Bulldogs, Beavers await Jays in NCAA Tourney

Bring on the Bulldogs. The newly minted Missouri Valley Tournament champion Creighton Bluejays (44-14) will face Georgia (31-30) on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Baseball Tournament. The Jays earned the second seed in the Corvallis, Ore., regional and got a fairly manageable draw if you want to think big and consider Creighton’s chances of making it back home for the College World Series. Georgia’s near .500 record is a bit deceiving considering that the SEC placed seven schools in the 64-team field, but the Bulldogs did end the season in a bit of slump, going 4-7 over their last 11 regular season games before losing to Florida in the SEC Tournament semi-finals. Should Creighton get by Georgia the Jays will likely face host Oregon State. Beating the Beavers on their home turf is no small feat but with the way Creighton has been playing defense lately it’s another game that falls under the “doable” category. The only team both squads faced this season was the University of Portland. The Jays swept a three-game series against the Pilots in April while Oregon State won both of their road games with Portland as well. If Creighton can get out of their region, they’re paired with the No. 6 national seed Vanderbilt. Another battle-tested SEC squad but, again, it could’ve been worse. They could’ve been paired with a 1 through 5 seed. The real Road to Omaha, or the road back home to Omaha in the case of Creighton, starts at 3 p.m. on June 3. ESPN3.com is broadcasting all of the tournament games live online, while gocreighton.com will stream live radio broadcasts throughout the tournament. –Fun fact: The Big 10 placed one team in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. The Big 12 had six. Should we just go ahead and consider Nebraska’s recent baseball struggles fixed? –Did Nebraska’s inaugural Big 10 home game against Ohio State on Oct. 8 become more or less interesting with the Memorial Day resignation of Jim Tressel? Barring any further player sanctions the game will still be the return of Terrelle Pryor and others. but who could’ve guessed that Tressel’s speaking engagement visit to Lincoln earlier this Spring would be his first and last? All I know is this: Nebraska fans shouldn’t worry too much about Bo Pelini jumping ship following this season. I’ve got a feeling that he’s lower on Ohio State’s list than most Husker fans think. Paranoia is a powerful drug.