How Oklahoma and Ole Miss wound up in a program-defining MCWS final series

OMAHA, Neb. — If the combatants in the 2022 Men's College World Series championship finals (Game 1, ESPN/ESPN app, 7 p.m. ET) weren't in Omaha and were instead watching on TV from home — and, oh by the way, most believed that's what they'd be doing right now — then it's not a long walk to figure out who the Oklahoma Sooners would have rooted for, or who the Ole Miss Rebels would have gotten behind.

It would have been the Ole Miss Rebels and the Oklahoma Sooners. Why? Because people are always drawn to those who remind them of themselves. And as these two teams have watched each other from a distance over the last week and half, they've seen a whole lot that feels familiar.

«There are so many similarities, there is no doubt about it,» Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson said Friday afternoon at Charles Schwab Field, just as the Sooners were beginning practice for their first championship series appearance since 1994.

«Ole Miss plays with a lot of heart, and so do we. They are led by some tough, smart seniors and so are we. They've played with a chip on their shoulder ever since they got in, and I think if you've watched us, that's how we play too. It's been fun to watch those guys. I bet they'd say the same about us.»

They do.

«We have both had to play every postseason game on the road and both have had to manage some disappointment throughout the year,» Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco added after posing with Johnson alongside the championship trophy.

«We both, I believe, probably weren't on people's radar as potential national champions, even after we got to Omaha last week. So, to come out on the other side of that kind of spring and May and be the last two teams standing, we can't help but feel some sort of kinship, for