COLUMBIA, Mo. • Midway through the season, Missouri’s baseball team cracked the top 15 of the national polls and sat in first place in the Southeastern Conference’s East Division. But after losing 14 of their final 18 games, the Tigers (30-28) were left out of the NCAA tournament. The 64-team field was unveiled Monday.
Missouri, with an RPI rating of 54, was among the first four teams left out of the field, along with North Carolina, Michigan State and Southern Mississippi.
Illinois (47-8-1), the Big Ten regular-season champion, was rewarded with a national seed (No.