Mike Bianco's Thoughts: Ole Miss Baseball 'Rewarded' Night Game for Oxford Regional

Mike Bianco and the Ole Miss Rebels are dialed in for the Oxford Regional at Swayze Field this weekend with the program set to take on Murray State on Friday night.

All eyes will be on the Rebels in the main event at the conclusion of the No. 2 seed Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets versus No. 3 seeded Kentucky Wildcats.

Game 1 will start at 3 p.m. CT with the Rebels to follow.

The losers of the first two games of the Oxford Regional will play on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT and the winner will punch its ticket to the championship.

For Bianco and the Rebels, it's a different approach than other programs. It's become a growing trend where host teams play the day games, but for Ole Miss, it was an easy decision to take the night game.

"I get it, if you lose you have to turn around and play again, but you're supposed to win," Bianco said. "I think the pluses outweigh the minuses. It's the right thing to do for our team and fans and to have the atmosphere on Friday night at Swayze Field."

Seven of the 16 host teams decided to take the day game on Friday, including the LSU Tigers and Georgia Bulldogs.

But Bianco and the Rebels have their specific strategy in place for this weekend.

"I always felt that's a disappointing thing for your fans (for a team to play the early game)," Bianco said. "It's also really hot here like a lot of our counterparts.

"I don't want to play at 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. if I don't have to. We're used to playing on Friday night; our fans are used to being here on Friday night. That's kind of the reward."

NCAA OXFORD REGIONAL FIRST ROUND SCHEDULE
No. 2 Georgia Tech (40-17) vs. No. 3 Western Kentucky (46-12): 3 p.m. on ESPN+
No. 1 Ole Miss (40-19) vs. No. 4 Murray St. (39-13): 7 p.m. on ESPN+

The NCAA Tournament Schedule:

Selection Show: Monday, May 26 at 12 p.m. ET | ESPN2
Regionals: Friday - Monday, May 30 - June 2
Super Regionals: Friday - Monday, June 6-9
First day of MCWS Games: Starts Friday, June 13
MCWS Finals: Saturday - Sunday/Monday, June 21 - 22/23

The NCAA Regional Hosts:

Athens, Georgia – Georgia (42-15)
Auburn, Alabama – Auburn (38-18)
Austin, Texas – Texas (42-12)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana – LSU (43-14)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina – North Carolina (42-12)
Clemson, South Carolina – Clemson (44-16)
Conway, South Carolina – Coastal Carolina (48-11)
Corvallis, Oregon – Oregon State (41-12-1)
Eugene, Oregon – Oregon (42-14)
Fayetteville, Arkansas – Arkansas (43-13)
Hattiesburg, Mississippi – Southern Mississippi (44-14)
Knoxville, Tennessee – Tennessee (43-16)
Los Angeles, California – UCLA (42-16)
Nashville, Tennessee – Vanderbilt (42-16)
Oxford, Mississippi – Ole Miss (40-19)
Tallahassee, Florida – Florida State (38-14)