When does the Big West announce their Conference Teams? I believe all the other conferences have announced them.
UCLA had significant exclusions from center correct? the issue is the 6-5 conversion IMHO.
SJSU will handle Fordham I beleive, may be tight but the west coast competition all year has made them improve week on week.
Lietchty and the UCLA centers have beaten Stanford in the crunch more than a few times last two years. We will see. Stanford shooters are much improved. Wes as well is playing very well at times.
I wouldn’t be so sure about this. If SJSU wins, it’ll be because Gyapjas had an insane game with likely 15+ saves and help from his shot blockers. The other key for SJSU will be limiting the Fordham counter attack. When Fordham played Princeton, they were able to get 5 or so counter goals. One could argue Princeton was better on the front court. Lastly, they will need to step up offensively, get one or two of the Big Four (Provenziani, Toth, Silvestri, Eppel) in foul trouble and convert on their 6x5’s. I don’t think this will happen. I think Fordham wins 13-10.
Do consider 5 exclusions significant. 0 shots out of set. I’d say USC did a great job
You make good points for sure. We will see.
Fair point, Castillo had 4 earned exc and a goal, Sjeczi had one i think.. Kristic had 2 goals and 2 exclusions and Martin had a goal. So pretty equal if UCLA scored some 6-5’s. When you look at stats the goal keeping (which means shot blocking and team defense as well) was the biggest gap between the two teams. Should they meet in the final will be a great game.
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USC vs CUI
USC has an easy path to the finals and rightfully so. Just have to play clean against winner of Fordham/SJSU to ensure they have everybody for the final
Fordham vs SJSU
Gyapjas, the backbone of SJSU, has to have a terrific game for SJSU to win. He is a beast and is tough to score on. If the game is in someone’s hands it’s his. Biros and Bosic also have to be on for them to win. The two of them combined for 22 goalies in the WCC Tournament. They have to get Toth or Provenziani in foul trouble and slow down their counter. Another key piece for Fordham is Eppel, so SJSU will have to pick their shooters wisely. I am also very worried about Fordham’s goalie. Their defense has to be very good, which I am not sure that they can sustain for 3 games in a row.
UCLA vs Princeton
This will be a completely different game from the last time these two teams met in October. Princeton has to stop Ryder, Chase, Castillo, and Ben Liechty. UCLA has so many weapons but Princeton is extremely well-coached and I believe Dustin Litvak will find a way to slow these guys down. On the other hand, Princeton also has many weapons led by McCarroll, LeSieur, Nuno, and Bell
Stanford vs UC Davis
Davis will come into this game very well prepared by Dan Leyson. I trust Leyson will have a great zone prepared against Gheorghe so Stanford will need to beat them from the outside. With the shooters that Stanford has, Davis really needs to funnel shots to Baxter in goal. Kiesling will need to have a great game for Davis.
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Have we had in recent memory what we have this year, with all of the top three teams winning and losing to each other like we have this season? Stanford and UCLA match ups aside.
I know Stanfords been competitive in a bunch of their losses, but they are still 0–7 against USC and UCLA.
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Dan Leyson deserves a lot of praise. Despite having just four All–Big West selections across the three all-conference teams, he got his group to gel at the right time. Even though his team was picked 14th in the preseason poll and did not have the most talent on paper, they played a disciplined, cohesive game and beat an LBSU squad loaded with talent.
I’m excited to see what game plan Leyson has for Stanford in their third meeting of the year. I don’t see them winning, but I do see them keeping it competitive and forcing Stanford to use their main guys for a good chunk of the game.
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He does deserve a lot of credit. I would even say that this Davis team is better than Fordham, as they are super disciplined and well coached.
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I have to disagree with @anon39560856 here. There is a chance this game could go to the wire instead of just having Stanford’s main guys in “for a good chunk of the game.” I would give Dan more respect here and say this will be a game that Davis plays like it could be their last. And as you said, it is super difficult to play the same team three times and win all three. Close games make this tournament exciting, who wouldn’t want to see that?
I don’t see it being close. Maybe for a quarter or two but Stanford should win this by 5 or 6
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I agree - Leyson and Davis deserve a lot of praise for what they have accomplished this year, but I do not think that Stanford will not have much trouble with them. If Stanford can get up early, I can see Flacks resting some of his players for Saturday’s game.
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A post was merged into an existing topic: NCAA Streaming Directory - Updated 11/22
With one last opportunity to be dead wrong in public in 2025, here are my predictions for the NCAA Tournament and the USA Water Polo Division 3 Tournament:
NCAA Tournament:
1st round games
USC over Concordia by a lot. After beating UCLA in the MPSF championship game, USC has a much easier path to the NCAA championship game than UCLA and Stanford.
Fordham over San Jose State by 2 or 3. San Jose State has a significant edge at goalie but I don’t think they can overcome Fordham’s advantages everywhere else. My guess is there will be several very good goalies in the transfer portal. Watch out for Fordham next year if they get one.
UCLA over Princeton by 4. Both teams are very well coached. I expect the game to be close for a few quarters but UCLA has too much talent and depth for Princeton.
Stanford over UC Davis by 4. Hats off to Davis for making the NCAA tournament but the talent disparity in this game is significant. Next year will be Brian Flacks’ 5th year at Stanford. He has done what Dante Dettamanti told me couldn’t be done at Stanford: recruit excellent international players. Although Flacks has recruited a number of very good attackers and has made good use of the transfer portal, he hasn’t found the answer at center defender. He needs to get a very good one in the off-season to have a chance of winning the NCAA tournament next year, and that’s assuming 6’9” freshman goalie Jordan de Sousa from South Africa will be ready to go. If he isn’t, Stanford will need to find another goalie in the portal.
Semifinals
USC over Fordham by 3 or 4. I don’t think Fordham has the defense or the goalie play to keep it close for 4 quarters. USC has the most talented roster in the country. It took Marko Pintaric a few years to find his footing with international recruits but adding freshman Serbian center Strahinja Krstic and picking up center defender Mihailo Vukazic in the transfer portal were the two most significant moves of the off-season.
UCLA over Stanford by 1 or 2. I think the game will be close for at least the first three quarters. Stanford has the edge at goalie with West Temkin. The matchup between UCLA’s centers and Stanford’s centers is too close to call. UCLA has the edge at center defender and attacker. UCLA also has more depth and the best player in the country.
Finals
UCLA over USC by 1. It won’t surprise me if USC wins. USC has the advantage at goalie with Charlie Mills and at center defender with Vukazic, the best center defender in the country. The matchup between USC’s centers and UCLA’s centers is too close to call. If we were to combine the two teams, I think UCLA would have 3 of the 4 starting attackers (Ryder Dodd, Chase Dodd, and LH Ben Liechty). For UCLA to beat USC, I think Ryder Dodd will need to score at least 3 goals and UCLA will need to play much better defensively than it did during the MPSF championship game, particularly shot blocking and taking away quick shots. Teams with the best player and the best coach don’t always win but it’s tough to bet against them. That’s why I’m picking UCLA.
USA Water Polo Division 3 Championship Tournament:
Semifinals
CMS over Augustana
Pomona-Pitzer over MIT
Finals
CMS by 1 over Pomona-Pitzer. CMS is the more physical team; Pomona-Pitzer has more speed. I’m picking CMS to win in what should be a close and entertaining game.
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I agree about your point on Stanford needing a center defender. That is a huge position of need for them. Curious as to why you glossed over Cormac Mulloy in goal. I’d bet he’s ahead of the De Sousa on the depth chart for next year. Nevertheless, I’d still look to get a great goalie via the portal if I’m Flacks: competition breads success.
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