Volleyball Thread

[Marquette Fan]

The Selection Show is on ESPNU at 7:30P Central tonight.

[Mr. Nielsen]

MU's bubble burst to get a top 16 seed.

Marquette vs Dayton
16 Purdue vs Wright State.

[wadesworld]

While I don't think Marquette is very good right now, they got totally screwed in not getting one of the top 16 seeds. There's no way they didn't have one of the top 16 resumes in the country.

Dayton is not an easy opening match. Could definitely be one and done in the Tournament.

[StillAWarrior]

While I don't think Marquette is very good right now, they got totally screwed in not getting one of the top 16 seeds. There's no way they didn't have one of the top 16 resumes in the country.

Dayton is not an easy opening match. Could definitely be one and done in the Tournament.

I won the MU vs. Purdue bet with my Boilermaker when they played in MBB.  I'm not feeling inclined to press my luck if they meet in the second round.

[wadesworld]

Was at the Notre Dame vs. UCLA match so didn't see the MU match but it looks like they didn't have much problem with Dayton. Nice win.

If MU wasn't going to be seeded I don't hate the Purdue draw for them (which makes sense given they were the last team to be seeded). I know nothing about them but I think the B1G was overrated this year and they lost enough games without a ton of big wins. If MU passes well (big if) they can play with most teams in the country. Here's to hoping they pass well tomorrow.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Which is unfortunate because their back row used to be so good. I don't know how it turned so quickly.

It was especially important since their block is very subpar.

[wadesworld]

I cannot imagine there is a worse passing team in the NCAA Tournament field than Marquette. Absolutely brutal. Combine that with your two setters combining to weigh like 175 lbs. and they're trying to sprint down passes at 15 feet 2 out of every 3 serve receives and it's a recipe for a blowout.

[21Jumpstreet]

Completely fell apart, too bad. Was tied at 10 in the second (already up one set to none) and Purdue dominated from then on, not even close. I don't watch a lot, but I was surprised at the lack of a block especially compared to UW and the other big dogs. Was really hoping they advanced.

[Cheeks]

Completely fell apart, too bad. Was tied at 10 in the second (already up one set to none) and Purdue dominated from then on, not even close. I don't watch a lot, but I was surprised at the lack of a block especially compared to UW and the other big dogs. Was really hoping they advanced.

Haven't we won the first set of our last three losses?

[21Jumpstreet]

Haven't we won the first set of our last three losses?

I think you are correct

[wadesworld]

Haven't we won the first set of our last three losses?

Went down 0-2 to St. John's in the BE Tourney finals.

[Cheeks]

Went down 0-2 to St. John's in the BE Tourney finals.

Got it, thanks for correction.

[StillAWarrior]

This is so, so true.  I have to laugh because the Georgetown board has a volleyball section, and there was a poster last year that was complaining that Georgetown wasn't competing for national championships in volleyball.  While I agree that Georgetown needs to get better, competing for national championships is just an absurd goal (competing for a spot in the Big East tourney was a nice start).  There are about a half-dozen teams that are legitimately competing for national championships in volleyball.  And, as you said, the gap between them and the next level of teams is enormous.  Creighton and Marquette were outstanding teams this year and undeniably head and shoulders above the rest of the conference.  But it would be an absolutely earth-shattering "Douglas beats Tyson" upset if they won the title.  Probably even bigger than that.

I was really disappointed when Stanford and Nebraska won in the semis because I would have really liked to see some new blood.  And even BYU and Illinois -- either of which would have been seen as a real surprise -- are among a group that has been hanging around the top for years.  I just took a look at the last 10 final fours and it's amazing how few teams have been involved:

• Only 18 teams have played in the FF:  Tex (7); Penn St. (6); Stanford (4); Nebraska (4); Minnesota (3); BYU (2); Illinois (2); USC (2); Florida (1); Kansas (1); Wisconsin (1); Washington (1); Oregon (1); Michigan (1); UCLA (1); FSU (1); Cal (1); Hawaii (1).
• Only 11 teams have played in the championship match:  Penn State (4); Texas (4); Nebraska (3); Stanford (2); Florida (1); BYU (1); Wisconsin (1); Oregon (1); UCLA (1); Illinois (1) and Cal (1).
• Ony 5 teams have won titles:  Penn State (4); Stanford (2); Nebraska (2); Texas (1) and UCLA (1).

So, even this year's "underdogs" in the Final Four (Illinois and BYU) are among the truly elite with both having played in the championship match and multiple final fours in the past decade.

I would love to see someone -- anyone -- from a conference other than the BIG or PAC (and Texas) win a title.  But, it will be an extraordinary upset when it happens.  It looked like maybe BYU had a shot this year, but they had some bad luck down the stretch with injuries.

Following up a year later, is this the year that an underdog will breach through and win a title?  There's some potential there...but there was potential last year at this time.  A week from now, we could still have a Final Four of Stanford, Nebraska, Texas and Washington.  At least Washington would be kind of newish.

Here are the final sixteen teams (highlighting teams that haven't made a FF in the last 10 or so years):

Baylor (1)(Big 12)
Purdue (16)(Big 10)
Kentucky (9)(SEC)
Washington (8)(PAC)

We've got a legitimate shot to have a "new" team make the FF from this quad.

Nebraska (5)(Big 10)
Hawaii (12)(Big West)
Texas A&M (13)(SEC)
Wisconsin (4)(Big 10)

Unlikely to see any "new" blood out of this quadrant.  Sorry, TAMU.

Texas (2)(Big 12)
Louisville (Unseeded)(ACC)
Minnesota (7)(Big 10)
Florida (10)(SEC)

Ditto.

Stanford (2)(PAC)
Utah (Unseeded)(PAC)
Penn State (11)(Big 10)
Cincinnati (Unseeded)(AAC)

If I were betting, my money would be on Stanford and Penn State...but Utah looked fantastic against BYU.  Fingers crossed (but still a PAC team).

[wadesworld]

Following up a year later, is this the year that an underdog will breach through and win a title?  There's some potential there...but there was potential last year at this time.  A week from now, we could still have a Final Four of Stanford, Nebraska, Texas and Washington.  At least Washington would be kind of newish.

Here are the final sixteen teams (highlighting teams that haven't made a FF in the last 10 or so years):

Baylor (1)(Big 12)
Purdue (16)(Big 10)
Kentucky (9)(SEC)
Washington (8)(PAC)

We've got a legitimate shot to have a "new" team make the FF from this quad.

Nebraska (5)(Big 10)
Hawaii (12)(Big West)
Texas A&M (13)(SEC)
Wisconsin (4)(Big 10)

Unlikely to see any "new" blood out of this quadrant.  Sorry, TAMU.

Texas (2)(Big 12)
Louisville (Unseeded)(ACC)
Minnesota (7)(Big 10)
Florida (10)(SEC)

Ditto.

Stanford (2)(PAC)
Utah (Unseeded)(PAC)
Penn State (11)(Big 10)
Cincinnati (Unseeded)(AAC)

If I were betting, my money would be on Stanford and Penn State...but Utah looked fantastic against BYU.  Fingers crossed (but still a PAC team).

I've got chalk all the way around as far as who makes it to the Final Four.

I like Washington a lot and think they're the most likely to pull off an "upset." Everyone has been trying to find reasons to not pick Baylor. They just keep winning and have the most dominant offensive player in the country (and a number of other good offensive options).

I'd be surprised if anyone other than Stanford wins the title.

[wadesworld]

If anyone is interested in buying tickets to the Sweet Sixteen matches in Madison (1:00 and 3:30 on Friday) shoot me a message. Have 3 available. Bought them for $150. Hoping to get $120 or so back.

[wadesworld]

Down goes Texas.

I hadn't seen much of them but from what I had I thought they were the second best team behind Stanford. Losing at home to an unseeded Lousville...yikes.

[StillAWarrior]

This sucks. I want to root for an underdog. I want new blood. I want someone outside the BI6 or PAC to win. But my options are Baylor and Louisville?! Damn it.

Go Bears...I guess. Now I've gotta go take another shower. Damn it.

[Cheeks]

If MU wasn't going to be seeded I don't hate the Purdue draw for them (which makes sense given they were the last team to be seeded). I know nothing about them but I think the B1G was overrated this year and they lost enough games without a ton of big wins. If MU passes well (big if) they can play with most teams in the country. Here's to hoping they pass well tomorrow.

Big Ten doing pretty well so far.  Crapshoot, of course.

[wadesworld]

Big Ten doing pretty well so far.  Crapshoot, of course.

Yeah when you get high seeds you get easier paths.

Not a crapshoot.

Now you want to champion Midwest volleyball. What happened to West Coast volleyball?

More pretzels from Cheeks.

[Cheeks]

Yeah when you get high seeds you get easier paths.

Not a crapshoot.

Now you want to champion Midwest volleyball. What happened to West Coast volleyball?

More pretzels from Cheeks.

For the women...nope, don't think ever made such a claim...feel free to find it if I did.  Maybe Stanford can pull it off for the west coast. For the men, absolutely the dominance has been west coast over the long haul.

Agree on the seedings, of course they earned those seedings.  I'll be cheering for Baylor...Mack continues to put his mark on the various programs at that university.  Very happy for him.  If not Baylor, then I hope the Cardinal can pull it off.

Who do you have winning it all?

[wadesworld]

For the women...nope, don't think ever made such a claim...feel free to find it if I did.  Maybe Stanford can pull it off for the west coast. For the men, absolutely the dominance has been west coast over the long haul.

Agree on the seedings, of course they earned those seedings.  I'll be cheering for Baylor...Mack continues to put his mark on the various programs at that university.  Very happy for him.  If not Baylor, then I hope the Cardinal can pull it off.

Who do you have winning it all?

Stanford over Baylor. But I think that will be a much better match than the walkthrough most people believe Stanford will have.

[Herman Cain]

Stanford owning The Badgers

[Mr. Nielsen]

Conference of Champions! 

[Cheeks]

Conference of Champions! 

Indeed...nice to see

[shoothoops]

it is the 8th women's volleyball National title for Stanford.

It is Stanford's 124th team NCAA National Title in 20 sports.

They have 38 other non-sanctioned National Titles.

They have 41 club sport National Titles.

They have had 522 individual National Titles.

They have won at least one NCAA team National Title for 44 straight years.