NCAA Semifinals
The Big West vs The MPSF
There are just three matches left in the season, and two of them are today. The NCAA Tournament Semifinals looks to be just as exciting as hoped for. The Big West and the MPSF will go head-to-head in both matches. The two at-large teams will start the day off before the two conference champions take the court in the second match.
Just like the semifinals, these matches will be available to stream exclusively on NCAA.com. I know, it seems a little silly that this is the only place to watch them, but I am trying to focus on the positives here: the matches are free to watch!
NCAA Tournament Semifinals
#4 UC Irvine (30%) vs #1 UCLA (70%)
These may be the two at-large teams in the tournament, but they are both fearsome. UC Irvine will be taking the court with their freshly minted AVCA National Player of the Year, Hilir Henno. You pair that with Libero Cole Power who has been one of the best (if not the best) passers in the country. This team has the pieces to go all the way.
The only problem is that they have to run through the brick wall that is UCLA. The Bruins are stacked at essentially every position. If Henno didn’t win National POY, my next guess would have been the MPSF Player of the Year, Merrick McHenry. There is a reason UCLA was the pre-season unanimous #1 pick. UCLA is also the top team in VBelo. So yes, this could be an amazing match and you should absolutely watch it.
#3 Grand Canyon (36%) vs #2 Long Beach (64%)
The Big West champions versus the MPSF champions. This is the type of drama we could only dream of at the beginning of the season.1 Grand Canyon comes into the match after winning the first NCAA Tournament match in program history. Their success comes down to one, very important word: Seniors. Five of the starting seven are graduating this year and these players have tons of experience. If there was a year for Grand Canyon to make a statement, it is this year. If they can pass, they have weapons all over the court.
Long Beach will look to defend home court again. As the winningest team in the country this year, they know exactly what it takes to win. Not to mention, they are a perfect 18-0 at home. They are powered by incredible blocking in the middle and passing from Team USA member Mason Briggs. Ooh yeah, they have a decent first-team All-American at Outside too. These two teams will battle it out to the very end. I guess you have to watch this match too!
Ironically, these probably aren’t the champions some might have guessed at the beginning of the season.
The under reported story here is Donovan Mitchell donated $$$ for Fort Valley to stay the week and soak up the atmosphere giving the team an amazing student athlete experience.
The Pyramid will.be electric as 2 local teams, less than 50 miles, open the night. UCI and UCLA will have fans here for certain.
Beach vs GCU say less. Remember that GCU went to BYU and won both so the atmosphere with their seniors leading the Lopes should leave them mostly unaffected. Will Godbold of Hickman be the difference? Wow what a final 4.