Sports
Women’s College Volleyball Bracketology: Top seedings, bracket watch and more
With conference tournaments concluding this week and the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 wrapping their regular seasons this weekend, résumés will all be finalized by Saturday and all the drama gets solved on the Selection Show on Sunday (6 p.m. ET, ESPN).
The 31 automatic bids will already know their NCAA tournament fate, just not their status. The other 33 spots will be filled with at-large teams. Volleyball seeds the top eight seeds in each region and the top-four in each region serve as first- and second-round hosts. The rest of the bracket is filled out to balance it competitively and geographically. The highest-remaining seeds also host the regionals, and the 2025 Final Four is in Kansas City, Missouri, on Dec. 18 with the finals on Dec. 21.
Bracket watch
Two of those No. 1 seeds should be Texas and Kentucky. After their epic five-set SEC tournament championship game, won by the Wildcats, it’s hard to imagine they aren’t among the top four teams in the country. Barring something stunning this weekend, Nebraska will be the No. 1 overall team. The fourth No. 1 seed is now the biggest question mark. Arizona State slots in there now by virtue of its No. 3 Rating Percentage Index (RPI) ranking, ninth ranked strength of schedule (SOS) and 6-3 record against the top 25 in the RPI.
However, an argument could be made that the quality of Pittsburgh’s top 25 wins is better and that would supersede the Panthers lower RPI and SOS than the Sun Devils. Pittsburgh may be able to strengthen that argument with wins over Louisville and Georgia Tech. Convincing wins in those two matches and expect the Panthers to elevate to that final No. 1 spot. A Louisville sweep of Pittsburgh and Stanford and the Cardinals will stake a claim to a No. 1 seed.
Top seedings
No. 1 seeds: Nebraska, Kentucky, Texas, Arizona State
No. 2 seeds: Pittsburgh, SMU, Texas A&M, Creighton
No. 3 seeds: Louisville, Stanford, Wisconsin, Purdue
No. 4 seeds: Indiana, Minnesota, Miami, USC
No. 5 seeds: BYU, Kansas, Iowa State, TCU
No. 6 seeds: Tennessee, Baylor, Colorado, Kansas State
No. 7 seeds: Penn State, Florida, Northern Iowa, Marquette
No. 8 seeds: Michigan, Western Kentucky, North Carolina, UTEP
Rest of the field (alphabetical): American, Arkansas State, Campbell, UC Davis, UCLA, Central Arkansas, Cincinnati, Coppin State, Eastern Illinois, Fairfield, Florida A&M, Georgia Tech, High Point, Long Island, Loyola-Chicago, Maryland-Baltimore County, Northern Colorado, Princeton, Rice, St. Thomas, San Diego, South Dakota State, South Florida, Stephen F. Austin, Toledo, Tulsa, Utah State, Utah Valley, Villanova, Wofford, Wright State, Xavier
(The rest of the field teams wouldn’t be seeded)
Bubble watch
Upsets in conference tournament games this week dealt a blow to some bubble teams. The Summit League now has two teams in the field with St. Thomas beating South Dakota State and earning the automatic bid, stealing a spot for a bubble team with the Jackrabbits staying in the field as an at-large bid. Tulsa did the same in the American. That made the second round SEC tournament losses by bubble teams Auburn, Georgia, Missouri and Oklahoma even harder to overcome. None of those teams are likely to make the NCAA tournament now.
Coming off a bad week, Michigan State can still play its way back into the field with wins over USC and UCLA. Oregon’s remaining schedule — Rutgers and Maryland — doesn’t offer as much résumé help. The Ducks will have a tougher time getting into the field now. Georgia Tech solidifies a spot with an upset of either Stanford or Pittsburgh or even playing competitively in both.
Last Four In: South Dakota State, Georgia Tech, Villanova, South Florida
First Four Out: Oregon, Michigan State, Dayton, Arizona
Next Four Out: Missouri, James Madison, Auburn, Pepperdine
Conference breakdown
Big 12: 8
Big Ten: 8
ACC: 7
SEC: 5
Big East: 4
American: 3
CUSA: 2
Summit: 2
Undefeated Nebraska earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament bracket released Sunday.
The five-time national champion Huskers (30-0) have dominated this season, dropping just seven sets. They lead Division I in hitting percentage at .352.
Dani Busboom Kelly, who won NCAA titles as both a Nebraska player and assistant, took over at her alma mater this season after longtime Huskers coach John Cook retired. Busboom Kelly led Louisville to the NCAA final in 2024, where the Cardinals lost to Penn State.
The other No. 1 seeds are Kentucky, Texas and Pitt. The Wildcats have won one NCAA title, and the Longhorns have four. The Panthers reached the final four the past four seasons but lost in the semifinals each time.
Pitt and Stanford finished tied atop the ACC at 18-2, and the Cardinal won their head-to-head matchup 3-2 at Stanford on Nov. 14. But the Panthers’ overall body of work secured them the last No. 1 seed, while nine-time NCAA champion Stanford is the No. 2 seed in Texas’ region.
SEC regular-season and tournament champion Kentucky defeated Texas 3-2 in the conference tournament final. They would face each other in the national semifinals should they advance that far.
Defending national champion Penn State, the only school that has appeared in every NCAA tournament dating back to the event’s start in 1981, is a No. 8 seed in Texas’ quarter of the bracket. St. Thomas (Minnesota) and Toledo are both making their first appearance in the tournament.
The Big 12 led all leagues with 10 teams in the field, the Big Ten has nine, the ACC seven and the SEC five.
Early-round matches will be held from Dec. 4 to 6 on campus sites. The regionals, scheduled for Dec. 11-14, will be hosted by the four highest seeds still standing in each quarter of the bracket.
The final four is at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, for the third time in the tournament’s history. It was there that Penn State won the championship in 2010 and Nebraska won its most recent title in 2017.
The national semifinals are Dec. 18 (ESPN), and the championship match is Dec. 21 (ABC).
The Commanders return from their bye week searching for their first victory since Oct. 5. It won’t be easy against the Broncos, who have won eight straight.
Source link
Ruben Amorim has said that Manchester United are “stealing” set-piece routines from other clubs after goals from two free-kicks helped earn a valuable 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
United came from behind at Selhurst Park thanks to second-half goals from Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount, both of which came from Bruno Fernandes set plays.
Amorim’s team have now scored 10 Premier League goals from set-pieces this season — joint most with table-toppers Arsenal.
“We work a lot,” Amorim said when asked about United’s improvement at set-pieces.
“We have more time to work, we work a lot and we learn a lot in England.
“I think you are used to seeing that, but when you come for the Premier League you learn a lot with other teams how to do it and we are stealing a lot of things to score goals.”
United looked destined for another set-back following Monday’s defeat to 10-man Everton when Crystal Palace went in at half-time 1-0 up thanks to a retaken penalty from Jean-Philippe Mateta.
But there was marked improvement in their performance after the break as Amorim’s team recorded just their second league win away from home since March.
“I just said to the players we need to be more alive and you can feel that,” Amorim said.
– Mason Mount, Joshua Zirkzee inspire Man United comeback win at Crystal Palace
– Zirkzee leads Man United comeback in game of two halves vs. Palace
– Premier League table
“So if you are more alive, you are in more places, you are near the ball more often. I think everyone did that.
“But we also need to understand that the opponent was tired also in the second half.
“And when you increase the rhythm and the opponent gets tired a little bit, suffers right away a goal, you felt that we had the control of the game and that’s it.”
Stock Market Live Updates: Sensex, Nifty Hit Record Highs; Bank Nifty Climbs 60,000 For The First Time
Huskers earn top overall seed in volleyball tourney
ITA to continue till Advanced Framework Agreement ratified: EU, Chile
-
Sports1 week agoWATCH: Ronaldo scores spectacular bicycle kick
-
Entertainment1 week agoWelcome to Derry’ episode 5 delivers shocking twist
-
Politics1 week agoWashington and Kyiv Stress Any Peace Deal Must Fully Respect Ukraine’s Sovereignty
-
Business1 week agoKey economic data and trends that will shape Rachel Reeves’ Budget
-
Tech6 days agoWake Up—the Best Black Friday Mattress Sales Are Here
-
Fashion7 days agoCanada’s Lululemon unveils team Canada kit for Milano Cortina 2026
-
Tech5 days agoThe Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop Punches Above Its Weight
-
Politics1 week ago53,000 Sikhs vote in Ottawa Khalistan Referendum amid Carney-Modi trade talks scrutiny