College | Volleyball video replay challenges on the horizon?

NCAA volleyball rules committee recommends experiment by Big 12 schools; What do you think about the idea?

Pac-12 | Pac-12 Power Rankings: Week Nine

Fab Five and the Seven Dwarfs

At the halfway mark, the Pac-12’s top five teams remain undefeated against the bottom seven.

That fact explains why the Fab Five remain among the top seven in the national polls (if not the head-scratching RPI).

It also may explain why the Pac-12 might pack no more than five entries into the 2012 Tournament. The team with the next-best overall record at this point is Arizona State (14-9), a team that has dropped six of its past seven matches.

Pac-12 | How dominant was the Pac-12 in nonconference play?

Washington's Amanda Gil
-Volleyblog Seattle photo
by Leslie Hamann

Pac-12 teams go 30-1 in final nonconference week; overall record is best of any in nation

The Pac-12 was dominant.

During the past four weeks, its teams won 5 out of every 6 matches against opponents from other conferences … a .833 winning percentage (110-22). Three teams—USC, Washington and Oregon—went undefeated.

Big preseason wins included Oregon State over Penn State, UCLA and California each with wins over Hawai’i, Washington over Purdue, and Oregon over Ohio State.

The first week of the season, Pac-12 schools lost 7 matches; the second week it lost 9. But the third week brought just 5 losses (2 each by Utah and Arizona State), and in the incredible final week, the record was 30-1, with California’s 0-3 loss to San Francisco the only blemish.

Pac-12 2012 Nonconference Results
	8/20-8/26	8/27-9/02	9/03-9/09	9/10-9/16
USC	3-0	3-0	3-0	3-0	12-0
Washington	3-0	3-0	2-0	1-0	9-0
Oregon	3-0	3-0	1-0	2-0	9-0
UCLA	1-1	2-0	3-0	2-0	8-1
Arizona St	3-0	3-0	1-2	4-0	11-2
Washington St	1-2	3-0	3-0	3-0	10-2
Oregon St	2-1	2-1	3-0	3-0	10-2
Stanford	2-1	1-1	3-0	2-0	8-2
Colorado	3-0	1-2	3-0	3-0	10-2
Arizona	2-1	1-1	2-1	3-0	8-3
Utah	4-0	1-2	1-2	2-0	9-4
California	1-1	1-2	3-0	2-1	6-4
	28-7	24-9	28-5	30-1	110-22
	.800	.727	.848	.968	.833

Final Four: The Pac-12 proves its worth

Notes on the road to San Antonio …

TROJANS TRIUMPH

Mick Haley was right. USC’s head man was the most outspoken critic in the loud chorus of those denouncing the NCAA Selection Committee’s Pac-12 snub. Haley’s Trojan’s—ranked number one in both the coaches’ and media polls—was deemed just seventh-best by the NCAA committee. USC travelled to Honolulu and won two 5-set thrillers, first over Hawaii on the Rainbow Wahines’ raucous home court, then somehow found enough in the tank to hold off up-and-coming Pepperdine. The Trojans’ reward is a five-time-zone trip to San Antonio, where they’ll face another power, third-seed Illinois. Don’t bet the house against USC this season.

BRUINS BREAK THROUGH

UCLA was another team ranked higher by the coaches and media than by the committee. All the Bruins did was travel east to knock off two storied programs. First, UCLA ended four-time defending champion Penn State’s incredible 26-match tournament win streak, dating back to a 2006 loss to Washington in Seattle. The Bruins then handled Texas—the committee’s overall number one seed. UCLA caught a break when Florida State upset powerhouse Purdue, then got past overrated Iowa State to reach Thursday’s semis. A UCLA/USC Final? It could happen.

NOT-SO-BIG TEN AND TWELVE

Many grumbled when it seemed the selection committee rated the Pac-12 lower than the 12 teams in the Big Ten and the nine teams (Oklahoma State doesn’t offer volleyball) in the Big 12. Perhaps Texas (ranked #1), Nebraska (#2) and Iowa State (#4) were all so overrated in a not-so-subtle effort to give them easier draws on the road to San Antonio, where the fans from those three teams would have packed the Alamodome. But both conferences came up short, except for #3 Illinois, which might be the third or fourth best team in the Big Ten. Last Friday, of course, was when the smug grin was wiped off the Big Ten’s face: after getting a ridiculous nine teams into the tournament, seven advanced to the Sweet Sixteen … where six promptly lost in the space of a few hours. More proof, in my opinion, that California, Washington and Oregon all should have been among the 16 seeded teams (and Stanford didn’t belong.) Over the past two seasons, only 2 of the 8 teams the committee has picked to reach the Final Four have actually made it.

HOME COURT DISADVANTAGE

All four regional sites—Minneapolis, Honolulu, Lexington and Gainesville—got lucky: the home teams—Minnesota, Hawaii, Kentucky and Florida—all reached the Sweet Sixteen. Only Florida made it to the Elite 8, and none advanced to the Final Four.