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Post by chipNdink on Nov 21, 2006 3:28:56 GMT -5
One of the teams leading the Pac 10 lost to the team that is going to finish 3rd in the Big 12. And the team leading the Big 12 lost to a team that will finish even LOWER than 3rd in the Big 12. LOL.
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Post by Ye Olde Dawg on Nov 21, 2006 3:30:19 GMT -5
I can see Nebraska coming out of the Florida regional and headed back HOME for the F4. Once at Omaha they should be the favorite no matter who other three teams complete the field. I don't see that as a guarantee. After all, last year's Final Four wasn't exactly held on neutral ground. Oh, technically it wasn't in Nebraska, but as I recall the dominant color in the stands was red. If Nebraska makes it back to Omaha, there are still a few teams they could face there who aren't going to be cheered off the floor. You could say that if this year's Nebraska team is in the Final Four in Omaha it will be theirs to lose, and I'd agree. That just doesn't guarantee they'll win it.
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Post by baywatcher on Nov 21, 2006 4:26:31 GMT -5
Note that Penn St. eliminated by a Pac 10 team three of the last five years, and Nebraska four of the last five (and would have had to beat super Stanford, then super USC team for title in 2002, the year Hawaii beat them, an unlikely event for any team). So history is against them; interesting to say pac 10, and not Stanford, Washington, etc. Looks like either Penn St. or Nebraska, or both, will be placed in a Regional without one of big four in Pac 10, thus enhancing their chances while Pac 10 teams eliminate each other, and/or get Santa Clara'd/Tennessee'd before the Final Four.
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Post by OverAndUnder on Nov 21, 2006 10:22:28 GMT -5
Note that Penn St. eliminated by a Pac 10 team three of the last five years, and Nebraska four of the last five (and would have had to beat super Stanford, then super USC team for title in 2002, the year Hawaii beat them, an unlikely event for any team). So history is against them; interesting to say pac 10, and not Stanford, Washington, etc. Looks like either Penn St. or Nebraska, or both, will be placed in a Regional without one of big four in Pac 10, thus enhancing their chances while Pac 10 teams eliminate each other, and/or get Santa Clara'd/Tennessee'd before the Final Four. Nebraska has been eliminated in the National Final, National SemiFinal, or National Semi-Semifinal (aka Regional Final)... yes. Let's just conveniently forget about the Pac10 teams that never make it that far due to teams from the Big10, Big12, SEC, and WCC. I'd say the fact that Nebraska swept UCLA and a mediocre program like Santa Clara eliminated both Stanford and Arizona, Pepperdine eliminated USC, and Wisconsin defeated Cal, means that at least part of history is against the Pac10. No Pac10 team played another Pac10 team at any time, but out of six teams given berths, only one made it to the Final Four.
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Post by SaltNPepper on Nov 21, 2006 11:04:58 GMT -5
I'm not quite sure I understand what this "eliminated by" has to do with anything. Other than the National Champion, EVERY team was eliminated by someone. In the last 6 years the 6 teams that weren't eliminated by anyone (in alphabetical order) were: Nebraska, Stanford (twice), USC (twice) and Washington. This is not "News Flash" information.
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Post by PukaPants on Nov 21, 2006 12:30:27 GMT -5
Oh please, don't we ask this question at this time of year, every year?
I say NOPE! PAC 10 teams always seem to take their games to another level in the post season. The PAC 10 matches I've seen on TV are much more exciting than the other conferences. Nebraska will choke again!
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Post by StuffU on Nov 21, 2006 13:40:35 GMT -5
I do think that Nebraska is one of the four best teams this year.
As Pablo shows, the Top 4 teams are very close. If all four are playing on a neutral court, it would be very difficult to choose the winner.
That being said, if Nebraska makes it out of the Regionals (from the Longhorns court), they are my favorite to win the title.
The others -
Stanford - Ridiculous amount of talent ~ but something is missing. They have the ability to play the game at a super high level, but rarely have they reached their potential (I would argue that they have not played ANY matches near their potential yet). I also don't see that one person on this team that is going to carry them during crunch time, not that they don't have the personnel, it's just no one has really stepped up.
Washington - Suprisingly better than most anticipated, but once they win their regional (which I expect them to do), I don't think they'll have enough to take out the other contenders in Omaha.
Penn State - See Stanford. While they have leaned on Hodge, she is not as consistent or reliable YET. The difference here is that I don't expect Penn State to make the Final 4. I expect PSU to lose to the Gators in the Regionals. The next two years will be big years at PSU.
My long shot --- My long shot here is UCLA. If UCLA goes to the Hawaii regional and takes Stanford in the Regional semis (which i think they CAN do), then I like UCLA's chances against Nebraska. I just really like UCLA.
MY Final Four has Nebraska (#1) -v- Washington (#4) and Stanford (#2) -v- Florida (#6)
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Post by hammer on Nov 21, 2006 14:15:11 GMT -5
Using your logic, it appears LATE season losses don't count against you if you are in the Big 12. Moreover, the team leading the Big 12 (and ranked #1 in the nation!) lost late in the season to the team (unranked Colorado) that lost to the team (UCLA, in a sweep) that is going to finish third or fourth in the Pac 10. lol ;D Hmmm... If we're gonna do the one off losses we can go back to Stanford losing to BYU who lost to 9-19 (#141 Pablo) New Mexico that will finish 7th - 9th place in the Mountain West conference. Well, I haven't seen this posted yet, so I'll just throw it out there: 1) Elevation of Provo, UT = 4549 ft. : Stanford losses to BYU 3-1 2) Elevation of Boulder, CO = 5400 ft. : Neb losses to CU 3-2 3) USA Men's team trains in CO and they have complained that due to air density they are at a disadvantage when playing matches against International opponents.
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Post by hammer on Nov 21, 2006 14:27:28 GMT -5
mmm I dont remember UW being beat by teams outside of the pac 10 last year ....... lol Stanford got beat by Santa Clara on their home floor ... Whoops, I forgot they lost Barboza and Kehoe couldn't set due to an arm injury.
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Post by GatorVball on Nov 21, 2006 14:28:23 GMT -5
Can Penn State and Nebraska beat the PAC 10? Yes! I can see Nebraska coming out of the Florida regional and headed back HOME for the F4. Once at Omaha they should be the favorite no matter what other three teams complete the field. At this point I see Nebraska as the overall #1 seed heading to Gainesville. That would be a first for Nebraska, as they've never won a regional held outside their state. If Nebraska is the overall #1, I can't see them heading to Gainesville, cause Florida at worst should be the #7 overall seed, unless they lose this weekend.
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Post by bucky415 on Nov 21, 2006 14:54:56 GMT -5
In response to the thread title, yes.
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Post by ooreo46 on Nov 21, 2006 17:20:49 GMT -5
Who knows? Anything can happen. '06 has the be THE most whackiest season.
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Post by FreeBall on Nov 21, 2006 19:52:20 GMT -5
My long shot here is UCLA. If UCLA goes to the Hawaii regional and takes Stanford in the Regional semis (which i think they CAN do), then I like UCLA's chances against Nebraska. I just really like UCLA. I assume that you picture Hawaii playing another team in the Regional Semifinal opposite your projected UCLA/Stanford match. In my opinion that scenario is highly unlikely. If two of the top PAC 10 teams are in that Region, they will be on opposite sides of the bracket and if both win their prior matches, they would not meet until the Regional Final.
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Post by StuffU on Nov 21, 2006 20:04:07 GMT -5
My long shot here is UCLA. If UCLA goes to the Hawaii regional and takes Stanford in the Regional semis (which i think they CAN do), then I like UCLA's chances against Nebraska. I just really like UCLA. I assume that you picture Hawaii playing another team in the Regional Semifinal opposite your projected UCLA/Stanford match. In my opinion that scenario is highly unlikely. If two of the top PAC 10 teams are in that Region, they will be on opposite sides of the bracket and if both win their prior matches, they would not meet until the Regional Final. Good catch! lol .. I read your post over and over again and couldn't understand what you were talking about. Then I noticed I said if UCLA takes out Stanford in the Regional SEMIS.... sorry, meant to say Regional Finals ... my bad.
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Post by Tex_VB_Fan on Nov 21, 2006 20:36:14 GMT -5
Can Penn State and Nebraska beat the PAC 10? Yes! I can see Nebraska coming out of the Florida regional and headed back HOME for the F4. Once at Omaha they should be the favorite no matter what other three teams complete the field. At this point I see Nebraska as the overall #1 seed heading to Gainesville. That would be a first for Nebraska, as they've never won a regional held outside their state. If Nebraska is the overall #1, I can't see them heading to Gainesville, cause Florida at worst should be the #7 overall seed, unless they lose this weekend. I see Florida as the 8th overall seed. "Biggest" win is over Utah at #9 currently. USC, UCLA, Penn State & Texas have a higher RPI and should hold. I guess we'll all find out soon enough on Sunday.
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