This year's tournament drops the double elimination format used in past years for a pool play system similar to what we saw in the World Baseball Classic. Seeds 1, 4, 5, and 8 go into the cleverly named "Division 1" and seeds 2, 3, 6, and 7 are placed in "Division 2." Each team plays round-robin within its division, with the two division winners meeting Sunday afternoon for the title. "Two-and-barbecue" will not be heard in OKC this week, as the "eliminated" teams will all play three games. (Three-and-flee?)

Division 1:
#1 seed = Texas: A 38-18 record and the Big XII regular season title makes this look like just another ho-hum dominant Texas season. It has been anything but. The pre-season consensus #1 team started the season by getting swept by the U of San Diego and ended the season by getting swept by Missouri. In between, the Longhorns blew a 10-run lead at UNLV and had a 9-8 record in early March, but also put together two 10-game stretches where they won a combined 19 games. The trip to Missouri ended a 10-game win streak during which they took complete control of the conference race, put themselves in great shape for a national seed, and generally looked like a team headed to Omaha. The weekend in Columbia, however, reminded everyone of the Longhorns’ biggest flaws: inconsistent defense, especially at third base, and a young bullpen. Texas has made 73 errors in 56 games; last year’s champs made only 62 in 72 games. Late year’s champs also managed to ride a thin 7-man pitching staff all year; this year’s staff is much deeper, but counts on four talented freshman in the bullpen and a freshman as the #3 starter.

#4 seed = Nebraska: If Texas’ season was a rollercoaster, Nebraska’s has been like the Texas Chute Out at Six Flags, the ride where they take you way up in the air and drop you into a free fall. The Huskers ended April with a 36-6 overall record, including an 18-1 April where the only loss was the Friday game of a weekend series in Austin. Since May 1st, however, Nebraska is only 3-8, with rock bottom being a sweep in Waco that ended with a mercy rule loss. If any team has dominated the Big XII tournament, it’s the Huskers, but who knows which team will show up in OKC. The Huskers are currently 5th in the nation in RPI, so another tournament title could put them back into the Natty Seed discussion.

#5 seed = Baylor: THIS is an interesting team. The Bears had a reeeeeally ugly stretch in early April, losing three consecutive games by double digits, but then swept Oklahoma State, then lost four straight to Texas and Rice, later ran off a 7-game winning streak that included the Nebraska sweep, but finished the season by getting swept at Kansas State. Any predictions ANYBODY makes about Baylor are pure speculation, so I’ll just conclude by saying that Bear catcher Zach Dillon may be the most underrated player in the country (.396 BA, .525 OBP, 49 BB, 16 K). The Bears are #30 in the RPI, which is right at the cutoff for worrying. 0-3 could leave them at home. 2-1 or better will probably get them a #2 seed.

#8 seed = Texas Tech: The Red Raiders sneaked into the final spot largely due to a mid-May home sweep of Missouri. As usual, Tech features lots of “good” hitters and “mediocre” pitchers, though this is largely due to the fact that their home stadium is the 2nd-most hitter-friendly park in the Big XII behind Okie State. (Thanks for the data, boydsworld.com.) They really have only one established starting pitcher in Miles Morgan (who is a good one), and have had a season-long audition for the rest of the staff. If their seeding weren’t enough of a hint, this is a team very capable of going 0-3.

Division 2:
#2 seed = Oklahoma State: A scary hot team, the Cowboys were 22-13 and 5-8 in conference after their 4/21 game and their boosters were starting to seriously complain about head coach Frank Anderson. Since then, Okie State is 17-2, allowing only 40 total runs in those wins. Helped by their home park, the Cowboys are 3rd in the nation in slugging percentage at an absurd .530. Even more telling – Oklahoma State is 28-4 at home, and only 11-11 in road and neutral site games. The Cowboys are #12 in RPI, so they’re also playing for a #1 seed and a host bid.

#3 seed = Oklahoma: The Sooners had a freakishly hot stretch this season (that seems to be a theme, doesn’t it?) highlighted by a 13-game winning streak that pushed the Sooners into Natty Seed consideration. OU limped to the finish line with a 4-7 record that included a sweep at the hands of their Bedlam rivals, but also included a confidence-boosting series win over Nebraska last weekend. The Sooners are #9 in RPI, so playing well should get them a regional host, and winning the tournament would move them into the national seed discussion.

#6 seed = Kansas: Ritch Price deserves consideration for Big XII Coach of the Year for riding starting pitcher Kodiak Quick and closer Don Czyz to a 38-23 record. Quite a few of their wins are complete fluff, however, so a #42 RPI ranking means that the Jayhawks need to be playing Sunday to have a shot at getting a bid. Their lack of pitching depth makes that very unlikely.

#7 seed = Missouri: This is the scariest team in the field. The Tigers won 40 games last year and were eliminated in a heartbreaker by Fullerton, and hopes were high this season with the return of the guts of a lethal pitching staff. Unfortunately, ace Max Scherzer missed a big chunk of the season first because he slammed his finger in a door and second because he developed tendonitis. Scherzer blamed his troubles on an unidentified voodoo doll. In Scherzer’s absence, Nathan Culp stepped up as a bona fide ace. Scherzer returned a couple of weekends ago and threw his usual filthy stuff, shutting down Texas Tech and Texas.

My pick? Any pick in this tournament is a wild guess, but I’ll take Texas over Missouri on Sunday. All eight teams play on Wednesday, so check back then for game reports. Later.