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Post by ay2013 on May 15, 2019 0:14:53 GMT -5
why so high on MSU? they were 5-15 in conference last year, and that was with them skipping Nebraska, Penn State, and Wisconsin. Which team below them will be obviously better? No one was as young as the Spartans last season. All but two starters were either freshmen or sophomores playing for the first time. I didn't follow the non-tournament quality Big 10 teams last year so I don't know, I just know what record they had last year and I don't really recall that much graduation loss to teams you ranked below them. Was just curious, that's all. |
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Post by ilalum92 on May 15, 2019 1:46:37 GMT -5
Do you just post "..." at the end of every reply lol? Why do you care... |
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Post by Millennium on May 15, 2019 4:36:29 GMT -5
Wisconsin from Sept 19 to October 19th has the following: (BRUTAL) Washington Washington Purdue Penn State Nebraska Minnesota Illinois Yikes! |
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Post by bprtbone on May 15, 2019 5:14:15 GMT -5
Thank you for this vbsam16. A couple of minor edits to the Michigan roster: - Kiara Shannon will be a Junior in 19-20 - Jessica Robinson is a Prep Volleyball Senior Ace (#8) |
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bluepenquin
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Post by bluepenquin on May 15, 2019 7:05:39 GMT -5
5th in conference probably = top 10 in the country - so hard to show disrespect by placing a team 5th or 6th. Among Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Nebraska - I would be most surprised to see Nebraska finish 5th or worse in conference, yet I kind of think Minnesota and Wisconsin have a better chance of coming in 1st. Way too much depth in the league to think anyone is a lock for at least 4th or 5th place. I can see Penn State, Illinois, and Purdue challenging even though it seems like Purdue is such a long shot to win. How much better will Ohio State and Michigan State be? Re the national scene, perhaps. I can see a number of teams being as good as or better than the 5th or 6th place Big 10 team next year. Stanford, USC, Oregon, Washington out of the Pac, Texas, maybe Baylor, Pitt, Florida, Kentucky all have the rosters to be pretty good next year....maybe BYU. They had 5 of the top 9 via Pablo last year (so that is how I came up with it). Different year (obviously) - I see 6 really good teams. Agree with the rest of your list - and I consider BYU definitely on a par with those others. There may be a surprise this year like Pittsburgh last year. I guess my ~ top 10 is more like a top 17. Part of the difference - in the PAC it is Stanford and it could be anyone between USC, Oregon, Washington while the Big Ten is could be any of those top 5 or 6 in any order. |
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Post by SportyBucky on May 15, 2019 7:37:38 GMT -5
I can't bet against Cook. 1. Nebraska 2. Illinois 3. Minnesota 4. Penn State 5. Wisconsin 6. Purdue 7. Michigan State 8. Maryland 9. Indiana 10. Ohio State 11. Michigan 12. Iowa 13. Northwestern 14. Rutgers why so high on MSU? they were 5-15 in conference last year, and that was with them skipping Nebraska, Penn State, and Wisconsin. Because he's a homer. |
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Post by SportyBucky on May 15, 2019 7:43:48 GMT -5
Illinois is going to start a former professional and a First-Team All-American on the left. They'll need no help. I hope you are right!!! Bruna did not start on professional teams and sat on the bench approximately 90% (90% may be generous). Her stats and team videos are available through team video archives on the internet. IMHO...most of us don't know what Bruna will bring to the court until she's on the NCAA court. Also, Illini will have a new setter and a freshman MH. Graduating arguably the best setter in college vb and one of if not the best MH in the Big 10...seems a stretch, but time will tell. |
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Post by wiscvball on May 15, 2019 7:53:41 GMT -5
I voted Wisconsin for a couple of reasons:
1) This team went 11-9 in 2017, improved to 15-5 in 2018. In large part, that improvement was driven by Haggerty + Loberg > Bates + Gillis, Rettke doing Rettke things, Hilley being a much more aggressive setter than her freshman campaign, and the emergence of Duello as a legitimate threat offensively. If those individuals take modest steps forward this year, with what the rest of the conference loses, I think the Badgers will pickup 2-3 additional wins. The schedule is much tougher this year, however.
2) I think 2018 will be Haggerty's worst year as a Badger, and it wasn't even that bad. Her offseason 'look' has been impressive and I really think the confidence is 100% back. If she returns anywhere near 2016 Haggerty, the Badgers could be the biggest threat to Stanford.
3) I'm in the camp that Hart > Williams. Given her spring performance and how much Hilley tried to get her the ball, I think there's a comfort factor with the type of middle Hart is with Hilley's setting style. Williams might have been too fast and it caused her production to drop post-Carlini due to Hilley's style.
4) If Barnes is eligible, the Badger passing and backcourt will be at another level. You could have 3 legitimate B1G caliber libero's to play around with, and that doesn't even include some of the highly touted freshman. If this plays out, you could see the Badgers getting 50%+ of their kills from the middles - Rettke with 4ish, Hart with 3ish per set. They will both probably hit north of .400, so the team could be an offensive juggernaut with solid pin play thrown in the mix.
Thoughts on other top teams:
* Minnesota - I think they are the other primary contender. The big question is how much did the performance of the hitters/offense elevate because of the setting, vs. the actual talent of the hitters. They have all the pieces to be really good if the hitters step up and fill in whatever gap comes from the SSS to Miller transition.
* Nebraska - losing Foecke and Maloney is huge. They have some nice talent coming in, but they will be freshman and will not be able to replace the production of the two lost seniors. I think Hames will take a big step forward and they will be strong in the middle. A lot of the success they might have in 2019 will be predicated on Sun and Sweet taking big steps forward. After watching them for 2 years, I don't know if they will do that... to me, both are fairly average for their position in this conference.
* Penn State - Rose will have the team ready, but they are young and while they will probably upset a few top teams, they will also likely have a couple of head scratching losses.
* Illinois - see Minnesota. Big shoes to replace, have a few more moving pieces in the offense (new pin, new middle), but there is a lot of talent there and Tamas has joined the cream of the crop in the big ten coaching ranks.
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Post by stanfordvb on May 15, 2019 8:11:12 GMT -5
My pick is Minnesota. They are strong in every single position. They lost sss, but people forget that Kylie miller is a very good college setter. Is she as good as sss? No, but few are in the NCAA. Miller was a top recruit, Under Armour AA, and I believe Cali GPOY. She also set in the elite 8 vs Minnesotans a freshman. I think she’s for sure capable of setting a team that can wins a B1G championship. If Minnesota can pass well, IMO the title is theirs. They have the best offense in the B1G next year for sure.
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Post by vbsam16 on May 15, 2019 9:08:33 GMT -5
This looks wildly familiar 🤔 Definitely used your Big West thread as a template! |
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Post by donut on May 15, 2019 9:36:45 GMT -5
Do you just post "..." at the end of every reply lol? Why do you care... It makes everything sound like sarcasm or that you haven't finished your thought. But duly noted, have fun with your little games! |
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Post by TuesdayGone on May 15, 2019 13:10:29 GMT -5
I voted Wisconsin for a couple of reasons: 1) This team went 11-9 in 2017, improved to 15-5 in 2018. In large part, that improvement was driven by Haggerty + Loberg > Bates + Gillis, Rettke doing Rettke things, Hilley being a much more aggressive setter than her freshman campaign, and the emergence of Duello as a legitimate threat offensively. If those individuals take modest steps forward this year, with what the rest of the conference loses, I think the Badgers will pickup 2-3 additional wins. The schedule is much tougher this year, however. 2) I think 2018 will be Haggerty's worst year as a Badger, and it wasn't even that bad. Her offseason 'look' has been impressive and I really think the confidence is 100% back. If she returns anywhere near 2016 Haggerty, the Badgers could be the biggest threat to Stanford. 3) I'm in the camp that Hart > Williams. Given her spring performance and how much Hilley tried to get her the ball, I think there's a comfort factor with the type of middle Hart is with Hilley's setting style. Williams might have been too fast and it caused her production to drop post-Carlini due to Hilley's style. 4) If Barnes is eligible, the Badger passing and backcourt will be at another level. You could have 3 legitimate B1G caliber libero's to play around with, and that doesn't even include some of the highly touted freshman. If this plays out, you could see the Badgers getting 50%+ of their kills from the middles - Rettke with 4ish, Hart with 3ish per set. They will both probably hit north of .400, so the team could be an offensive juggernaut with solid pin play thrown in the mix. Thoughts on other top teams: * Minnesota - I think they are the other primary contender. The big question is how much did the performance of the hitters/offense elevate because of the setting, vs. the actual talent of the hitters. They have all the pieces to be really good if the hitters step up and fill in whatever gap comes from the SSS to Miller transition. * Nebraska - losing Foecke and Maloney is huge. They have some nice talent coming in, but they will be freshman and will not be able to replace the production of the two lost seniors. I think Hames will take a big step forward and they will be strong in the middle. A lot of the success they might have in 2019 will be predicated on Sun and Sweet taking big steps forward. After watching them for 2 years, I don't know if they will do that... to me, both are fairly average for their position in this conference. * Penn State - Rose will have the team ready, but they are young and while they will probably upset a few top teams, they will also likely have a couple of head scratching losses. * Illinois - see Minnesota. Big shoes to replace, have a few more moving pieces in the offense (new pin, new middle), but there is a lot of talent there and Tamas has joined the cream of the crop in the big ten coaching ranks. 1. The 2017 team was better than the 2018 team. Higher year end Pablo. Higest hitting percentage in Wisconsin history Bates went from hitting .200 to .240....Loberg and Haggerty hit .200 last year The 2017 team had the hardest schedule in country. And played 8 matches vs top 10 teams in BIG: PSU, MN, NEB, Mich St The 2018 team had a much easier BIG schedule. 2. Agree on Haggerty. The biggest challenge for Wisconsin this year is depth. 3. Tionna's hitting numbers were better under Hilley: Tionna with Hilley (.387, .352) Tionna with Carlini (.330,.326) 4. The biggest thing Barnes brings is serving. And if Hart was better than 3 Time All American Tionna she would have played. |
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Post by hammer on May 15, 2019 13:50:46 GMT -5
You sure it's not scarlet or cardinal? Overall, yeah could be a color that hues more towards purple, but for the B1G, RED is the color. I'm also pretty sure pigs will fly before Rutgers wins the B1G. |
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Post by Hawk Attack on May 15, 2019 14:09:43 GMT -5
Maryland is a two-time “just missed” tournament non-selection, Iowa just missed in 2017... what I’m hoping is one of Maryland/Iowa/Indiana/Northwestern avoid eating each other alive and rise above the pack to make the tournament this season. Iowa has Nebraska x2, Minnesota x2, Penn State x2, and Illinois x2 and Wisconsin/Purdue x1 but both away... not so favorable  |
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Post by Millennium on May 15, 2019 15:56:08 GMT -5
You sure it's not scarlet or cardinal? Overall, yeah could be a color that hues more towards purple, but for the B1G, RED is the color. I'm also pretty sure pigs will fly before Rutgers wins the B1G. And yet, someone voted Rutgers to win the conference. LOL! |
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