OK, were the folks who pick the NCAA&160;Super Regional sites in Starkville when the tornado hit one mile from the stadium?

Why else do you not put a Super Regional in Starkville?

NCAA selection committee chairman Dick Rockwell said Monday that deciding where Clemson and Mississippi State would play was the committee’s most difficult task.

I certainly hope so. It’s too bad he picked the wrong place.

”The committee wrestled with that one for a while,” he said. ”We said we would give consideration our national seeds.”

Let’s see, Clemson is 48-16 playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is a good conference.

Mississippi State is 41-18 and plays in the Southeastern Conference, which is a great conference.

Mississippi State (41-18) was the No. 1 seed in its regional, but not one of the eight national seeds. The Bulldogs advanced by beating Notre Dame 10-9 Sunday in one of the most dramatic postseason games in school history.

The total attendance for the seven-game regional in Starkville was 47,365 – more than 21,000 better than any of the 15 other regionals.

The total broke the school’s own NCAA record set in 1985. The average attendance of 6,766 at Dudy Noble Field broke a record set in Starkville in 1997.

Clemson drew 15,770 fans for its six-game tournament.

Alcorn State head baseball coach Willie McGowan was upset his baseball team was not able to participate in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament because they did not play the required number of games.

The Braves, who had several games rained out, would have been a favorite to win the tournament, which went to Jackson State.

The Tigers earned the right to play LSU in its first regional game in Baton Rouge, La., losing 19-1.

Jackson State was then beaten by New Orleans 24-0.

Believe me Willie, I don’t know if winning the SWAC&160;Tournament would have been worth it.

The NCAA&160;is so worried about rankings, and yet Jackson State goes to a regional why Southern Mississippi stays home.

Of course, playing LSU right now is not an enviable position for any team, especially at Alex Box Stadium.

After a 5-3 victory over Louisiana-Monroe Sunday to win its regional in a three-game sweep, LSU had outscored its opponents 45-4 in the NCAA tournament.

The Tigers had 49 hits including 10 homers, five of which came in a 19-1 trouncing of Jackson State.

LSU (46-17) got two key homers from Brad Hawpe in Sunday’s victory.

UCLA (38-24) advanced with an 11-3 victory over Oklahoma in a regional final Sunday in Oklahoma City, Okla.

The Bruins had 15 hits against the Sooners, with outfielder Bill Scott collecting four.

UCLA gained the No. 1 seed in the regional after tying Stanford and Arizona State for the Pacific 10 Conference championship.

Ryan Carter allowed four hits over eight innings. Carter, 3-1, suffered a shoulder injury early in the season and had been converted to a closer.

Joey Martin is sports editor of The Democrat. He can be reached by calling 446-5172 ext. 232 or at joey.martin@natchezdemocrat.com.