EUGENE — When the Oregon softball team watched the unveiling of the NCAA Tournament bracket Sunday night, the Ducks felt like they were watching the SEC Network.

Eight of the top 16 seeds, led by No. 1 Florida, were from the Southeastern Conference. Nine of the 32 at-large bids went to SEC teams.

Oregon, the No. 5 seed and four-time Pac-12 champion, will have to make it to the Women’s College World Series if it wants a chance to change the narrative that it can’t beat the SEC on the big stage.

If the Ducks advance through the Eugene regional, they will likely host UCLA in a super regional.

“I don’t know quite why they match up two Pac-12 teams,” Oregon coach Mike White said of the selection committee. “They could have got an SEC team in there, but that’s OK.”

SEC teams have won three of the past four national championships. Florida is the two-time defending champion, and Alabama won the 2012 title. The Ducks’ recent losses in the double-elimination Women’s College World Series were to UCLA and Alabama in 2015 and Florida and Alabama in 2014.

“We all know that the SEC has dominated postseason play. It’s no secret,” senior center fielder Koral Costa said. “I do oftentimes feel the Pac-12 does get a bit underrated, but then again, you have to look at the past couple years. The SEC has been a great competitor for postseason play.”

Historically, the Pac-12 is the sport’s dominant conference. UCLA has won 11 national titles, Arizona has won nine, Arizona State has won two and California and Washington have each won one. The conference had won six consecutive Women’s College World Series — Arizona (2006-07), Arizona State (2008, 2011), Washington (2009) and UCLA (2010) — before the rise of Oregon and the SEC.

The Ducks were the No. 2 overall seed last year before going two and out with losses to UCLA and Alabama. In 2014, they were outscored by a combined 6-0 during defeats to the Gators and Crimson Tide in Oklahoma City.

“It sucks getting to the World Series and being the first team out. I definitely feel like we have something to prove to the SEC,” Costa said. “I want to just go back there and prove that we are top-five and that they didn’t make a mistake ranking us like they did last year.”

Oregon State has an earlier meeting with the SEC. The Beavers (30-18-1) are heading to the Auburn regional in Alabama, where they will face S.C. Upstate (42-13) in the first round. Auburn (49-9) is the nation’s No. 4 seed in a regional also featuring Jacksonville State (41-15).

“We know Auburn is the top seed there, so that gives a little bit of a chip on our shoulder,” Beavers coach Laura Berg said. “We want to be the No. 1 seed, so we’ll go there and play like it.”

Oregon’s quest for a fourth Women’s College World Series berth in five seasons begins Friday night against Fordham (39-19). Baylor (43-12) will face Long Beach State (32-20) to begin the four-team, double-elimination regional.