Pitchin with Pritch: From volleyball to basketball
Lots of activity in the field of athletics this past week. National championships in NCAA volleyball, college basketball having another number one team bite the dust after just one week at the top spot and college football bowl games getting started. Throw in college wrestling and all the other professional sports teams and it is just another busy time in the sports world.
I thought at one time, the Big 10 could possibly get two of their teams in the NCAA volleyball championship game. When both Minnesota and Wisconsin made it to the final four, there was still a pretty good chance.
The other two teams were Baylor and Stanford and Stanford proved they were the real thing and won their ninth national championship by sweeping Wisconsin in the finals 3-0.
Stanford has now won two national championships in a row and three championships in the last four years. I didn’t watch a lot of the championship game, but what I did see made me think that the best team in the tournament was Stanford and they deserved to win it again.
I still think the Big 10 might be the best volleyball conference in the country but Stanford will reload and be in the thick of things again next year. They have good coaching, they will recruit well and they have a history of really playing well when they should.
In college basketball, there seems to be some parity at the top of the list of good teams. Already early this season, another top team in the polls has been beaten after being named to the top spot, holding that spot for one week only.
This week it was the Kansas Jayhawks. Six teams have been in the top spot this year and only stayed there one week. I am relying on my memory on this but I think those teams were Michigan State, Kentucky, Duke, KU, Gonzaga, and Louisville.
There’s a lot of pretty good teams out there, but not one that dominate enough to get by another quality team while having a bad game.
If that kind of competition continues through the NCAA tournament, the betting people will have trouble picking winners, but the lucky gamblers might just make some good bets.
On the Husker page of things, the men’s basketball team is a mystery to me and I think maybe a lot of people.
Just like the football team, I know that it is going to take some time to blend these players from all over the world into a well-honed group—one that can play together, play good defense and shoot with some consistency each game.
After playing pretty well in their win against Purdue, the Huskers lost to North Dakota State by one point at PBA.
North Dakota is 6-7 and that was their first win against Nebraska since 1933. Over the years, North Dakota is now 4-40 vs against Big 10 teams.
Statistically the Huskers didn’t do so badly but they still lost by one point and you have to outscore your opponent to win.
There has been a lot of rule changes through the years, but they have not messed with that one.
Both teams shot about 48% from the field, and the Huskers actually shot better from the 3-point line than North Dakota. But at the free throw line, the Huskers were only 9 for 16 and North Dakota was 6 for 8 and that was the difference in game.
Coach Hoiberg’s comments after the game included one that was accurate but also upsetting when he said, “To have this type of effort is very disappointing.
It is very discouraging to come out here after I thought we’d turned the corner a little bit. By the time we decided it was time to play, it was too late and we just couldn’t quite climb over the hump.”
Effort is something coaches can’t control and without it, the chances for success becomes limited.
The Huskers have now lost four games to non-power five conferences teams this season.
A team can get upset now and then, but Nebraska shouldn’t be losing four out of five to those kinds of schools. Shouldn’t, couldn’t, wouldn’t but did! Hope it gets better soon.
Merry Christmas to all!