Auburn optimistic about chances of hosting NCAA Regional for 1st time since 2010

(TNS) — Butch Thompson glanced down at the sheet of paper he brought with him to the dais Friday night in the postgame press conference room in the bowels of the Hoover Met.

On that paper, the third-year Auburn coach jotted down a list of 20 stats, each making the case for the Tigers to earn a bid as one of the 16 teams to host an NCAA Regional next weekend when the NCAA Tournament gets underway. Thompson, fresh off Auburn’s 7-0 SEC Tournament-ending loss to Ole Miss, could have easily run through that bulleted list — much in the same way Kentucky’s Nick Mingione gave an impassioned, animated spiel for his team’s postseason worthiness after Auburn eliminated the Wildcats in Hoover earlier in the week.

Instead, Thompson put his trust in the 10-member NCAA selection committee, which will finish sorting out the 64-team tournament field this weekend as conference tournaments wrap up.

“I think they know what a body of work looks like,” Thompson said. “I think our name is unbelievably sitting there to be evaluated by the committee… so I’ll spare all the statistics and I think those good people have some very noteworthy information in front of them to evaluate us and a chance to host.”

Thompson hasn’t been shy about his stance on Auburn’s worthiness to earn a regional host site for the first time since 2010. He made that abundantly clear last week, before the Tigers ventured up to Hoover for the SEC Tournament, and he believes his team only strengthened its case during its four-day stay at the Hoover Met.

Auburn went 2-2 in the SEC Tournament, improving its overall record to 39-21 while picking up two impressive wins against Kentucky (RPI 29) and fourth-ranked Ole Miss (RPI 6) before losing back-to-back games to Texas A&M and Ole Miss.

While Thompson didn’t share the list of 20 itemized stats making the case for the Tigers to host, a few of those numbers are obvious. The Tigers were a win shy from 40 on the season and finished .500 overall in the SEC — the toughest conference in nation — with an 18-17 record against SEC opponents when you factor in the nonconference midweek win against Alabama in March. They boast the No. 12 RPI in the nation, as well as the seventh-toughest schedule in the country.

Auburn went 19-19 against RPI top-50 teams this season—the fourth-most wins among any team against the RPI top-50 — and only lost two games to teams outside of the top-50, with an 8-1 record against teams with an RPI between 51 and 100, 2-1 against teams with an RPI between 101 and 150, and 10-0 against programs with an RPI lower than 151.

Still, Auburn likely finds itself toeing the line between hosting a regional or earning a 2-seed when the NCAA selection committee announces the 16 regional hosts Sunday evening at 7:30 and unveils the complete tournament field Monday morning at 11. The Tigers would have likely guaranteed themselves a hosting opportunity had they defeated Texas A&M on Thursday or Ole Miss on Friday and advanced to the SEC Tournament semifinals, giving them 40 wins on the year and a guaranteed above-.500 record in SEC play.

Instead, the Tigers bowed out of Hoover in the quarterfinals and now await their postseason fate.

“I do feel good,” Thompson said. “I wanted to win this ballgame (Friday) that’s so fresh, trying to figure out how to win a baseball game. Here’s my official statement: I believe in the baseball committee; I think they’re going to do what’s best for college baseball, and I do believe in my heart of hearts that if there’s a fifth host site rewarded (to the SEC), it would be Auburn University.”

Entering the weekend, four SEC teams have done enough to guarantee a regional host site: Florida, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Georgia. All four may be national seeds, as well, making them Super Regional hosts should they advance.

Thompson is confident that Auburn should be the fifth SEC program awarded a regional site. Prior to the SEC Tournament, both Baseball America and D1Baseball.com had the Tigers just missing the cut to host, placing them as No. 2 seeds at Duke (projected at the time as the No. 16 overall seed and last regional host) and at Clemson (then projected as the No. 9 national seed), respectively.

Duke was also eliminated from its conference tournament on Friday, and the Blue Devils (40-15) have the No. 22 RPI and No. 68 strength of schedule, including just a 6-7 record against RPI top-50 teams this year. While Duke’s loss likely benefited Auburn, there are still plenty of moving pieces ahead of Sunday night’s regional site reveal as conference tournament around the country wrap up over the next two days.

Until then, Auburn will have to wait, knowing that it will make a second consecutive postseason trip for the first time since 2002-03, but unsure of whether it will get another set of games at Plainsman Park or have to hit the road once again.

“We’ll trust whatever they hand down, but I’m excited about the opportunity for our players next week,” Thompson said. “We’re excited about getting back to work, trying to grow and get better from the lessons that we learned from this week.”