It'll be tough moving forward to accuse the NCAA Selection Committee of showing favoritism toward the nation's power conferences and perennial powers. But when in doubt, feel free to ask the SEC and LSU coach Paul Mainieri what they think.
Doing NCAA postseason projections throughout the past week, it was assumed the Tigers, who have a solid RPI and several wins against solid opponents, would have their names called on Selection Monday and would play in the postseason after missing the SEC tournament.
The committee had other thoughts. Dallas Baptist jumped on the television screen during the selection show, then it was other teams such as Jacksonville and Troy. When the dust settled and the Fort Worth Regional field -- the final field announced -- was unveiled, the Tigers were nowhere to be found.
The decision to snub the Tigers instantly was a hot topic.
"There's a human element involved, and there's nothing you can ever take for granted, honestly, I thought we were in the tournament," Mainieri said. "This team clearly deserved to be in the NCAA tournament, and I'm so disappointed for the kids that they don't get that opportunity."
It's safe to say the Tigers didn't clearly deserve to be in the postseason, but they had a much better case than other teams out there, particularly St. John's, which will return to the Charlottesville Regional for a second-straight year.
The positives for LSU include a 36-20 overall record, an RPI of 26 and 18 wins vs. RPI Top 100 teams. The negatives include a dismal ninth-place finish in the SEC, 13-17 record in conference, and perhaps the most damming statistic, just three true non-conference road games.
St. John's had almost the opposite resume. The Johnnies entered Selection Monday with an RPI of 54 and a 35-20 overall record. They also finished second in the Big East in the regular season and reached the Big East tournament title game. However, they were just 1-3 vs. RPI Top 25, 1-6 vs. RPI Top 50 and 9-16 vs. RPI Top 100.
And about those road games, the Johnnies played an early-season series at Georgia Tech, won a series at Georgia Southern (a postseason club) and played North Carolina in a midweek bout. In other words, coach Ed Blankmeyer made a strong effort to play tough competition in non-conference. They finished the season with an astonishing 26 road games.
"The difficulty that we've had is with the same formula that we've had, it isn't all about the RPI. St. John's finished second in conference and played well in the conference tournament. For a number of our committee members, finishing second in the Big East is more important than ninth or what not in the SEC," NCAA committee chairman Tim Weiser said. "It depends on your perspective on how to answer that, and it's a lively debate. It [St. John's in the postseason] required seven votes and got seven votes."
Though LSU getting snubbed from the postseason was the hottest story of Selection Monday, the treatment of Arkansas also surprised many.
The Razorbacks won a pair of games in the SEC tournament last week and entered the day with an RPI of 14 and an overall record of 38-20. With UCLA, the Pac-10 champion, hosting with an RPI of 34 and overall record of 33-22, it was thought the committee might reward the Hogs for their RPI and record by sending them to Los Angeles as the No. 1 seed. However, the Razorbacks instead will spend the NCAA Regional round as the No. 2 seed at Arizona State, thus again creating a situation downplaying the importance of a team's RPI.
"The Razorbacks made it extremely deep into the discussion and several members felt strongly about them. But we pointed to a couple of things, such as a 15-15 conference record, and the fact the only won four of their 10 conference series," Weiser said. "I would say they were given a lot of consideration (for a host and No. 1 seed), and that it was one of the more difficult decisions down the stretch."
And as for the RPI, which was virtually ignored in UCLA's case:
"I would have to say that as I reflect to the past few days, I think our committee perhaps did a better job of putting the RPI where it should be as a single tool to evaluate with," Weiser said. "Sometimes it becomes bigger than it should be. We didn't use the RPI as the hammer that we have in previous years."
Weiser made it clear during the media call that while the RPI wasn't the overriding factor in many decisions this season, that might not always be the case in the future when it comes to the debate between teams such as Arkansas and UCLA.
"I think when you have a conference championship in a league like the Pac-10, that's a very valuable thing," Weiser said. "They [UCLA] finished a game ahead of everyone in the Pac-10 and won their last four weekend series. I wouldn't say we are setting a precedent [giving a 33-win team a regional host/one seed] going forward, because we try hard not to box ourselves into a position. I think each team and year is different.
ABOUT THOSE NATIONAL SEEDS
Six national seeds were all but set in stone entering Monday, and the locks included Texas, Virginia, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Florida and North Carolina, with Rice, Texas A&M and Florida State perceived to be fighting for the final two spots.
The committee threw us another curveball by making the Seminoles the No. 5 national seed, and rounded out the top eight seeds with Rice at No. 8, leaving the Aggies, who earned a Big 12 regular season co-championship and a tournament title, wondering what more they could've done.
Dissecting the Aggies' resume, they were 42-18 with an RPI of 10. They also were 4-5 vs. RPI Top 25, 19-10 vs. RPI Top 50 and 30-17 vs. RPI Top 100. Additionally, the Aggies went 0-2 against Rice this season, shutout in both games. They also went 1-2 in a three-game series against rival Texas.
On top of those factors, Weiser admitted the loss of star pitcher and prospect John Stilson to a torn labrum (for the season) weighed on the minds of the committee members, but wasn't the overriding factor in the Aggies' not getting a top eight national seed.
"I would tell you that I saw A&M more than any other team this year, and its run through the Big 12 tournament was extraordinary," Weiser said. "Then we looked at the final weekend of the regular season [against Texas] and the fact Rice went 2-0 against the Aggies. Then as a committee we were informed about the injury [to Stilson], and I know that our policy requires us to consider that. So I think for some members of the committee, that kind of was the last piece to the puzzle for them when it came to considering A&M."
On a lesser note, Georgia Tech also was considered for a national seed. The Yellow Jackets entered Monday with an RPI of 8 and an overall record of 40-19. However, a single loss to Florida State in the ACC tournament could've cost them a top eight national seed.
"Florida State won the head-to-head between the two teams and had the higher non-conference RPI," Weiser said. "You combine those two things, which aren't always used to make the decision, and you have some evidence to point to."
Though fans in College Station and Atlanta may disagree with the committee's decisions, it's evident Weiser and the committee did their homework.
THE BUZZ
Weiser said during the teleconference 22 teams were considered for the 16 NCAA Regional hosts … Weiser made a comment during the teleconference about not seeing the financial bids. Turns out, the committee hasn't used financial bids as part of their decisions for host sites in three or four years. That's a fantastic development for programs that perhaps can't compete with the power conferences when it comes to finances … Oregon finished the regular season with a series sweep over Oregon State and climbed to 53 in the final RPI before the selections. Weiser said the Ducks were very much in the discussion with Cal State Bakersfield and others … Speaking of Independent Bakersfield and Dallas Baptist, Weiser discussed the fact those programs have difficult challenges when it comes to scheduling on the weekend. He said it was difficult to put together a schedule and that Dallas Baptist was able to win some solid midweek games against elite level opponents. The committee was impressed with the Patriots' success against good teams. As for Bakersfield, they were right there in the end, but barely missed the field of 64 … Virginia was picked the top national seed and Weiser said it's hard to argue anyone has had more success than Virginia this season. He added that coach Brian O'Connor has done an amazing job and that the Cavaliers are the best team in college baseball right now … Elon was one of several teams excluded from the field on Monday, and that came as a surprise with the Phoenix possessing a 36-21 record, a Southern Conference regular season title and an RPI of 49. Weiser, though, added that the Phoenix were 0-3 vs. RPI Top 25 and 11-15 vs. RPI Top 100, and that those figures tripped them up. He closed by saying the Phoenix was as close as you possibly could be to getting in, i.e., perhaps the last out of the field.
Kendall Rogers is the college baseball editor for Perfect Game USA and has covered the sport for over 10 seasons. He can be reached at kendall@perfectgame.org