Post by tomclen on Dec 17, 2021 18:45:19 GMT -5
Wisconsin doesn't have to beat Nebraska three times tomorrow, they only have to beat them once more. That is a VERY different thing.
(Yes, there's a human element to volleyball that is not present in coin-flipping, but the point is quite similar...)
Flipping a coin three times and getting heads all three times is fairly unlikely. But once you have gotten heads twice, the odds of getting heads the third time are 50-50. That's because you're no longer trying to get heads three times, you're only trying to get it once more.
Logical. Sensible. Rational. Yes, yes, yes.
But this is sports, where many illogical, irrational things happen.
Take baseball. Tommy John, right. Had a great career, and you know what surgery he ended up needing? Tommy John surgery. What are the odds.
And the great Lou Gehrig. Look up the disease that killed him. Mind = blown.
And in volleyball, Terry Pettit. When he goes to a Nebraska home game, you know what court he has to watch the match on?
And then there's John Cook. People love to hate him, but you can't argue with his success or his ability to seemingly always have his teams peaking at tournament time. And I'm not astute enough to know if he's a great in-game coach, but if he's not, he has a staff that is.
And he strikes me as a chap who loathes losing. He's already lost twice to Wisconsin this year. He doesn't need to do much scouting on the Badgers. But I'd bet right now (depending on when you're reading this) he and his staff are deep in the planning on how to disrupt and develop a totally different game strategy that could throw Wisconsin off.
I'm not betting against Wisconsin - I almost don't see how they can lose. But, IMO, Cook is the wild card in this. I don't want to call him cunning and diabolical, but I'd also hate to bet against him.
BONUS QUESTION: How the H-E-double-hockey-sticks did Wisconsin lose to Maryland?
