Last Eight In: Arizona, Rice, Tulane, UNC Wilmington, Tennessee, Louisiana, Dallas Baptist, Washington
First Eight Out: Arizona State, Oregon, USC, UC Irvine, Wake Forest, Cal Poly, Boston College, Cal State Northridge,
With conference play starting for most teams, a number of squads had found themselves in a spot to improve on their disappointing starts to the season. Texas was a team that took full advantage of the opportunity. The Longhorns topped Big 12 favorite TCU over the weekend, giving the program a pair of great wins. Texas was a team that had postseason expectations after heading to a regional a year ago, but early season struggles put Texas in a tough spot. While the Longhorns aren't in this week's field, they find themselves in position to make a run for the Big 12 title if they can capitalize on the momentum from their series win.
Joining Texas as a big time winner over the weekend was Kentucky. After losing to top ranked Florida on Thursday, the Wildcats won the final two games of the weekend, giving the Gators two of their three losses so far this season. The Gators were on a roll to start the season at 22-1 entering Thursdays game, with a pair of wins over Miami and a single game victory over Florida State, but the Wildcats were up for the challenge. For Kentucky, this is a great win to build on. It gives the Wildcats great wins for their resume and shows the potential the team has, regardless of the somewhat inconsistent start to the season. For Florida, things just get tougher. The Gators have a midweek game with Florida State, followed by a weekend showdown with Texas A&M. Once again, the SEC looks to be a very deep conference with every team having a chance to win their weekend series, regardless of the opponent.
ACC: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia
American: Houston, Tulane, East Carolina
Big East: Creighton
Big 12: Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech
Big Ten: Michigan, Michigan State
Pac-12: Arizona, California, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, Washington
SEC: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
A-10: VCU
America East: Stony Brook
A-Sun: North Florida
Big South: Coastal Carolina
Big West: Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara
CAA: Charleston, UNC-Wilmington
C-USA: Florida Atlantic, Rice, Southern Miss
Horizon: Wright State
Ivy: Columbia
MAAC: Monmouth
MAC: Kent State
MEAC: Florida A&M
MVC: Dallas Baptist, Missouri State
MWC: Fresno State
NEC: Bryant
OVC: Southeast Missouri
Patriot: Navy
Southern: Mercer
Southland: Southeastern Louisiana
Summit: Oral Roberts
Sun Belt: South Alabama
SWAC: Alabama State
WAC: Seattle
WCC: BYU