U.VA. NOTES

PAINFUL CUTS: In the NCAA baseball tournament, each team is allowed to carry no more than 25 players on its roster. The limit during the regular season is 35.

Virginia, which meets Mississippi in a best-of-three NCAA super regional, has 32 players in its program. Which meant sixth-year coach Brian O’Connor had the unenviable job of telling seven of his players, including John Bivens (Prince George High), Tyler Biddix (Mills Godwin) and Brad Grove (Deep Run), that they couldn’t participate in the NCAA tourney.

“Without question, that’s the most difficult thing you have to deal with as a coach,” O’Connor said Tuesday. “Because all 32 of your players put in the same amount of time, and all of them deserve this opportunity to be a part of the team, but it’s unfortunate that the rules don’t allow that to happen.

“It’s just tough, because everybody works hard, and only 25 of them can be rewarded.”

Two of the players affected – Grove and catcher Will Campbell – are seniors, and so O’Connor has included them in the Cavaliers’ postseason traveling party. They were in Irvine, Calif., last weekend and will be in Oxford, Miss., with the team.

“They’re not allowed to dress, they’re not allowed to do anything with the team [on the field], but they are allowed to be a part of it somewhat,” O’Connor said.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: U.Va.’s first two games at Ole Miss will be shown on ESPN2. If a third game is necessary Sunday, ESPN will carry it.

“Any time you can play on national television, it helps,” O’Connor said. “I don’t know if we can get any better players what we have right now, so I don’t know if it’s going to affect recruiting. I wouldn’t trade our guys for anybody. But there’s no question that from a visibility standpoint of our program, it helps tremendously.”

DESTINATION UNCERTAIN: When offensive tackle Morgan Moses signed a letter of intent with U.Va., it was understood that the Parade All-American from Meadowbrook High might not qualify for admission in 2009-10.

Final grades aren’t in yet, but Moses appears unlikely to play for the Cavaliers this season. The start of summer school is looming for incoming football recruits, and all of the players who signed in February with U.Va. – with the exception of Moses – have been added to the university’s on-line directory.

If Moses doesn’t meet NCAA standards for freshman eligiblity, he’s expected to spend a year at a prep school – probably Fork Union Military Academy – before enrolling at Virginia in the summer of 2010.

BANNER YEAR: U.Va. is headed for one of its best finishes in the Directors’ Cup competition, which reflect schools’ performances in NCAA championships.

In the standings released last week, Virginia was 10th, and it will earn additional points for baseball, women’s rowing, men’s golf and track and field.

U.Va. finished 17th in 2007-08. It placed 13th in 2004-05 and 2006-07. Virginia’s highest finish, eighth, came in 1998-99.

EXPANDED COVERAGE: Half of U.Va.’s football games were televised on ESPNU last season. For many fans in this state, that was a source of frustration, because ESPNU wasn’t widely available in Virginia.

That won’t be the case this season. Comcast, a major cable provider in Virginia, has added ESPNU. Also, DIRECTV will make the network available to more of its viewers.

DRAMATIC DROP: In 2008, the NCAA final four for men’s lacrosse was held in Foxborough, Mass., for the first time. It drew 48,224 fans for the semifinals and 48,970 for the championship game.

The return engagement wasn’t nearly as popular. Last month’s semifinals in Foxborough drew 35,694 – the smallest crowd in seven years for that round – and the final 41,935.

“I’d like to think it was the economy as much as anything else,” said U.Va. coach Dom Starsia, whose team lost to Cornell in the semifinals.

Still, count Starsia among those who are pleased that the final four is returning to Maryland. “I think that Baltimore is a safer place to have it than Foxborough,” he said, “and I think it’s a good move for the next two years.”

The 2007 final four, in Baltimore, drew 52,004 for the semifinals and 48,443 for the championship game.

-- Jeff White
 

Werman earns his spot
By Jay Jenkins
Published: June 4, 2009

When Keith Werman entered his first practice, the rookie did so strictly as Keith Werman.

The identity of brother, former Cavalier player and coach Kyle Werman, did not tip the scales.

The newest Werman in the family would have to earn his spot on the diamond.

And he did.

As Virginia (46-12-1) prepares for Friday’s opener at Ole Miss, Keith Werman, easily the smallest Cavalier in stature at 5-foot-7 and 140 pounds, is merely along for the ride.

“It has been unbelievable,” the younger Werman said. “To be a part of a team like this and be able to contribute has been unreal.”

The season started in a rough fashion, emotionally, for Keith Werman.

Phil Gosselin and Corey Hunt were ahead of Keith Werman on the depth chart, making it hard for the rookie to snag playing time.

Eventually, Virginia coach Brian O’Connor was saddled with a not-so hard decision of defense over offense.

“I wasn’t planning on him being a factor. But just like Robert Morey, sometimes you give a kid an opportunity and they make the most of it and make a difference in your team,” O’Connor said. “It was just about four weeks ago that up until that point he had only had about five starts on the year. So I plugged him in there and he did a great job and swung the bat well and then we continued to give him opportunities and I really feel like he makes a difference in our team.

“He plays great defense. Phil Gosselin has played wonderful defense all year — I think he only has two errors — but Werman has added a dimension for us defensively and offensively. He’s a scrappy little fighter and I think our team has fed off of that emotion a little bit.”

A slight buzz surfaced weeks ago at Davenport Field that the youngest Werman was looking to transfer to a program where he could see daily playing time, although those rumors were quickly squashed.

“It is easy to think that a player would want to do that,” Werman said. “You are a baseball player, so you go to a place that you want to play. For me, I just came out every day and played as hard as I could, laying out for balls and doing everything that I could and it worked out.”

Teammates love playing with Werman. Shortstop Tyler Cannon, a junior, said he has never turned double plays with a quicker infielder.

That was evident against UC Irvine when Werman tried to turn two on a play that seemed destined to go to first from its origin.

“He is phenomenal over there at second base,” Cannon said. “I don’t remember the last time he booted a ball. He is solid over there.

“I was yelling for him to throw it to be on that double play chance. We have an execution challenge in practice where we have runners in motion and we have to get the runner even though he might be safe. Obviously, we still had the guy and he was halfway in between first.”

Werman has that type of knowledge of the situations as they unfold.

“I have not seen anything quite like it,” Cannon said. “It is a beautiful thing.”

Extra bases

Virginia has not announced its rotation for the Super Regional, but O’Connor said Friday’s starter would be rookie Danny Hultzen or sophomore Robert Morey. … Virginia practiced at a local high school on Wednesday and will get its first look at the Ole Miss stadium today.
 

Cavaliers enjoying road trip
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: June 4, 2009

What a ride Virginia’s baseball team is enjoying as the Cavaliers open play in the NCAA Super Regionals on Friday at Ole Miss.

They swept through the ACC tournament without a loss, then as an encore followed suit in the NCAA tournament, beating one of the best pitcher’s in college baseball history and sweeping two games from No. 1 ranked Cal-Irvine at the Anteaters’ home stadium.

Through it all, the Wahoos have made the necessary adjustments and did whatever was required to get the job done.

“The exciting thing is that it’s just the first two chapters in this story,” said UVa skipper Brian O’Connor. “The last couple of weeks we have come together as a team.”

O’Connor has felt like his previous Virginia teams have not played their best baseball at the most important time and often peaked too early. That’s not the case this year.

Young talent

Maybe they’re just too young to know any better, this Cavalier team comprised of mostly freshmen and sophomores. Still, the coach has approached things a little differently than in the past.

In seasons past, his management style has been to play the same nine guys every game and to be hardnosed most of the time.

The 2009 season has featured a kinder, gentler Brian O’Connor, even though he hasn’t hesitated to challenge his players when necessary.

“From me personally, I think I’ve been more relaxed as a coach this year than in previous years,” he said before Tuesday’s practice at Davenport Field. “Maybe because our youth needed to see the confidence in me that I had in them. I’ve been more of a cheerleader throughout the season, so over the last four or five weeks, it’s been more of patting guys on the back and saying ‘Get ’em next time,’ and they’ve responded.”

Shaking things up

He hasn’t hesitated to shake things up with the lineup either, shuffling players at first base, second base, behind the plate, left field, and his pitching staff, both starters and the bullpen.

The fact that Virginia traveled to the Cal-Irvine regional, which featured the defending national champion in Fresno State, the current No. 1 team in the nation in the host Anteaters, and the best pitcher in college baseball in San Diego State’s Stephen Strasburg, and emerge without a single loss was an eye-opening experience.

Virginia couldn’t have bought that kind of national exposure. Commentators like ESPN’s Phil Nevin, a former big leaguer, lavished praise on the Cavaliers the entire series and said UVa was the best team he had seen all season, noting that the Cavs had just as good a chance as anyone to win the national title from his view.

“To go out there and give up only two runs in an NCAA regional [over three games] is really unheard of,” O’Connor said. “Each guy that had a chance to pitch went out and did their job. That’s what a team is all about.”

Outsiders might opine that because the one knock against UVa’s program the past few years is that it couldn’t advance out of a regional, might lead all of us to believe that when the Cavaliers finally cleared that hurdle, O’Connor would feel like the 500-pound gorilla was finally off his back.

Not true.

“So much had been made out of that, five years in a row without advancing out of the regionals, how does this team get over that hump,” O’Connor said. “But there are so many great programs in college baseball that go to consecutive regionals and never make it to a Super Regional or to Omaha [home of the College World Series], because it’s really hard.”

The coach believes of all the NCAA sports, baseball has the most equity. Otherwise, why else would Cal State-Fullerton, Cal-Irvine and other “mid-majors” ever be in a national championship discussion?

While it was a great feeling, and yes, he did admit a relieving feeling to win the ACC championship and an NCAA regional, finally kicking down those doors, there’s a much bigger challenge out there.

Win at Ole Miss and go to Omaha, the sacred ground of the college game.

Coming down the stretch, O’Connor wanted to make sure that this team won a championship. Before his arrival in 2004, Virginia had only won two ACC titles, one under Dennis Womack in 1996 and another under the late Jim West in 1972 (without scholarships).

So, winning the ACCs was a big deal, and the NCAA regional even bigger.

“It was a big step for our program,” O’Connor said. “I’ve never talked to this team about winning the ACC championship or winning the regional. It has always been about playing the next game, going out there with something to prove. I think by saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get to Omaha,’ is too much.”

As good as an experience the past couple of weeks has been, O’Connor keeps emphasizing what a special group this is, extremely close knit. He wants them to be proud of their accomplishments because it adds confidence.

“But, I’ve got a special feeling that they know their work is not done,” the skipper said with a broad smile. “Now we have the opportunity to take that next step.”
 

Now-thriving Virginia once dodged bullet
Cavaliers' then-shaky baseball program nearly got axe in 2001
Kyle Veazey • kyle.veazey@clarionledger.com • June 3, 2009

Eight summers ago, the thought that Virginia's baseball program would be arriving in Oxford today to prepare for an NCAA Super Regional was laughable.

Two wins away from the College World Series? More like months away from being downgraded to a club sport.

As Virginia searched for a way to restructure its non-revenue producing sports in 2001, its unsuccessful baseball program was among those being considered for a downgrade to non-scholarship status, essentially eliminating the program. Supporters - including one well-known Mississippian - rallied, and the program remained.

A year later, a new stadium opened.

A year after that, Brian O'Connor was hired away from Notre Dame, where he was an assistant, to become the team's head coach. His teams quickly flourished. Playing in front of record crowds at Davenport Field, the Cavaliers have played in six straight NCAA regionals and will make their first Super Regional appearance when they play Ole Miss on Friday in the first game of the best-of-three series.

Before O'Connor's arrival, Virginia had been to three regionals - in 1972, when its season ended with a 9-0 loss to Ole Miss, in 1985 and 1996.

"Prior to 2001, our baseball attendance was basically family and friends and a few die-hards," Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage said. "(O'Connor), and the staff and the team - based on the performance - have turned Charlottesville into a baseball town."

Reportedly, none of that would have been possible without the assistance of Charlottesville resident and best-selling novelist John Grisham.

Yes, that John Grisham, who has degrees from both Mississippi State and Ole Miss and keeps a home in Mississippi.

Littlepage described Grisham as a "good friend" to the entire Virginia athletic department, saying he's been a suiteholder for football games at Scott Stadium and has had courtside seats at the new John Paul Jones Arena.

"John was instrumental in rallying the support to save the program," O'Connor said. "Getting everybody involved, and just raising Virginia baseball up. I am, and our program is, forever grateful for his involvement."

In a 2004 story in The Washington Post, Grisham was described as "the program's greatest benefactor."

"There is lots of speculation out there that Mr. Grisham has had much to do with that stadium," Dennis Womack, who preceded O'Connor as coach, told The Post in 2004. "I would say that the building of that stadium has been the single most influential thing, the best thing, that's happened in the history of UVA baseball."

In a profile of the program last month, The Chronicle of Higher Education said that Grisham "reportedly played white knight" and gave part of the $5 million the university needed to build Davenport Field.

Grisham, whose son Ty played on the UVA team for 2 1/2 years, is on vacation and wasn't available to be reached for comment.

Littlepage, who took over as Virginia's athletic director at about the time the baseball program was in limbo, said the first order of business in saving the program was building a new stadium. The stadium has 2,000 seats and a hillside to accommodate more fans. It also has six luxury suites.

That served as a statement, he said, that the university was committing to keeping its program viable.

From that point, he said donors have stepped up their support in the areas of coaches' salaries, equipment and other facility improvements. As part of the upgrade, Virginia started funding the NCAA's maximum of 11.7 scholarships per baseball team.

Littlepage was enamored with O'Connor's credentials when he interviewed him for the head coaching job after the 2003 season. He liked how O'Connor, who had worked at Notre Dame, knew how to recruit players who could successfully navigate a rigorous academic institution. (In its latest ranking, U.S. News & World Report ranked Virginia the nation's second-best public university.)

Once Littlepage called, O'Connor said he didn't flinch.

"I thought it was a gold mine, quite frankly," O'Connor said. "... One of those few sleeping giants that was left in this country."

Now decidedly awake, the program that played in front of dozens plays in front of thousands.

In 2008, Virginia drew an average of 1,584 fans per game, the 38th-best mark in the country. Mississippi fans will laugh at that, of course, as Mississippi State was third in the nation with a 6,008 average, Ole Miss was seventh with 4,712 per game and Southern Miss was 15th with a 3,421 average.

But Virginia's mark was fourth-best in the Atlantic Coast Conference. And it's a 121 percent increase from 2002, two years before O'Connor's arrival.

"The best thing we did when we got here was we won right away and hosted a NCAA regional our first year," O'Connor said. "Winning solves a lot of problems. It gets fans to come out, and recruits get excited about it. The fan base has been building to about that process since the first year and now."
 

Irwin slated to take hill for Rebs in Game 1
David Brandt • david.brandt@clarionledger.com • June 3, 2009

OXFORD — Pitcher Drew Pomeranz nearly single-handedly led Ole Miss to the NCAA Oxford Regional championship by throwing 228 pitches over four days to beat both Monmouth and Western Kentucky.

But now the big left-hander needs some rest. And that means UM coach Mike Bianco will throw right-hander Phillip Irwin in the first game of this weekend's Super Regional against Virginia.

Ole Miss (43-18) and Virginia (42-16-1) begin the best-of-three series at 1 p.m. on Friday at Oxford-University Stadium.

"He's the most rested and pitched great (in the regional)," Bianco said.

Irwin (8-3, 3.84) has had three consecutive quality starts dating back to mid-May. He beat Mississippi State and Arkansas in the last two weeks of the regular season and then got the win against WKU on Saturday in the regional, giving up three earned runs over 6 2/3 innings.

"It's really exciting," Irwin said. "It's what me and everyone else comes here to do - to be in that situation. It's going to be great."

Bianco said he wasn't sure who would start Saturday's game or Sunday's if it's necessary.

Pomeranz would have four days of rest if he threw on Saturday and five if he went on Sunday.

"He probably won't throw off a mound until this weekend, but a lot of that will depend on how he feels," Bianco said.

Bittle still in limbo
Ole Miss All-America pitcher Scott Bittle was at practice on Tuesday afternoon, but Bianco said he wasn't sure if the right-hander would be able to throw during this weekend's Super Regional.

Even if he's healthy, Bittle (5-2, 2.17) hasn't thrown in nearly a month since injuring his shoulder while warming up before a May 3 game against Auburn.

Chairback seats are gone
Tickets for this weekend's Super Regional at Oxford-University Stadium proved to be a hot commodity over the past 24 hours, with all 6,000 chairback seats already sold out.

Standing-room-only general admission regional passes are still available for $30. General admission tickets in the outfield will also be available the day of the game. Go to www.olemisssports.com for more information or call(662) 915-7167.

Little room for Cinderella
This year's 16-team Super Regional field doesn't have many surprises after 13 of the No. 1 seeds made it through their respective regionals. Virginia and Arkansas are the only No. 2s remaining while Southern Miss is the lone No. 3 seed still alive.
 

Cavaliers' numbers get Rebels' attention
David Brandt • david.brandt@clarionledger.com • June 4, 2009

OXFORD — Less than 24 hours after winning the NCAA Oxford Regional and finding out Virginia would be coming to Oxford-University Stadium for a Super Regional, Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco was poring over some statistics to find out the Cavaliers' strengths.

The answer: everything.

"Their statistics look similar to ours," Bianco said with a grin. "Just better."

And it's true that whatever Ole Miss has done this season, the Cavaliers have done it with just a little more success. For starters:

Ole Miss has a .315 team batting average. Virginia hits .331.

The Rebels boast a 4.14 team ERA, which ranks 15th in the country. The Cavaliers are nearly a full run better at 3.19, which is third in the country.

Even on defense, Virginia has a .972 fielding percentage which just barely edges UM's .971 mark.

"They're a team that looks like they do everything well," Bianco said. "... Certainly, they pitch really well."

And Ole Miss (43-18) will see that pitching up close and personal this weekend, when it hosts Virginia (42-16-1) beginning at 1 p.m. on Friday. It's the first game of a best-of-three series.

The winner goes to the College World Series.

The Cavaliers' success on the mound isn't anything new. Virginia's resurgence into the national baseball scene has been built upon keeping the other team off the scoreboard.

From 2005-08, Virginia had team ERAs of 2.74, 3.04, 2.81 and 3.83 under coach Brian O'Connor, which consistently ranked among the nation's best and are numbers almost unheard of in a sport known for aluminum bats and the offense that comes with them.

But Virginia is an anomaly. This year, the Cavaliers' rotation of Danny Hultzen (9-1, 2.01), Andrew Carraway (7-1, 4.30) and Robert Morey (3-0, 2.91) has been exceptional.

The Cavaliers got what many people thought was a raw deal when the NCAA announced the 64-team tournament field in May.

Not only did Virginia not receive a host site despite winning the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, but the Cavaliers were sent across the country to the Irvine Regional, where they had to face San Diego State and ace Steven Strasburg in the first game.

Strasburg is considered the best pitching prospect in the country and will almost certainly be the No. 1 player selected in next week's Major League Baseball amateur draft.

But instead of giving in to the tough draw, the Cavaliers' handed Strasburg his first loss of the season and then beat host UC Irvine two times in a row to advance to a Super Regional for the first time in school history.

Over 27 innings at the Irvine Regional, Virginia's pitching staff gave up only two runs.

"Confidence in the game of baseball is everything because it is completely built around failure," O'Connor said at the team's media day on Tuesday.

"So if you believe in yourself and your team, you have accomplished a big part of the challenge. We are playing our best baseball at the most important time of the year and I think our confidence is at an all-time high."
 

Virginia Cavaliers: How they stack up
46-12-1 overall, 29-6 home, 11-6-1 away, 16-11-1 ACC

How they got here
Virginia won four straight games to capture the ACC Tournament title and then breezed through the Irvine Regional as the No. 2 seed. To do it, the Cavaliers had to defeat previously unbeaten San Diego State ace Steven Strasburg in the first game and then beat host UC Irvine twice in a row.

The bats
The Cavaliers have a solid .331 team batting average but are more like Ole Miss in the power categories, with a modest 55 homers. Dan Grovatt (.378, 7, 50), Jarrett Parker (.378, 16, 64) and Steven Proscia (.325, 9, 56) have the best numbers, but just about every starter has solid stats. The Cavaliers like to run, with 104 stolen bases this season. Four starters have at least 13 stolen bases.

The arms
This is where the Cavaliers excel, with lockdown aces Danny Hultzen (9-1, 2.01) and Andrew Carraway (7-1, 4.30). Kevin Arico (2-2, 2.01, 11 saves) is a quality closer. But the arms don't stop there. The Cavaliers have 11 pitchers with substantial innings this season and nobody has an ERA over 4.63. As a team, Virginia has a 3.19 ERA, which ranks it third in the country.

The outlook
Virginia comes into the Super Regional extremely hot, winning eight games in a row, including seven in the postseason. This is a program that's much like Ole Miss' - one that's been solid on the national scene for several years but is still looking for its breakthrough to the College World Series. These teams are almost a mirror image of one another, which should make for a very interesting Super Regional.
 

Surprising Virginia takes on Mississippi
By Kendall Rogers, Yahoo! Sports
Jun 3, 1:40 am EDT

There are only a few miles left until the Road to Omaha ends at Rosenblatt Stadium.

As we continue our in-depth coverage of the NCAA postseason, we take an inside look at each super regional. Our breakdown continues with the Oxford Super Regional, where Mississippi hosts Virginia in what should be an epic ACC vs. SEC bout.

The Cavaliers surprised many with their showing at the Irvine Regional. Despite being an underdog throughout the weekend, Virginia went 3-0 and played a fantastic brand of baseball.

The Rebels didn’t play great at times in the Oxford Regional, but got the job done in the title game against Western Kentucky with left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz putting together another gutsy and dominant performance.

This should be one of the better super regionals. Virginia is the pick.


Oxford Super Regional: Who has the edge?
Pitching

The pitching category might go to the Rebels if right-hander Scott Bittle were available. However, that doesn’t appear to be the case again this weekend. So, it’s Virginia. The Cavaliers enter the weekend with an impressive 3.19 earned run average. By comparison, Ole Miss has a respectable 4.14 earned run average. Starting pitchers Robert Morey, Danny Hultzen and Andrew Carraway spearhead the pitching staff. Morey picked up a win against Stephen Strasburg and San Diego State last week and has a 2.91 ERA in 58 2/3 innings. He also has struck out 79 and walked 21 and teams are hitting .208 off him. Hultzen has a 2.01 ERA in 80 2/3 innings. He also has struck out 90 and walked 26 and teams are hitting him at a .241 clip. Carraway, meanwhile, has a 4.30 ERA in 81 2/3 innings. Teams are hitting him at a .241 clip. Also keep an eye on reliever Kevin Arico, who has appeared in 27 games, recorded 11 saves and has a 2.01 ERA in 31 1/3 innings.
Hitting

With a trip to the super regional round on the line at the Irvine Regional last week, the Cavaliers did almost everything right at the plate. They also have the better offense entering the Oxford Super Regional. The Cavaliers are hitting .331 and the Rebels are hitting .315. Dan Grovatt and Jarrett Parker lead the Cavaliers at the plate. Grovatt is hitting .378 with eight doubles, four triples, seven homers and 50 RBIs and Parker is hitting .378 with 18 doubles, seven triples, 16 homers and 64 RBIs. He also is slugging .714 and has a .469 on-base percentage. Parker also has stolen 19 bases. Also keep an eye on Tyler Cannon, Danny Hultzen and Steven Proscia. Cannon is hitting .349 with 19 doubles, Hultzen is hitting .335 with three homers and 33 RBIs and Proscia is hitting .325 with 18 doubles, nine homers and 56 RBIs.
Fielding

The Rebels and Cavaliers have identical defensive numbers, but we give the Rebels the edge. Ole Miss enters the super regional round fielding .971. Virginia enters the series fielding .972. Let’s go a little deeper into the numbers. Ole Miss first baseman Matt Smith is fielding .990, second baseman Evan Button is fielding .927, shortstop Kevin Mort is fielding .975, third baseman Zach Miller is fielding .948 and catcher Kyle Henson is fielding .990. By comparison, Virginia first baseman Danny Hultzen is fielding .992, second baseman Keith Werman is fielding .976, shortstop Tyler Cannon is fielding .923, third baseman Steven Proscia is fielding .924 and catcher Franco Valdes is fielding .992. Both teams do a very nice job in the field.
Intangibles

The Rebels have one of the best home field advantages and enter the weekend with an outstanding 27-9 record at their friendly confines. Virginia, meanwhile, played at the Irvine Regional in front of small crowds and are just 11-6-1 on the road. The Cavaliers played exceptionally well on the road last weekend, but we’ll see how they fare in front of a much larger and louder crowd in Oxford, Miss. Both teams have experience in NCAA postseason play, so it should be a fantastic weekend.