cruise control: off

And then there were three. With Mississippi Valley State bowing out today, only the state’s Big 3 Division I schools still have games to play. And their postseason fates may rest on their conference tournament showings. In one legit-looking Internet power rating, Ole Miss is No. 31 in the nation, Mississippi State No. 35 and Southern Miss No. 51. The NCAA takes 64 teams, but a flameout in tournament play by any of the three could jeopardize their chances of getting in. Ole Miss enters SEC Tournament play in a freefall, having been swept by Vanderbilt last week to fall to the No. 9 seed in the 10-team field. The Rebels, known for late-season fades, scored five runs in the 27 innings at Vandy. This is a team that hit .301 for the year, so a bounce-back could certainly happen in Hoover, Ala. Key player for UM, however, might be pitcher Bobby Wahl (6-2, 2.20), who figures to start the Tuesday opener against 4-seed Kentucky. State is smoking hot, having won 11 of its last 15 league games, including the sweep at Kentucky last week. The Bulldogs hit just .253 as a club (despite Adam Frazier’s .360 mark) but they can pitch (2.64 ERA). It’s rather confounding that coach John Cohen reportedly won’t start ace Chris Stratton against Arkansas on Tuesday. The opener in a double-elimination event is all-important. USM gets to play the Conference USA Tournament in the friendly confines of Trustmark Park in Pearl, where the fourth-seeded Golden Eagles have a home-crowd edge. They open with Memphis on Wednesday. USM, in the same four-team pod as regular season champion Rice, really cannot afford an 0-3 or even 1-2 showing in pod play. If Mason Robbins (.332) isn’t the key player for the Eagles, it’s gotta be fellow freshman Bradley Roney (11 saves).