No. 1 seeds bite the dust

Being No. 1 was a problem during the college football season, and it had its challenges during basketball season as well.

It also seems to be more a hindrance than a help in college baseball, as four top seeds in four major conferences need to buy a ticket if they want to see the rest of their respective conference tournaments this weekend.

St. John's was the first to go down, taking the 0-fer trip with losses to Villanova and Seton Hall in the Big East tournament. The Red Storm were looking at a probable regional host bid going into the tournament, but now face the possibility of packing their bags for the NCAA tournament next week.

The next to go was Rice, as the top-seeded Owls -- winners of the last three conference tournament championships -- bowed out of the Conference USA tournament with a 4-3 loss to East Carolina Thursday. As it turned out, that was the only game played in the tournament Thursday as torrential rain in Louisiana moved the other three games to today.

The third top seed to take one for the team was Georgia, who opened with a loss to Ole Miss in the Southeastern Conference tournament, then slipped out with a 5-2 loss to Alabama on Thursday. The loss kills Georgia's hopes of being a top-eight seed for the NCAA tournament.

The final No. 1 to circle the drain was Texas A&M, which fell to 0-2 in pool play with a 15-9 loss to Texas in the Big 12 tournament. The Aggies are in a full-scale funk right now, having lost eight straight games. A team that was once a solid top-eight seed is now looking at possibly going on the road for regionals.

Thursday's conference tournament results are as follows:

ACC -- Miami (Fla.) def. Georgia Tech 15-12, North Carolina State def. Clemson 10-0

America East -- Binghamton def. Vermont 4-1, Stony Brook def. UMBC 4-3

Atlantic 10 -- Rhode Island def. Xavier 11-4, Charlotte def. Duquesne 13-7, Duquesne def. Temple 10-7

Atlantic Sun -- Campbell def. Mercer 11-3, Belmont def. Lipscomb 9-8, Gardner-Webb def. Stetson 10-6

Big 10 -- Indiana def. Ohio State 10-8 (10), Purdue def. Penn State 15-6, Michigan def. Illinois 5-2

Big 12 -- Texas def. Texas A&M 15-9, Oklahoma def. Missouri 4-3

Big East -- Villanova def. Seton Hall 10-0, South Florida def. West Virginia 12-5

Big South -- Liberty def. UNC-Asheville 10-1, Coastal Carolina def. VMI 3-1, Winthrop def. Radford 13-9

Colonial -- Towson def. Old Dominion 17-10, William and Mary def. UNC-Wilmington 11-8, James Madison def. George Mason 9-4

Conference USA -- East Carolina def. Rice 4-3, all other scheduled games postponed due to rain

Horizon -- Cleveland State def. Youngstown State 10-4, Wisconsin-Milwaukee def. Wright State 20-3, Illinois-Chicago def. Valparaiso 8-5

MAAC -- Siena def. Manhattan 24-3, Rider def. Canisius 4-3

Mid-American -- Ohio def. Western Michigan 5-4, Ball State def. Central Michigan 7-5, Eastern Michigan def. Bowling Green 11-4, Kent State def. Northern Illinois 10-6

Missouri Valley -- Missouri State def. Creighton 9-5, Creighton def. Northern Iowa 4-2, Wichita State def. Southern Illinois 12-0

Mountain West -- Utah def. San Diego State 1-0, Utah def. UNLV 7-4, New Mexico def. TCU 3-2

Northeast -- Monmouth def. Mount St. Mary's 12-7, Central Connecticut State def. Wagner 8-4

Ohio Valley -- Tennessee Tech def. Austin Peay 5-4, Eastern Illinois def. Samford 8-4, Jacksonville State def. Southeast Missouri 7-6

SEC -- South Carolina def. Florida 11-3, Alabama def. Georgia 5-2, LSU def. Vanderbilt 8-2, Ole Miss def. Kentucky 8-7

Southern -- Appalachian State def. Western Carolina 10-5, UNC-Greensboro def. Wofford 14-5, College of Charleston def. Furman 12-8, Elon def. Georgia Southern 16-5

Southland -- Southeastern Louisiana def. Texas-Arlington 7-3, Texas-San Antonio def. Northwestern State 9-7, Lamar def. Texas State 11-7, Sam Houston State def. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 13-2

Summit League -- Western Illinois def. Southern Utah 9-6, Oral Roberts def. Centenary 11-5

Sun Belt -- Florida Atlantic def. Middle Tennessee 12-7, New Orleans-Troy game tied at 9-9 when suspended due to rain, all other games postponed due to rain

WAC -- Fresno State def. Sacramento State 3-2, Hawaii def. New Mexico State 11-7, Nevada def. San Jose State 11-0