Commentary, Men's Sports, Men's Volleyball, Sports

CLARK: In a battle of even teams, LBSU should have gotten the NCAA tournament bid

It seems that the oft-criticized NCAA may be lacking more common sense than we originally thought.

A three-person selection committee made its picks for the four-team NCAA men’s volleyball tournament Sunday afternoon and decided to give No. 3 UC Irvine the at-large bid over No. 2 Long Beach State. This was just one day after the 49ers defeated the Anteaters in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament.

If the No. 2 team in the country beats the No. 3 team, wouldn’t it seem that the No. 2 team is better and therefore more deserving of an NCAA tournament bid?
Not according to NCAA logic.

To be fair, not much separates LBSU and UCI, if anything at all. The 49ers finished with a record of 24-8, and the Anteaters will go into the NCAA tournament with a record of 23-7. LBSU’s record against common opponents is 20-4, and UCI’s is 19-6.

“When you look at all the criteria,” LBSU head coach Alan Knipe said, “both schools have strong teams. It seems that the selection committee weighed head-to-head a little heavier.”

The biggest difference between LBSU and UCI is the head-to-head record. The Anteaters went 3-1 against The Beach this year, a mark that includes a pair of sweeps.
That one loss, though, was the most recent game played and the only one played on a neutral court.

The goal of the NCAA tournament should be to decide a champion from the best teams in the country. However, it doesn’t always work out that the teams in the tournament are the best at the end of the season. Based on the results of the last meeting between the 49ers and Anteaters, it would seem that LBSU has the better team right now.

It’s not that UCI isn’t deserving of the at-large bid or couldn’t play as well as the 49ers in the NCAA tournament. In fact, the defending-champion Anteaters have a great chance to win it all for the second year in a row.

But in a year when LBSU rose from No. 9 to No. 2 in the national rankings over the course of the season, defeated No. 1 Brigham Young on the road and advanced to the MPSF tournament finals for the first time since 2008, it seemed that the 49ers would have as good of a chance as any to go to the NCAA tournament and maybe even win it.

“[The players] are disappointed because they know they could do some damage in the NCAA tournament,” Knipe said. “Maybe in a couple years they’ll look back and be impressed with what they did this year, but I think it’s a little fresh right now.”

There’s no doubt that the 2013 season was a special one for the ‘Niners. Almost every key player will be back next year, though, so 2014 could be even more special than 2013.

It’s the hope for a better season that drives players and fans to stick by their teams each year. Even in Pittsburgh, where baseball’s Pirates haven’t had a winning season in 20 years, people can say “maybe next year” and be sincere with their hope.

The difference is, when people in Long Beach say “maybe next year” about the LBSU men’s volleyball team, there’s a legitimate chance that next year will be the year the 49ers return to the NCAA tournament.

It’s just a shame it wasn’t this year.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

Daily 49er newsletter

Instagram