2017 NCAA Volleyball Tournament

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Aside from people being upset that Nebraska isn't a Top 4 seed, I'm not sure what the fuss is about. We have a very clear path to the Final Four.

First off - NO WASHINGTON. Nebraska and Washington have had to play each other six of the last nine years, including the last three straight years.  Nebraska is 5-1 against them in the tournament, and have won the last four straight, but they're always a tough out and there's bad blood between the coaches. It's good that they're in Penn State's bracket. Let the Nittany Lions deal with them.

First rounds - You have your typical victims here.  Stony Brook has the lowest RPI of anyone in our bracket, and the Florida State/Washington State winner should be another easy win. Nebraska has beaten eight teams with a better RPI than either team.

Sweet 16 - I have no idea who will win between Baylor and Colorado.  Don't know enough about either team, but I'm guessing it'll be Baylor. Either way, neither team played in a rough conference, and on a neutral court far away from their fans, neither team should pose a problem.

That leaves the bracket finals for a trip to the Final Four, and I'm not sure who Nebraska will face.  Farcically, Kentucky is the #1 overall seed and Regional host, and they should cruise through the first two rounds and actually host the Regional.  But they're not a tough team, certainly not #1 seed worthy.  They have the #1 RPI based on that formula, but better rankings sites like Rich Kern and Pablo have the Wildcats ranked 6th & 12th, respectively. 

Why so far off the RPI?  Because Rich & Pablo actually know volleyball. If I have to hang my hat on any of those three rankings, it's Rich Kern first with Pablo 2nd, and the NCAA RPI a distant, laughable third. 

Oregon is the team that beat Nebraska in our first match of the season, when Kelly Hunter was injured and couldn't play.  The Huskers lost both of their first two matches (the other being against Florida), and one more super odd loss to Northern Iowa when Hunter still wasn't up to full speed.  Once Hunter got healthy, Nebraska finished the season 20-1, with one four-set loss in Madison. 

It is not inconceivable that either BYU or Oregon could knock off Kentucky in the Sweet 16, at which point the Regional Finals becomes a neutral-site match played in front of a mostly empty gym.  If anyone's fans are going to get over there and make some noise, it's ours.  If Nebraska gets to play Oregon again, it will be a much, much different match. 

There isn't a team Nebraska can't beat, and dominate, in this bracket.  We avoid Stanford, Texas, Washington, Kansas and every Big Ten team.  If I had to pick a team to play in the RPI top four, it'd be Kentucky. 

tl;dr - I love this bracket. It's the easiest bracket Nebraska has had in a long time. 

See you in the Final Four. 

 
It's about time we got a break.  I've felt for years and years that we get screwed in the bracketology stuff and have been put in the worst possible scenarios of all the top teams.   If we ever needed an little easier route to the championship this is a good year for it.   I feel they are playing pretty well and while they are not simply dominating they way we'd like to see, they are still going to be a hard out for anybody along the way IF they play their best VB.   This could be Cook's best coaching year and I admit I have never been completely sold on John as a coach.  He does many things well and seems to have become a full Husker at heart but there has always been something intangible or hard to quite describe about him and his demeanor and his style and sometimes his 'mix and match' struggles to find the right mix of his players on the court.   That can occur with any team I know but there is just something I can't quite put my finger on that has troubled me.   

But it's probably just me.   Always GO BIG RED!!!!!

 
knapplc said:
Aside from people being upset that Nebraska isn't a Top 4 seed, I'm not sure what the fuss is about. We have a very clear path to the Final Four.

First off - NO WASHINGTON. Nebraska and Washington have had to play each other six of the last nine years, including the last three straight years.  Nebraska is 5-1 against them in the tournament, and have won the last four straight, but they're always a tough out and there's bad blood between the coaches. It's good that they're in Penn State's bracket. Let the Nittany Lions deal with them.

First rounds - You have your typical victims here.  Stony Brook has the lowest RPI of anyone in our bracket, and the Florida State/Washington State winner should be another easy win. Nebraska has beaten eight teams with a better RPI than either team.

Sweet 16 - I have no idea who will win between Baylor and Colorado.  Don't know enough about either team, but I'm guessing it'll be Baylor. Either way, neither team played in a rough conference, and on a neutral court far away from their fans, neither team should pose a problem.

That leaves the bracket finals for a trip to the Final Four, and I'm not sure who Nebraska will face.  Farcically, Kentucky is the #1 overall seed and Regional host, and they should cruise through the first two rounds and actually host the Regional.  But they're not a tough team, certainly not #1 seed worthy.  They have the #1 RPI based on that formula, but better rankings sites like Rich Kern and Pablo have the Wildcats ranked 6th & 12th, respectively. 

Why so far off the RPI?  Because Rich & Pablo actually know volleyball. If I have to hang my hat on any of those three rankings, it's Rich Kern first with Pablo 2nd, and the NCAA RPI a distant, laughable third. 

Oregon is the team that beat Nebraska in our first match of the season, when Kelly Hunter was injured and couldn't play.  The Huskers lost both of their first two matches (the other being against Florida), and one more super odd loss to Northern Iowa when Hunter still wasn't up to full speed.  Once Hunter got healthy, Nebraska finished the season 20-1, with one four-set loss in Madison. 

It is not inconceivable that either BYU or Oregon could knock off Kentucky in the Sweet 16, at which point the Regional Finals becomes a neutral-site match played in front of a mostly empty gym.  If anyone's fans are going to get over there and make some noise, it's ours.  If Nebraska gets to play Oregon again, it will be a much, much different match. 

There isn't a team Nebraska can't beat, and dominate, in this bracket.  We avoid Stanford, Texas, Washington, Kansas and every Big Ten team.  If I had to pick a team to play in the RPI top four, it'd be Kentucky. 

tl;dr - I love this bracket. It's the easiest bracket Nebraska has had in a long time. 

See you in the Final Four. 
Click to expand...
Agreed!! Very favorable path to the Final Four. GBR!!

 
84HuskerLaw said:
It's about time we got a break.  I've felt for years and years that we get screwed in the bracketology stuff and have been put in the worst possible scenarios of all the top teams.   If we ever needed an little easier route to the championship this is a good year for it.   I feel they are playing pretty well and while they are not simply dominating they way we'd like to see, they are still going to be a hard out for anybody along the way IF they play their best VB.   This could be Cook's best coaching year and I admit I have never been completely sold on John as a coach.  He does many things well and seems to have become a full Husker at heart but there has always been something intangible or hard to quite describe about him and his demeanor and his style and sometimes his 'mix and match' struggles to find the right mix of his players on the court.   That can occur with any team I know but there is just something I can't quite put my finger on that has troubled me.   

But it's probably just me.   Always GO BIG RED!!!!!
Click to expand...


It's definitely just you.

 
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