Final
Four too final
By Todd Leland
On-line Forty-Niner
No
offense to men’s volleyball, but Final Four
should really mean Final Four.
When I think of the words “Final Four” my
thoughts run to first round miracle upsets.
To nobodies off the bench making extraordinary
plays for teams that should have been eliminated
rounds ago.
With men’s volleyball we get a true final
four. Just four teams playing two semifinals
and a final to decide who will reign as
the NCAA champion.
Sounds a little unfair to me. For instance,
how does the eighth-ranked team in the nation
not get an opportunity to face off against
the likes of BYU, Pepperdine, Lewis University
and Penn State in a true NCAA tournament?
Maybe, I’m rousing because Long Beach State
was that eighth-ranked team, but I bet there
are athletes at other schools across this
nation that feel and know they are better
than the four groups of guys left to fight
it out. So why don’t they have a true tournament?
The NCAA will tell you the selection process
is completely fair. It is based on wins,
losses, strength of schedule and how teams
faired in their conference tournaments.
And to a degree, I must agree with them.
Long Beach State lost a total of five matches
to both BYU and Pepperdine, going winless
against both squads — which means BYU and
Pepperdine are most likely better than the
49ers.
But where is the fun and excitement in a
four-team tournament for all the NCAA marbles.
Long Beach was not good enough Jan. 31 to
beat Pepperdine. The 49ers were not good
enough on March 20 and April 19 for that
matter as well, but how about on May 1 or
May 3. We did beat Penn State in three straight
sets on March 15. Does that count for anything?
My point is, the great part about sports
is you never know until you play the game.
Now, out of all the volleyball teams in
the nation, the NCAA picks four to settle
the issue. The great part about 32 and 64
team NCAA tournaments is that at the end
of the road the best is the best.
The winner has played through a series of
opponents that are the best in the nation.
The same can be said for men’s volleyball,
but to what extent? Champion teams play
spectacular, and get lucky, over more than
just a two-game span against the best opponents.
They survive an onslaught of competition
to be crowned champions.
|
