The Waiting Game
May 25, 2003 10:07 AM | General
May 25, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The waiting now begins for the West Virginia University baseball team.
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| Third baseman Tim McCabe became the first player in school history to record three-straight seasons with 10 home runs or more. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
The Mountaineers came into the Big East tournament with the best RPI in the conference (39) according to Boyd’s World. If West Virginia would have made the championship game, it would have been extremely difficult for the NCAA selection committee to turn down a team that won 18 regular season Big East games.
Now all bets are off.
It took an extra game, but 43-game winner Notre Dame disposed of Big East regular season winner Rutgers to win the conference tournament and capture the league’s automatic berth. Rutgers, with a 36-20 record, should also get an NCAA tournament bid.
But will the selection committee extend a third bid to a conference rated 12th-best in the country?
It helps that West Virginia was able to eliminate Virginia Tech Saturday to get its 36th victory. However the Mountaineers, 36-19, are just 2-5 over their last seven games.
“We didn’t want to leave this up to the NCAA selection committee,” said WVU senior Eric Grimm.
Unfortunately that is exactly what is happening.
West Virginia, which has never earned an NCAA tournament at-large berth in baseball and last made the tournament in 1996, must now keep an eye on other conference tournaments around the country. A slew of upsets will damage West Virginia’s bubble position.
In the MAC, top-seeded Kent State was knocked out of the tournament by Eastern Michigan and the Eagles will face No. 5-seeded Miami, Ohio in the championship game Sunday.
No. 6 seeded Middle Tennessee State was an upset winner in the Sunbelt Conference and No. 6 seeds are still alive in the Colonial (George Mason), Atlantic Sun (Jacksonville) and the Big South (Liberty). Also, No. 7-seeded Alabama faces No. 1-seeded LSU in the SEC championship game although the SEC is expected to land seven bids in the tournament anyway.
Heading into this weekend’s conference tournament, Boyd’s World projected five for-sure bids and two bubble teams for the SEC, five for-sure bids and one bubble team in the ACC, five for-sure bids and one bubble team for the Big 12, four for-sure bids for C-USA, three for-sure bids and two bubble teams in the Pac 10 and a bid for independent Miami.
The Big East has had three teams make the NCAA tournament three times in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Last year only Notre Dame made the NCAA tournament where the Irish became the first Big East team to advance to the College World Series.
The NCAA tournament field of 64 will be announced at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, May 26.
Diamond Notes
