NCAA TOURNAMENT TALK, MAY 26

Should Clemson, USC keep their phone lines open tonight?
There's every reason to expect Clemson and South Carolina will be in the 64-team field for the NCAA Baseball Tournament when that announcement is made Monday.

But what about today? Will Clemson (39-20) and USC (39-18) be selected as one of 16 hosts for first-round regional tournament?

The announcement comes at 9 p.m. at NCAA.com (I'll try to Tweet a more direct link via @palmettobase), but the teams selected should find out sometime before that.

Both Clemson and Carolina had solid regular seasons and were the host conversation until their conference tournaments. Both then missed a chance to erase any doubt, going a combined 0-5.

N.C. State broke a 2-2 tie in the middle innings and beat Clemson, 6-3, in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. N.C. State is a Top 10 team; no big deal  

Clemson was a half-inning away from also assuredly clinching a host spot when it took a 7-2 lead into the ninth inning against Top 5 squad North Carolina Friday night. But the Tar Heels rallied to force extra innings, then won in 14 innings, 12-7.

The Tigers capped a lost week in Durham with a 7-0 loss against Miami on Saturday, then went home to stew and wait.

USC had a lackluster performance in a 5-3 loss to Mississippi State in its Southeastern Conference opener. That loss likely dropped USC behind Mississippi State in the pecking order for host slots for SEC teams.

The Gamecocks played better the next day, but lost to top-ranked Vanderbilt, 4-3, in 10 innings and were sent home.

Baseball America's Aaron Fitt reports he's heard the selection committee is placing less emphasis on conference tournaments and paying more attention to RPI this season.

If that's the case both Clemson and USC could be in decent shape to be hosts.

A fly in the ointment for Clemson is Virginia Tech's performance in the ACC Tournament. The Hokies have climbed in the RPI after its 3-0 record in the pool play to reach Sunday's title game.

Florida State, North Carolina, N.C. State and Virginia are locks to get regional spots - and perhaps Top Eight national seeds.

Would the selection committee bypass the Hokies to give Clemson a fifth host spot for the ACC? Would the NCAA dare give both Clemson and Virginia Tech regionals? Would giving Clemson a host spot but a No. 2 seed be an option?

LSU, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt should be locks to be regional hosts from the SEC. Therefore, it may come down to Arkansas and USC for other regional possibilities. Arkansas swept USC head-to-head and did better in the SEC Tournament.

But the Gamecocks have a higher RPI and strength of schedule.

Will the fact Florida and Miami aren't in the regional mix this year give either Clemson or USC a geographic advantage to host in a tournament where most of the spots go to southern teams?
Baseball America

What do YOU think? Post your thoughts below


What about Coastal?

Several national Websites had the Big South as a two-bid conference this year, with both Campbell and  Coastal Carolina qualifying, prior to the league tournament.

But Coastal was bumped from the tournament and a Liberty team hovering around .500 stunned Campbell to win the league title.

The Big South has never sent three teams to the NCAAs. It's been a one-bid league the last six years. Campbell figures to get a second bid from the league by virtue of winning the regular season, having a better record and staying alive longer in the tournament.

If the tournament selection committee does place most emphasis on the regular season than tournament results, Coastal may be OK. But there may be some anxious moments in Conway this weekend.

So, you're saying there's a chance?

The Citadel has reached the Southern Conference Tournament championship game today and that's the Bulldogs' only path to the NCAAs. Either the Bulldogs or Elon will earn the league's automatic NCAA Tournament berth.

The SoCon has been a multi bid league several times in the past, but that didn't appear to be the case this year.

Western Carolina was red-hot down the stretch in winning the regular-season title, but the Catamounts stumbled in the SoCon Tournament.

The Catamounts could receive an at-large bid, but their chances may depend on how many upsets occur in other conference tournament finals today.

Quick hits

* Towson won the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament just months after a committee recommended that the program be cut for financial reasons.  Some state funding was acquired and the program has been raising funds to make the program self-sufficient.

* Liberty, coached by former USC assistant, Jim Toman, won the Big South Conference Tournament.

* South Alabama, coached by former Gamecocks pitching coach Mark Calvi, is expected to receive an at-large bid.

* Of course, Vanderbilt is coached by former Clemson assistant and Presbyterian head coach Tim Corbin. The Commodores closed the season as the nation's No. 1 team.