Around the League: MPSF, Pac-12 teams dominate men’s volleyball, men’s tennis rankings
Ducks junior forward Jordan Bell failed to box out his man twice, allowing North Carolina to pull down two rebounds in the final moments that solidified its victory. (Jintak Han/Assistant Photo editor)
While Bruin athletes continue competing in Westwood, here’s a look at some of the biggest news from the rest of the Pac-12 and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
Men’s basketball
TuAnh Dam, Sports editor
It was another close game for the No. 3-seeded Oregon Ducks, but this one didn’t bounce their way.
The Pac-12 regular season champs fell to No. 1-seeded North Carolina in the Final Four 77-76 despite a furious last-minute rally.
Despite Dillon Brooks fouling out with 1:32 left in the game, Oregon cut the 10-point lead to one behind Dylan Ennis’ three and then sent North Carolina to the free throw line with seconds left on the clock.
The Ducks sent the Tar Heels to the free throw line where both of senior center Kennedy Meeks’ free throws clanked off the front iron.
But junior Jordan Bell did not box out, letting the Tar Heels grab the offensive rebound. Another Ducks foul sent Joel Berry II to the line for two with five seconds remaining in the game. Berry, who had injured both ankles in the post season, missed both, but once again Oregon was unable to secure the rebound as North Carolina ran out the clock.
Men’s volleyball
Grant Sugimura, Assistant Sports editor
As was the usual throughout the season, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation dominated the top-15 rankings.
In total, nine MPSF teams notched a spot in the top 15 including four of the top five rankings.
No. 1 Long Beach State received the vast majority of first place votes, with 12, while No. 3 BYU received a single top-spot vote.
This week, the MPSF seeds will be determined.
Long Beach can secure the No. 1 seed with a win over No. 14 CSUN on Saturday or a BYU loss against UCSB – who BYU plays twice.
In the case of neither event occurring, Long Beach State holds the tiebreaker over BYU. However, the Cougars cannot drop lower than a two seed.
No. 4 Hawai’i travels to Westwood to take on No. 6 UCLA for the last two games of the regular season.
In the event of a split, Hawai’i would still have quarterfinal home court. The Warriors will be, at highest, a three seed and at lowest a fifth seed.
Currently, Long Beach State leads the pack with BYU, Hawai’i, No. 5 UC Irvine and UCLA following.
Men’s tennis
Hanson Wang, Assistant Sports editor
Five Pac-12 teams were ranked in the top 25 at the end of March, and at least four of them remain poised to stay there.
No. 5 USC (19-3, 2-0 Pac-12) has won 11 of its past 12 matches, including a sweep over No. 23 Oregon and Washington last weekend. USC also boasts victories over South Florida and No. 13 Oklahoma at the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge in mid-March. Freshman Brandon Holt, ranked No. 21 in the country in singles, leads the top of the Trojans’ lineup with a 12-4 dual match record .
Right in front of No. 10 UCLA, No. 9 California (15-5, 2-0) is on a five-match winning streak after 4-0 sweeps over unranked Utah and Arizona on Friday and Saturday. Four Golden Bears are ranked in singles, headlined by No. 13 Florian Lakat and No. 48 Andre Goransson. In doubles, Lakat and Filip Bergevi are the No. 4 duo in the nation.
No. 22 Stanford (12-4, 2-0) and Oregon (14-4, 0-2) are the other two ranked Pac-12 teams, although the Ducks will likely drop out of the top 25 after losing to USC and UCLA last weekend. The Cardinal coasted to 4-0 victories over the Wildcats and Utes.
