committee strives to keep teams that have played at some point in the season away from each other. Well, the committee did the opposite with the Norman regional. Oklahoma has played Wichita State, Arkansas and Washington State this season. Wichita State is a tough No. 4 seed with the way it played in the MVC tournament. Arkansas and Washington State also are capable of winning this regional. The Norman regional is more wide open than some might want to believe.

• The Tallahassee regional also strikes me as interesting. The Seminoles certainly are the favorite to advance to a super regional, but keep an eye on Georgia and Ohio State. The Bulldogs were the top-ranked team in the nation at one point this season. Ohio State, though, won the Big Ten regular season title and has an excellent staff ace in Alex Wimmers. That opening round matchup between Georgia’s Trevor Holder and Wimmers should be a dandy. Don’t be surprised if Georgia wins this regional.

• In terms of super regional matchups, it surprised me that Florida and Florida State weren’t matched up. Imagine the intensity level if the Gators and Seminoles were to meet in a super regional, or if Miami wins the Gainesville regional and meets the Seminoles. At any rate, the committee decided to match Gainesville with the Atlanta regional and Tallahassee with the Oklahoma regional. Also worth mentioning is the fact the Ole Miss and Clemson regional winners must head out west for a super regional. LSU, a high national seed, also must play Rice, a team that should’ve been a national seed, assuming both teams win their regionals. Again, that matchup doesn’t make too much sense.