Sports

NCAA pairings reflect Sept. 11 travel fears

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Related stories:

• On the Road Again (May 6, 2003)
• Wisconsin confused by NCAA playoff bracket (March 11, 2008)
• NCAA deems Clark ineligible (August 30, 2001)
• Volleyball releases 2003 schedule (April 10, 2003)
• Volleyball prepares to take sole possession of conference title (November 19, 2001)

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When the NCAA volleyball tournament bracket was announced on Monday, a wave of surprise could be heard among Wisconsin fans, media and team members.

Those in attendance at the McClain Center were initially disappointed to learn that the Badgers were not among the top four seeds, and, unless the top seed was upset, would not be hosting regional action past the first two rounds.

However, the one question that could be heard among everyone was, “Why isn’t Nebraska hosting?” The second-ranked Cornhuskers, who received the top seed in Region 4, would have to travel to Kansas State for the first two rounds of the tournament. At first it was believed that maybe Nebraska did not put in a bid in time to host. Others, including first-team all-conference selection Sherisa Livingston, thought maybe the Big 12 champions wanted to take their act on the road.

“Maybe [Nebraska] thought they’d do better if they didn’t host, but I was surprised at how many teams that were highly seeded aren’t hosting,” said Livingston.

It turns out the Cornhuskers did put their bid in on time, but due to the Sept. 11 attacks and their Nebraska location, they were forced to travel. The NCAA felt that it would be best to limit the number of teams that would have to travel further than 400 miles to as few as possible. The pairings were based on geographical proximity with the exception that teams from the same conference would not be placed together in the first round.

Nebraska was not the only team affected by the tragedy that hit America. The fourth-seeded USC Trojans will not have the comfort of sunny California this weekend. Instead, they will have to travel across the country to Durham, N.C., where the Duke Blue Devils will hold home-court advantage.

Before the pairings were announced, it was assumed that unless a school forgot to put in a bid to host, the top 16 seeds would have the advantage of playing at home this weekend. Nebraska and USC were just two of seven top-16-seeded teams that will have to travel.

While the logic of the pairings is understandable, some of the competition associated with post-season action may be lost. For example, a majority of the Florida, Utah, and Texas teams will be staying in-state for first- and second-round play.

Even Wisconsin will be facing an intrastate foe. The Badgers will face off with UW-Milwaukee on Friday, and if they win they could possibly play against conference rival Michigan State.

Wisconsin Head Coach Pete Waite addressed how some teams may not be happy with their initial pairings.

“In ways I think people are not going to be happy because they have to play people they play all the time,” said Waite. “Once you get to the NCAA tournament it’s kind of nice to play people you don’t see all the time.”

Now instead of focusing on an unfamiliar opponent, some teams have to focus on not overlooking a familiar rival.

“Some of these teams could potentially have an easier schedule [because of the regional pairings],” said Livingston. “If they look past these teams they could be at home watching them in the place that they think they should have been. You can’t look past anybody — you have to play them like anyone else.”

Senior Lizzy Fitzgerald, the 2001 Big Ten Player of the Year, thought that -maybe the final rankings do not necessarily correspond to the tournament seedings, but nonetheless Wisconsin will take each opponent as it comes.

“I knew things would be shaken up with the NCAA wanting to hold everything regionally, and I think that the rankings from the end of the year show that people aren’t hosting necessarily equally to those rankings, and I think we’re one of them,” said Fitzgerald. “No one said it was an easy road, and we’re going to take each game fighting to be the best in the nation. To be the best in the nation you have to beat anyone in your past.”