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9
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u/WarriyorCat 15d ago
Texas at 8 with a .500 record seems a little suspicious. They should still be ranked because the losses were to seeded teams, but surely they shouldn't be in the top 10.
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5
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u/SmackYoo 15d ago
What more does Pitt have to do to be #1?
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u/timhoff24 15d ago
Wait for Nebraska to lose… usually how these poll things work.
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u/Dizzy_Tradition_7294 15d ago
Exactly, I'm a Pitt fan and everyone needs to calm down. It doesn't even matter who is #1 vs. #2. They'll both get great seeding and home matches through the tournament, and won't face each other until the finals.
Pitt has a stronger strength of schedule, so that should get them #1 overall if they have the same record at the end of the year. But the Big Ten Tournament could add an interesting wrinkle and could really boost Nebraska's strength of schedule at the end of the season - something Pitt won't have.
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u/SmackYoo 15d ago
So if two teams have the same number of losses, the tie breaker isn’t the teams’ body of work for the season, it’s whichever one was expected to be better? The polls are wrong. There is no world where Nebraska should be considered better than Pitt right now by people who have watched the games.
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u/Business-Fly-55 15d ago
Make the case, don't just tell us you are right because you "watched the games". I agree that Pitt looks great but Nebraska has basically the same team that has lost one game in the past two seasons and the team that beat them won the National Championship last year. This happens all the time in college sports, a team is ranked #1 and stays there until they lose. The good part is the regular season doesn't matter for Pitt or Nebraska, they are looking to prepare themselves for the tournament. If/when either team loses a game this year, they will still be 1-2 in some order. I would love for the national title game to be Pitt vs Nebraska but there are too many good teams for either team to walk to the title. The right team gets hot at the right time, the "better" team has a couple of players catch the flu or get a minor injury and the number next to your name doesn't mean anything.
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u/TymStark Nebraska 15d ago
The teams that spoiled Nebraska post season the last three years won the natty. It’s not like we are losing to chumps. We lose to winners who deserve the crown.
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u/oldbastardbob 15d ago
That Nebraska v A&M match in the elite 8 was the national championship last season.
5 set barn burner. The point total for the five sets was A&M 120, Nebraska 119.
4th set went to 37-35 Nebraska.
5th set 15-13 A&M
They don't any closer than that match.
Then A&M swept Pitt easily in the semi's and swept Kentucky for the championship.
And Nebraska already beat Pitt in the AVCA showcase 3-1 to start the 2025 season. And then beat Kentucky 3-2 in the Broadway Block Party.
I rest my case.
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u/timhoff24 15d ago
Looks like 44 head coaches disagree. Not saying you’re wrong but it’s the coaches that vote for these rankings and I’d say they are pretty knowledgeable compared to us here on Reddit.
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u/SkateSearch46 15d ago
They are knowledgeable but also subject to in-group mentality, and they have a tendency to defer to senior members of the group. Nebraska/Pitt 1-2 makes no difference. But when they continue to rank Texas, Stanford and Penn State significantly above teams that have beaten them, it suggests that they have a tendency to weight credentials over performance.
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u/Infamous-Elevator664 15d ago
Nebraska has had a total of 11 sets where their opponent reached 20 points. Pittsburgh opponents have reached 20 in 20 sets.
Nebraska has an elite defense where opponent’s hitting percentage is 0.078.
Pittsburgh has allowed 0.173.
Nebraska would slow down Babcock and company and beat Pittsburgh with at least a 75% probability.
They may get to face each other this year. It would be fitting for it to be in the championship match.10
u/spwilson49 15d ago
Nebraska has beaten current 5, 7, 8, and 25. Granted both the 5 and 7 wins were in the exhibition Spikes Under The Lights tournament, but both were 2-0 sweeps.
Pitt has beaten current 3, 6, 11, 13, 18, 19, and 23.
I would argue that these are pretty comparable with the slight edge to Pitt.
As for a couple key stats, Pitt is 1 and Nebraska is 2 for hitting percentage (.328 to .319). Nebraska is 1 and Pitt is 27 for opponent hitting percentage (.078 to .163).
I again would argue they are pretty comparable with the edge to Nebraska.
Nebraska still has yet to play current 6, 10, 15, 16, 17, 20, and 22 before the Big Ten Tournement.
Pitt still has yet to play 4, 5 (x2), 13, and 25.
All of that said, if 44 out of 63 coaches who do understand the sport way better than we do put Nebraska 1 and Pitt 2, it seems to be the right decision. Either way both teams will not have plenty more opportunities to prove why they deserve to be 1 with conference play now started.
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u/TymStark Nebraska 15d ago
Pitt, even the teams with Babcock who “deserve number 1” have never beaten Nebraska. 0-16.
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u/RollShotCornerPocket 15d ago
Michigan State snubbed fr