As we hit the end of February and get into the beginning of conference matches and league play, it’s time to unveil our third bracketology of the 2018 Men’s NCAA Division I-II Volleyball season. Starting with two weeks ago, VolleyMob will be releasing an updated bracketology of the seven-team tournament once a week until the official brackets come out.
Before we get started with the third version of bracketology, here’s a reminder of how this year’s tournament works. With the addition of the Big West, the tournament will feature seven teams with five automatic bids and two at-large picks. A full article detailing it all can be seen here.
Note: All of the choices below for the at-larges are picked on what is currently happening as opposed to projection. A link to the updated conference tables can be seen here.
THE AUTOMATIC BIDS:
Big West: #1 Long Beach State (13-0, 0-0)
- The Big West still hasn’t gotten going, but the best overall record and top ranked team is Long Beach State, who slides in as the choice for this at-large bid.
Conference Carolinas: (RV) King (8-2, 5-0)
- Three teams sit atop the Conference Carolinas table, but King has the best overall record and is the only one on the cusp in the latest VolleyMob Men’s Top 20 Rankings. Some clarity should occur this week with some clashes among those three.
EIVA: #8 Penn State (8-2, 3-0)
- The Nittany Lions overtook Charleston as they played a match when Charleston didn’t last week. They’ll have a few tests this week to see if they can stay here.
MIVA: #4 Ohio State (11-2, 4-0)
- The MIVA’s three-team race at the top separated itself as the Buckeyes stayed unbeaten and Ball State put a blemish on the other two team’s marks.
MPSF: #2 UCLA (14-2, 3-0)
- The Bruins fell to Long Beach State, but they remain unbeaten in MPSF play, have the best overall record and are the highest ranked team in the league.
LIVING AT-LARGE:
#3 Hawaii (8-1, 0-0 Big West)
- Hawaii hasn’t played the last two weeks, but they remain the highest ranked team not in front of a league. They become an easy choice for the first at-large bid.
#5 UC Irvine (10-3, 0-0 Big West)
- UC Irvine fell and dropped a spot, but a couple of others lost to in their vicinity of rankings, so they remain the second highest ranked ‘at-large’ team.
SEEDING THE BRACKET:
- (1) LBSU
- (2) UCLA
- (3) Hawaii
- (4) Ohio State
- (5) UC Irvine
- (6) Penn State
- (7) King
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