C-USA Sends Five Teams to NCAA Baseball Championship
May 26, 2008
NCAA Championship Bracket in PDF Format
Conference USA has received five bids to the 2008 NCAA Baseball Championship, as announced by the Division I baseball committee on Monday. Rice will host the Houston Regional as the No. 6 national seed, while Southern Miss will be the No. 2 seed in Baton Rouge, La., East Carolina will be the No. 2 seed in Conway, S.C., Houston will travel up the road to College Station, Texas, where it will compete as the No. 3 seed and Tulane will play in Tallahassee, Fla. as the No. 3 seed. The five bids tie for the most in C-USA history, matching the five selections during the 2002 season. Only the SEC (9), ACC (6) and Big 12 (6) had more bids than Conference USA. Rice (42-13) again owns one of the best records in college baseball and has been ranked in the top 10 of the polls all season long. The Owls won the regular season Conference USA title for the third straight year, finishing with a 21-3 record in league play. Rice will be hosting a regional for the seventh time in eight years as it makes its 14th consecutive NCAA appearance. The Owls will open regional play against a familiar foe from up the road when it battles Southland Conference champion Sam Houston State (37-23) in its first game on Friday night. The teams split a pair of regular season meetings, with the home team winning both games. The Owls will then play either No. 2 seed and Big 12 Tournament champion Texas (37-20) or St. John's (41-14), regular season champs of the Big East Conference. Southern Miss (40-20) will be playing in the NCAA Championship for the sixth consecutive season. The second-seeded Golden Eagles are matched up with third-seeded New Orleans (42-19) in the second game on Friday. The two teams squared off twice in the regular season, with the visiting team winning each game. SEC Tournament Champion LSU (43-16-1), winners of 20 consecutive games, will play SWAC Tournament champion Texas Southern (16-32) in the first game of the day game at historic Alex Box Stadium. East Carolina (40-19) will be in the NCAA Championship for the ninth time in 10 seasons as it travels to Conway, S.C. The Pirates will play Alabama (34-26), an at-large choice from the Southeastern Conference, in its opening game. Host Coastal Carolina (47-12), which has produced the second-most wins in the nation, will play Ivy League champion Columbia (22-28), in the other Friday game in that regional. Houston (39-22) is in the field for the seventh time in 10 years after winning the C-USA Tournament in New Orleans. The Cougars will be the No. 3 seed at the College Station Regional and will face Dallas Baptist (37-17), which became the first Independent school other than Miami (Fla.) since 1992 to receive a bid to the NCAA Championship. Host Texas A&M (43-20) won the regular season Big 12 championship, but enters the NCAA's having lost nine of 10 games. The Aggies will square off against Horizon League regular season and tournament champion Illinois-Chicago (34-20) in its first day game. After a one-year absence, Tulane (37-20-1) is back in the NCAA field for the 10th time in 11 years. The Green Wave will travel to Tallahassee, Fla. to face Florida (34-22), an at-large SEC selection. Florida State (48-10), the No. 4 National Seed, will play Patriot League Tournament Champion Bucknell (29-22-2) in the regional's other contest. Here's a look at the top eight national seeds: 1. Miami, Fla. (47-8), 2. North Carolina (46-12), 3. Arizona State (45-11), 4. Florida State (48-10), 5. Cal State Fullerton (37-19), 6. Rice (42-13), 7. LSU (43-16-1) and 8. Georgia (35-21). The 16 regional sites, with host institutions and records are as follows: Arizona State (45-11), Tempe, Ariz.; Cal State Fullerton (38-18), Fullerton, Calif.; Coastal Carolina (47-12), Conway, S.C.; Florida St. (48-10), Tallahassee, Fla.; Georgia (35-21-1), Athens, Ga.; Long Beach State (37-19), Long Beach, Calif.; LSU (43-16-1), Baton Rouge, La.; Miami (Fla.) (47-8); Coral Gables, Fla..; Michigan (45-12), Ann Arbor, Mich.; Nebraska (40-14-1), Lincoln, Neb.; North Carolina (46-12), Chapel Hill, N.C.; North Carolina State (38-20), Raleigh, N.C.; Oklahoma State (42-16), Stillwater, Okla.; Rice (42-13), Houston; Stanford (33-20-2), Stanford, Calif.; Texas A&M (43-16) College Station, Texas. All regionals will be held between Friday, May 30 and Monday, June 2. Winners will advance to two-team super-regionals, which will be played June 6-9 at sites to be determined. The 59th College World Series will take place June 14-26 at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb. The five bids to the 2008 NCAA Championship gives Conference USA 44 NCAA appearances in its first 13 seasons, including seven straight years of at least four bids. Eight straight years a C-USA team has advanced to a Super Regional and four times a team has reached the College World Series. Conference USA in the 2008 NCAA Championship Houston Regional Friday, May 30 No. 2 Texas (37-20) vs. No. 3 St. John's (41-14) 2:00p CDT No. 1 Rice (43-12) vs. No. 4 Sam Houston State (37-23) 6:00p CDT
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