Sorry Guys: Despite 42 wins, UCF misses tourney

[Brad]

Despite 42 wins, UCF misses tourney

A late-season slump proves costly as the NCAA committee bypasses the Knights.

By Alan Schmadtke

Sentinel Staff Writer

Posted May 31 2005

UCF Coach Jay Bergman had a good reason not to put his team's NCAA regional fate in the hands of a selection committee: Sometimes committees don't do what you'd like them to do.

Such was the case Monday when the Golden Knights saw the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee map out roads to the College World Series for Florida, Florida State, Miami and Stetson, but not for them.

UCF's 42 wins, its late-season slump and its small number of quality non-conference wins proved too little to overcome a strong pool of at-large teams vying for 34 at-large slots in the 64-team regional field.

"I thought we had a chance, but when I saw Oklahoma, Northwestern State, St. John's [get in as at-large teams], I knew," Bergman said. "The way we finished the month of May was not in our favor at all. We had a good year, but we just didn't win the games when we really needed to win them."

Which is opposite the case of Stetson. While playing some of their best baseball of the season, the Hatters (35-26) clinched their fifth NCAA berth in six years by winning the Atlantic Sun Championship on Saturday. They match up against Florida in an opening-round game at 8 p.m. Friday in Gainesville.

The Gators (40-20), designated as a No. 7 national seeding, beat Stetson two weeks ago on an eighth-inning home run. Notre Dame (36-22-1) and North Carolina (40-17-1) square off in Gainesville's other first-round game. Stetson is the No. 4 seed in Gainesville.

"We owe them some payback," Stetson pitcher Ryan Heacox said. "Losing to them a couple weeks ago probably did us well, because there's about 35 [coaches and players] that want to beat them up pretty bad."

FSU (50-18) was seeded No. 1 in the Tallahassee Regional and opens with Army (38-12) on Friday. Auburn (32-24) faces South Alabama (35-25) in the other first-round game.

Miami (38-17-1) is also a No. 1 in its regional in Coral Gables but takes a six-game losing streak into the NCAAs. The Hurricanes face Virginia Commonwealth (33-20) on Friday. Florida Atlantic (36-22), the No. 3 seed in Coral Gables, gets Southeastern Conference Tournament champ Mississippi State (40-20).

Teams are sent to one of 16 four-team regionals. Winners of the double-elimination brackets advance to next week's eight super regionals, a best-of-three series. Super regional winners move to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., June 17-25.

The SEC tied its own record by sending nine teams to regional play. A testament to the SEC's strength was that Auburn, a team that didn't reached the SEC Tournament, is a No. 2 seed in Tallahassee.

Miami and FSU claimed two of the Atlantic Coast Conference's seven bids.

"We wanted to reward excellence," said Charlie Carr, FSU's senior associate athletic director and chairman of the selection committee. "We feel we did that."

Much of UCF's excellence came in March and April. The Knights were 35-8 at one point, a school-best record after 43 games. But they lost eight of their next 13 games -- and went 2-2 in the A-Sun Tournament, putting themselves in a position of needing help.

They received little. A handful of strong teams from traditionally one-bid conferences -- Louisiana-Lafayette (Sun Belt), Coastal Carolina (Big South), College of Charleston (Southern) and Michigan (Big Ten) -- claimed at-large bids after tumbling in their league tournaments.

The Knights also played only 11 games (going 4-7) against teams that made it to the NCAAs.

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I'm being sincere knight fans...that sucks.

[smazza]

the loser of the asun championship game isn't going to any ncaa torunament in any sport

[DawgPound]

smazza is wrong as usual.  FAU and Stetson were in the ASun championship game and both are in the NCAA regionals.  FAU lost and is a #3 seed.

[TripleB]

What mope started this thread on THIS board?? .......................................... oops ............. Nevermind.    :

[Brad]

I think I got it backwards...the USF-UCF board should be public and this board should have been secured.

I think it's good for state fans to see what it takes to get into the tournament.  It was two weeks ago, that USF fans really thought USF had a chance...

[TripleB]

I think it's good for state fans to see what it takes to get into the tournament.  It was two weeks ago, that USF fans really thought USF had a chance...

Maybe you should have posted this on the Main board since it's mainly aimed at USF fans since most other state fans knows what it takes because they are THERE .......  

[Brad]

Maybe you should have posted this on the Main board since it's mainly aimed at USF fans since most other state fans knows what it takes because they are THERE .......  

Point well taken.   ;D

[GarySJ]

If UCF missed out on the baseball regionals, I guess we can't complain about not going either.

[Brad]

But with their facilities you would have expected so much more....      (Here Cyber, here boy...)

[GarySJ]

But with their facilities you would have expected so much more....      (Here Cyber, here boy...)

You see, this is why I'm not around much in the summer . Somebody email me when football season starts.