Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson]
[Moderated by Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson]
The Kentucky baseball team, winners of 43 games in the nation’s toughest conference, have been snubbed of hosting one of the NCAA regional tournament sites. The Cats, 43-16, were just one win away in the regular season of earning a #1 seed in the conference and lost only once in the semifinals of a strange SEC tournament format (double-elimination until semis when it turns into single-elimination).
They’ve spent most of the 2nd half of the season ranked in the top 10 in the country, and to see the absurdity of the ruling, here are last week’s polls with each host school highlighted (h/t Stu Hammer):
Kentucky won 3 more games than SEC foe South Carolina and even swept the Gamecocks earlier this season. But to be fair, UK didn’t play a challenging non-conference schedule. Still, they’ve undoubtedly proved to be one of the top 16 teams in the country by their play in the SEC and were just one win away from an SEC regular season title and one win away from reaching the tournament championship. The most bizarre school selected over Kentucky would by Miami, who finished 6 games back in the ACC standings compared to Kentucky finishing only 1 game behind LSU. The NCAA baseball selection chairman was just interviewed on ESPN2 and was quick to note that any school (would not specifically mention Kentucky) could technically be a #1 seed but play on the road. Why on earth would a #1 seed not host? The answer is pretty clear: money.
Baseball is just not that big of a thing at UK. At South Carolina and Miami it certainly is, and much more revenue would be made at either one of those sites.
Here are some of the reactions from the Bat Cats and Coach Henderson via Twitter:
Feel bad for #UK coach Gary Henderson. Just got off the phone with him. He said “I’m just shocked. I don’t really know what to say.” #SEC
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogersPG) May 27, 2012
#Kentucky coach Gary Henderson also told me: “We led the #SEC for eight weeks and were one win away from tourney title game.” #UK #wildcats — Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogersPG) May 27, 2012
We are going to have a chip on our shoulders! No respect — Thomas Bernal (@tberny46) May 27, 2012
This is unreal! I am in shock right now like don’t even know how to respond to that
— Brian K. Adams Jr (@Badamsjr) May 27, 2012
That’s why we’re called road warriors! Feel bad people in Lex cant come out and watch us play at Cliff one more time!
— Thomas McCarthy (@Thomasmac10) May 27, 2012
What a joke. Once again proving the NCAA is a bunch of clowns. — Matt Reida (@matt_reida) May 27, 2012
You just pissed off the wrong people
— Corey Littrell(@clittrell21) May 27, 2012
We will find out tomorrow where the Cats will be heading. Follow me on Twitter @wilmhoffKSR
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May 27th, 2012 at 5:57 pm
Once again the NCAA shows their lack of sense and playing favorites —
May 27th, 2012 at 6:05 pm
The NCAA hates Calipari and they will screw UK every chance they get. NCAA s*cks.
May 27th, 2012 at 6:08 pm
Will we even get invited to the tournament?
May 27th, 2012 at 6:10 pm
The ncaa did all college baseball fans a favor. No one wants to have to travel, spend money and be forced to deal with all you marble mouthed, slack jawed, rednecks.
May 27th, 2012 at 6:10 pm
Henderson….it is not how you start but how you finish. The season ending meltdown cost us a selection site as well. We got we we deserved.
May 27th, 2012 at 6:29 pm
Bat Cats have had a great season, but have yet to win the big games when they counted. Choked at the end of the year and lucky to still be ranked that high. The players need to quit whining on twitter and worry about winning games.
May 27th, 2012 at 6:44 pm
4. you are such a loser, you live to make idiotic remarks on a rivals blog, pitiful
May 27th, 2012 at 6:52 pm
KY got just what it deserved! They finished the season terrible! They lost 4-5 to Mississippii State and they could not bunt to move their man into scoring position! This team is really good, if they get an early lead! In close games, they just do not have it! Maybe this slight will motivate them. If so great! If not then build a new stadium and plan for the future. Quit crying!
May 27th, 2012 at 6:59 pm
Well, my mommy just said I have to get off her computer. Time for t-ball practice. SpongeBob comes on tonight, so I better not make mommy mad. Watching SpongeBob makes my little tallywacker feel funny.
May 27th, 2012 at 7:10 pm
Go back and ck with the embarassing mid-week games that we lost to OTIS and you will see where it all started…And James is correct..NOTHING AND I MEAN NOTHING matters at KENTUCKY except BASKETBALL..it is a good damn thing that we are already in the SEC with all this conference realignment because we would definately be on the outside looking in…
May 27th, 2012 at 7:10 pm
Quite frankly this team didn’t deserve it. If any of you morons knew anything about baseball is that this team was vastly overrated the entire year. No depth in the pitching staff and weak lineup. The committee got it right.
May 27th, 2012 at 7:34 pm
I don’t care how UK finished, Miami and UVA didn’t deserve a regional bid over UK. Point blank period.
May 27th, 2012 at 7:41 pm
11.) How can you say that UK “did not deserve it” by saying they are “vastly overrated”? Actually they were not expected to do anything this year, and came along by slugging their way through the SEC. Quite frankly, the baseball writers/bloggers got it right by saying this is BS. One thing I have learned, is that people that call others “morons”, is usually the moron.
10.) Basketball might be the only thing that YOU CARE ABOUT, but many others will disagree with you. I guess facts that are women basketball team, mens tennis team, rifle team, and baseball team have done great things this year speaks otherwise.
May 27th, 2012 at 7:52 pm
Yep, #11, that’s why we were a damn good team all season long except for 1 misstep before the tournament. Despite literally all evidence to the contrary, you must be correct.
“If any of you morons knew anything about baseball…” Every time I’ve heard an argument introduced with this phrase, it’s been awful. Glad to see the rule hasn’t changed today.
May 27th, 2012 at 7:55 pm
#6, #8 – Tell me more about your theory that, despite playing 55-60, only games actually matter. Because it’s absolutely ridiculous on its face, and I’m pretty sure that’s what lies beneath too, but I’m willing to hear you out.
May 27th, 2012 at 8:01 pm
I think some of the blame can be put on Barnhart. Did he work hard enough to land a regional?? Say what you want about UL and Jurich but when they hosted a regional a few years ago they didn’t have a great record but Jurich sold the NCAA for weeks before selling the idea to them. UL fans turned out in droves….as UK fans would have if we’d have landed a regional.
Sometimes you got to work as though you’re not going to get what you want….you can’t just sit back and assume.
May 27th, 2012 at 9:45 pm
Lexington isn’t exactly a college baseball hotbed. Insight cable doesn’t even carry the station that the SEC tournament was on.
May 27th, 2012 at 9:54 pm
I guess we need to wait for Emmert to be gone to get any recognition. It must have killed him to hand Cal that trophy, and the Bat Cats are paying for it. Talk money all you want, but places like NC State and VA get to host regionals and UK doesn’t……give me a break.
May 27th, 2012 at 10:36 pm
Sooo I would expect the NCAA to be getting a letter from cioa or what ever as they only care about money not the student athletic experience
Oh wait. That’s just uk cause they are all self righteous hippocrites with situational ethics
May 27th, 2012 at 10:43 pm
Jpgott..#13…NO ..NO…you took what I said all wrong…I follow all of KENTUCKY sports …Have had season tickets for fb for 35 YRS.(NO LONGER..GIVING THEM UP TILL THEY TAKE IT SERIOUSLY)..I was speaking of the administration and the money folks who won’t give any sport but basketball the time of day much less any money..The only the the fb and baseball programs ever get are excuses why there is no money to help them…
May 27th, 2012 at 11:15 pm
Don’t blame the NCAA for the snub. Miss St. beat us 4 times in 10 days. Just needed to win one of those and we hose a Super. We win we get it, but we didn’t. UK’s fault not the NCAA.
May 28th, 2012 at 4:20 am
In related news…Eric quigly was disqualified from the NCAA tennis finals
Because Emmett is still pissed that uk won the national championship in
Basketball
May 28th, 2012 at 5:07 pm
uk vs. ncaa whats new?