Manhattan pulled off a major upset this afternoon dropping #6 Nebraska, 4-1. The Cornhuskers entered the game not only ranked sixth nationally, but were one of the eight national seeds in the tournament (think one of the four #1 seeds in the NCAA hoops tourney), were 7th in RPI and sixth in Boyd Nation's ISR's. They were also playing at home.
Conversely, the Jaspers came into the field of 64 unranked, with an RPI number of 142 and an ISR of 181. Basically, nobody on Earth, not even Manhattan's faithful, figured they could win today. Mathematically, it was nearly impossible, as well. Whip out your cliches here, but that's why they play the games.
Those who have covered this game much longer than I might disagree, but this has got to be one of the more surprising results in tournament history. To me, it's equivalent to a #15 seed beating a #2 in the NCAA basketball tournament. The big difference, of course, is that the Cornhuskers have not been eliminated from the tournament. They just fall into the loser's bracket, another loss away from being finished.
Strike up a win for the little guy and one for schools in the north. Congratulations, Manhattan.
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Rice won the CWS in 2003. They were the #6 National Seed (hmmmm...who's #6 this year?) in 2004. They lost the first game of their regional to Texas Southern. They went on to win 2 or 3 games but eventually lost again and did not advance to a Super Regional. Since Rice was the defending National Champ, I have to say that was probably a bit more surprising than Nebraska losing. But, the Manhattan victory over Nebraska is right up there. And, yes...that's why they play the games. Heh.
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