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The Oklahoma Sooners had to sweat it out a bit on Monday morning, but their name was eventually called during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show. OU will head to the Tallahassee Regional as a No. 3 seed and will face the Mississippi State Bulldogs at 11 a.m. CT this Friday on ESPNU.
Tallahassee, here we come! #Sooners will face Mississippi State Friday at Dick Howser Stadium! pic.twitter.com/QQ7t2GdCfC
— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) May 28, 2018
TALLAHASSEE REGIONAL
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) May 28, 2018
1️⃣ Florida State
2️⃣ Mississippi State
3️⃣ Oklahoma
4️⃣ Samford#RoadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/VOywS40ve7
Oklahoma finished the season with a 36-23 overall record and finished fourth in the Big 12. The team went 2-2 in the Big 12 Tournament this past week, but they did so without the services of both Steele Walker and Kyler Murray for the majority of their run in OKC — and all of that run in Walker’s case. Both players are expected to be back for regional play.
OU will open against Mississippi State, who carries 31-25 record and finished fifth in the SEC West. The Bulldogs are led by interim head coach Gary Henderson but are rumored to be going after TCU’s Jim Schlossnagle for their future opening.
The Florida State Seminoles, who are obviously the hosts of the regional, are the No. 7 overall seed in the tournament after compiling a record of 43-17 and sweeping their way through the ACC Tournament. FSU head coach Mike Martin became the winningest coach in NCAA history earlier this season, passing late Texas Longhorns coach Augie Garrido for the top spot.
The Seminoles will play the Samford Bulldogs — the champions of the Southern Conference — at 6 p.m. CT on Friday.
Elsewhere in the bracket, there’s some seriously intrigue. Perhaps the biggest storyline of the bracket reveal is the assignment of Texas A&M to the Austin Regional, where they will hopefully end up playing Texas at some point. I absolutely loathe both of those institutions, but I would pay money to attend that game if I lived a bit closer to UT. That environment is going to be insane if it goes down.
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma State Cowboys were one of the “Last Four In” and are headed to the DeLand Regional hosted by Stetson. In total, five Big 12 teams made the field, and that number would’ve been higher if TCU’s right fielder hadn’t have lost a ball in the sun at The Brick. I guess a TCU berth could’ve been at the expense of Oklahoma State, but you never know.