My allegiance to the West Coast and never-ending desire (and failure) to nail a big upset led me just a 10-6 record in the 16 NCAA college baseball regionals last week. My thought that Oregon State would win was solid; they reached the finals. I thought UC Irvine would survive, too, but considering the bracket they were handed, it wasn't a shock to see Virginia win.
George Mason? What was I thinking?
Three Conference USA teams reached the round of 16 Super Regionals, along with four ACC teams and three from the SEC. Two West Coast teams are still alive, Fullerton (they host Louisville) and Arizona State (they host Clemson) and I think they'll make it to Omaha, though Clemson will test ASU and the Sun Devils' habit of choking while hosting.
I'll also take Texas (over TCU), Florida (over So. Miss), North Carolina (over East Carolina), LSU (over Rice), Virginia (over Mississippi) and Florida State (over Arkansas).
Rice and its solid pitching could be troublesome for LSU. TCU has the Texas underdog motive working for it, but if Texas could outlast last week's regional and that 25 inning game against BC, I think it can handle the Horned Frogs. Some think Ole Miss has momentum, but so does Virginia.
The NCAA committee obviously did a good job seeding the top 16 teams---13 of them won---but a horrible job with its No. 2 seeds. Texas A&M, Elon, Coastal Carolina, Alabama (0-2), Missouri, Georgia Southern (0-2), Middle Tennessee and Texas State were all terminated early.
