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There is still plenty of season left but the first bracketology and NCAA Tournament projections of the year have arrived.
Off the Block each week during the rest of the regular season and throughout each round of the postseason will unveil its latest projections to the NCAA Tournament.
The men’s volleyball Division I-II NCAA Tournament is comprised of six teams. Automatic bids are awarded to the winners of the Conference Carolinas, EIVA, MIVA and MPSF conference tournaments, and the NCAA men’s volleyball committee selects two teams for at-large bids.
The three-person selection committee meets following all of the conference tournaments to decide the at-large teams and the tournament seeding. For an in-depth look at the criteria used by the selection committee and the Off the Block bracketology projections, check out this breakdown.
The field for the NCAA Tournament is scheduled to be released during Selection Saturday on May 2.
The NCAA Tournament will begin with the two play-in matches on May 5 in Palo Alto, California. In addition, the NCAA Tournament semifinals and finals will take place May 7-9 in Palo Alto.
PROJECTED NCAA TOURNAMENT FIELD
LAST FOUR OUT
Pepperdine (17-4)
Ohio State (16-6)
BYU (13-7)
USC (12-7)
Quick breakdown: Hawai’i is No. 1 in the RPI, but Loyola has the edge for the overall No. 1 seed because it has an advantage in the majority of criteria categories used by the selection committee. If the Rainbow Warriors, though, can have a strong end to their regular season and win the MPSF Tournament they will likely be assured a bye to the NCAA Tournament semifinals. Both Lewis and Loyola are currently in the best position to receive an at-large bid if they lose in the MIVA Tournament. The two in-state rivals hold an edge against the top MPSF teams in the majority of selection committee categories, with the exception of RPI ranking. Beyond the teams making the projected NCAA Tournament field, Pepperdine for the second consecutive season is the first team out. UC Irvine narrowly edged Pepperdine for the final at-large bid. The Anteaters held the edge in several criteria categories, including RPI rankings and record against teams under NCAA Tournament consideration.