They didn't have to wait very long.

The first order of wings had barely hit the tables at Buffalo Wild Wings Monday morning, and Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun baseball team already knew its fate in the NCAA Tournament.

The Cajuns and a large group of fans gathered Monday to watch the ESPN-televised announcement of the 64-team NCAA bracket, and the New Orleans regional was the first of the 16 four-team regional sites to be announced.

National No. 1 seed Tulane (50-9) came up first and paired up with nearby rival Southern (29-16), which won the Southwestern Athletic Conference title to earn an NCAA bid. Seconds later, the other two teams in the New Orleans regional - UL and Alabama - rolled onto the screen to raucous cheers.

"I'm glad we didn't have to wait until the end," said Cajun coach Tony Robichaux. "I never try to compare regionals as far as this one's tough and that one's not. All of them are stepping stones to get to where you want to be, and when you cut it from 285 teams playing to 64, you can't overlook anybody."

The Cajuns (47-17) will meet the Crimson Tide (38-21) in Friday's second game of the double-elimination tournament at 6:30 p.m. at Turchin Stadium. Tulane, hosting a regional for the second time in school history, will meet the Jaguars in the opener at 2:30 p.m.

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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com