Arizona baseball: NCAA selection committee chair comments on Wildcats' inclusion in field of 64
Arizona baseball entered Monday on the NCAA Tournament bubble, but the Wildcats’ season will continue.
Arizona was one of the last four teams to make it into the field of 64. The Wildcats made it in over Pac-12 rivals USC and Arizona State. Both the Trojans and Sun Devils finished the year with better Pac-12 records than Arizona.
Shortly after the field was announced, NCAA selection committee chair John Cohen addressed Arizona’s inclusion with ESPN.
“Their RPI was fifth-best in the league overall,” Cohen said. “I think you’re comparing apples to apples with RPI when you’re talking about Pac-12 schools alone. They had 16 wins in the Pac-12 and fifth-best RPI in a very elite league.”
Arizona went 12-18 in Pac-12 play during the regular season, but made a deep run in the Pac-12 Tournament. The Wildcats went 3-0 in pool play and then upset No. 1-seeded Stanford to reach the Pac-12 title game.
“They make it to the championship game of the league tournament,” Cohen added. “Great series win against USC. Their last two outings against Arizona State were really impressive and they have a win late in the year against Irvine. So I think it is a very solid résumé and it was reflected by RPI.”
Comments about Arizona making the 64-team field from NCAA baseball tournament chairman John Cohen during ESPN's selection show: https://t.co/jmWEBvVe7E pic.twitter.com/bZJaub6O8M
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) May 29, 2023
Here’s video of Arizona celebrating its NCAA Tournament appearance:
LET’S GOOOOOOOOO!!! #BearDown pic.twitter.com/EwLZBnB9U3
— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) May 29, 2023
Arizona will play in the Arkansas regional as a No. 3 seed. It will face No. 2-seeded TCU to open the NCAA Tournament later this week.