2013 NCAA Tournament Draw

[_kai_]

I made the drive to Larryville for last year's game, and we won. I'm contemplating a drive on Friday to see this year's match up.

[WSUwatcher]

1/2 the bracket released, no Shocks yet.

Illinois hosts @ 16-14 and the 13 seed.....and they host the regional final. Seems a bit much to me for a team that lost 14 times. I don't care who you lost to or who you beat....16-14.

Good point, Doc, but probably just an indication that volleyball is still a sport where making a credible financial bid and the prospect of being able to draw fans can outweigh such esthetic factors as one's record.

[flyingMoose]

For those who went to Lawrence last year, what is the drill re tickets?

Single session tickets are not available until Friday. Walk up and tell them you want reserved seats in the Shocker section? Buy a GA and you can sit anywhere you want, including the Shocker section?

Our ticket office is selling GA only.

[_kai_]

Last year I just walked up and bought a ticket and sat in GA.

I sat in the KU section, but only because I went with a friend who moved up there for grad school and used his ID for a student ticket. I actually stood in line for the student section entrance decked out in WSU gear, to be told I'm not allowed in through that entrance. Live and learn haha

[WuDrWu]

For those who went to Lawrence last year, what is the drill re tickets?

Single session tickets are not available until Friday. Walk up and tell them you want reserved seats in the Shocker section? Buy a GA and you can sit anywhere you want, including the Shocker section?

Our ticket office is selling GA only.

I wish I could remember...something tells me I had a seat number, but they might have all been GA. I have my ticket stub at home, I'll double check.

Plenty of seats will be available as I think they drew about 5500 last year. I did not sit in the WSU section last year, but I plan to Friday.

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

I wish I could remember...something tells me I had a seat number, but they might have all been GA. I have my ticket stub at home, I'll double check.

Plenty of seats will be available as I think they drew about 5500 last year. I did not sit in the WSU section last year, but I plan to Friday.

That is because you were decked out in KU gear, Doc. They kicked you out!

[WuDrWu]

Thems fightin' words.

[boyshocker]

Hey Doc, any chance you could clear a little room in your pm. Got a question for you.

[JayJ79]

Good point, Doc, but probably just an indication that volleyball is still a sport where making a credible financial bid and the prospect of being able to draw fans can outweigh such esthetic factors as one's record.

I agree that a 14-loss team getting a seed is quite odd, but even with those 14 losses, they still ended up at #20 in the RPI b/c they played a crazy tough schedule. They only had 4 matches against teams with an RPI ranking over 100 (2 matches each against #120 Iowa and #125 Indiana, which were conference matches so they had no choice in that matter), only 4 matches against teams in the 51-100 RPI range (#51, twice vs. #63, and #81), eight of their matches were against 26-50 RPI teams, and a whopping 14 matches were against top 25 RPI teams.

And the Pablo breakdown is much the same story (if not a little better).

So yeah, they're not technically in the top 16 RPI themselves, so they did get a bit of favoritism in getting a seed, but nothing crazy.

[WuDrWu]

No doubt Illinois played an insane schedule, and to their credit, they had some huge OOC wins, and I think they should be rewarded for scheduling tough, especially when they play in the Big10 which is already plenty tough. My main issue is giving a team home court advantage to the Final Four potentially, when they are a shade over .500. You want to give Nebraska at 27-6 home court? Be my guest....but with the Regional already in their back pocket, it seems a bit much to give them a 4 match HCA. At least to me.

[JayJ79]

I think they should make a rule that regional (second weekend) hosts aren't allowed to host for subregionals (the first weekend).
but I don't think that will ever happen. when it comes to non-moneymaking sports (pretty much anything other than MBB and BCS football), minimizing net costs will trump competitive fairness. And since the regional hosts are generally some of the schools that get better attendance (and thus more ticket revenue for the NCAA), such a rule would mean the NCAA's money stream will take a hit.
Especially since having the regional host teams go on the road the first weekend increases the chance of those teams getting knocked out, which totally kills attendance numbers for the regional.

(not calling them greedy, as I'm pretty sure paying for all the team/officials travel costs more than ticket revenue, so the tournament costs money instead of making a profit.)

[flyingMoose]

You want to give Nebraska at 27-6 home court? Be my guest....

You may find some Longhorns to disagree with you. :)

[flyingMoose]

Match day article and Lutz column about the four seniors.

[Kung Wu]

PSA: The game tonight against KU at 6:30pm is being streamed on the Internet at www.espn360.com. You just click on the Live Now or Upcoming tab (depending on how close to game time it is when you go there) and select Volleyball under "Sports and Shows" and the game will show up on the list.

[RoyalShock]

I'm getting excited to go home and watch the Shocks tonight!