06-16-2021, 12:23 PM
With the James Madison Dukes choosing to be the 4 in Charlottesville, here's our regional:
1. #9 UVA
2. #23 Stanford
3. #36 Arkansas
4. #59 James Madison
Nobody wants to play Pepperdine, even though they lose Lahey and Failla, and even though Malibu is lovely. 38 picks in and 9 of the 15 regionals completely filled up, and Pepperdine was still standing alone in that regional. Finally, with the 39th pick, #57 Notre Dame became the 2 seed there, with #61 Colorado joining them as the 3 seed a few minutes later. Here are the rest of the regionals with Pac-12 or other California teams:
Chapel Hill: (1) UNC, (2) Oregon, (3) Tulsa, (4) UNC Charlotte. Oregon should absolutely beat Tulsa, and they should give UNC a decent match.
Malibu: (1) Pepperdine, (2) Notre Dame, (3) Colorado, (4) Columbia
Los Angeles: (1) UCLA, (2) Washington, (3) Denver, (4) Cal Poly. UW should beat Denver, but UCLA will be too tough.
Charlottesville: (1) UVA, (2) Stanford, (3) Arkansas, (4) James Madison
Orlando: (1) UCF, (2) Auburn, (3) Arizona State, (4) UC Santa Barbara. I kinda like ASU's chances here. Both UCF and Auburn are obviously tough teams, but they're not so far out of ASU's reach.
Berkeley: (1) Cal, (2) Vanderbilt, (3) San Diego, (4) BYU
Waco: (1) Baylor, (2) Miami, (3) USC, (4) Kansas. USC could absolutely emerge from this regional.
Arizona needed five teams to pass at the end in order to make the field. Late passes certainly happen, as teams ranked that low might have limited budgets--for example, it's an easier sell for the James Madison coach to the AD to have two matches down the road in Charlottesville, whereas flying across country for a weekend is a heavier lift. You have to factor in likelihood of success in those matches, too. Are you better off getting smoked twice or staying home and playing some competitive matches? Whereas for a team like #62 Cal Poly (needed just one pass and got it when #60 Louisville begged off) or #63 San Jose State (needed two), being the 4 seed in Los Angeles or Malibu is a great option--sure, you get smoked by a great team, but then you have a winnable second match against a good team that might be your best win all year if you can get it.
Anyway, I like our chances, especially with a roster I expect to be pretty dangerous next year with the incoming freshmen. We get a respectable but very beatable SEC team and then an elite-but-not-that-elite ACC team. (I also would've liked being the 3 seed in Atlanta behind Georgia Tech and Michigan, two teams we could absolutely take. Being the 3 in Orlando behind #11 UCF and #22 Auburn would've been great, too. Or even the 4 in Columbus behind #12 OSU, #17 LSU, and #18 Tennessee in what would've been the Group of Death.)
1. #9 UVA
2. #23 Stanford
3. #36 Arkansas
4. #59 James Madison
Nobody wants to play Pepperdine, even though they lose Lahey and Failla, and even though Malibu is lovely. 38 picks in and 9 of the 15 regionals completely filled up, and Pepperdine was still standing alone in that regional. Finally, with the 39th pick, #57 Notre Dame became the 2 seed there, with #61 Colorado joining them as the 3 seed a few minutes later. Here are the rest of the regionals with Pac-12 or other California teams:
Chapel Hill: (1) UNC, (2) Oregon, (3) Tulsa, (4) UNC Charlotte. Oregon should absolutely beat Tulsa, and they should give UNC a decent match.
Malibu: (1) Pepperdine, (2) Notre Dame, (3) Colorado, (4) Columbia
Los Angeles: (1) UCLA, (2) Washington, (3) Denver, (4) Cal Poly. UW should beat Denver, but UCLA will be too tough.
Charlottesville: (1) UVA, (2) Stanford, (3) Arkansas, (4) James Madison
Orlando: (1) UCF, (2) Auburn, (3) Arizona State, (4) UC Santa Barbara. I kinda like ASU's chances here. Both UCF and Auburn are obviously tough teams, but they're not so far out of ASU's reach.
Berkeley: (1) Cal, (2) Vanderbilt, (3) San Diego, (4) BYU
Waco: (1) Baylor, (2) Miami, (3) USC, (4) Kansas. USC could absolutely emerge from this regional.
Arizona needed five teams to pass at the end in order to make the field. Late passes certainly happen, as teams ranked that low might have limited budgets--for example, it's an easier sell for the James Madison coach to the AD to have two matches down the road in Charlottesville, whereas flying across country for a weekend is a heavier lift. You have to factor in likelihood of success in those matches, too. Are you better off getting smoked twice or staying home and playing some competitive matches? Whereas for a team like #62 Cal Poly (needed just one pass and got it when #60 Louisville begged off) or #63 San Jose State (needed two), being the 4 seed in Los Angeles or Malibu is a great option--sure, you get smoked by a great team, but then you have a winnable second match against a good team that might be your best win all year if you can get it.
Anyway, I like our chances, especially with a roster I expect to be pretty dangerous next year with the incoming freshmen. We get a respectable but very beatable SEC team and then an elite-but-not-that-elite ACC team. (I also would've liked being the 3 seed in Atlanta behind Georgia Tech and Michigan, two teams we could absolutely take. Being the 3 in Orlando behind #11 UCF and #22 Auburn would've been great, too. Or even the 4 in Columbus behind #12 OSU, #17 LSU, and #18 Tennessee in what would've been the Group of Death.)