1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - Whats the Difference Seeding and Ranking? :February 28th, 11:25pm

Episode Date: February 28, 2025

Whats the Difference Seeding and Ranking? Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Welcome back. Happy Friday. To each and every single one of you, I hope you have something spectacular plan for you and yours this weekend. There's lots going on in Husker Nation. Everybody's active. All the winter sports are heading towards championship season or development season, some real movement movement in back. Basketball, women's, basketball, men's basketball, this is a movement weekend. You get to identify who you are and how this is going to play out,

and it's special in that space. Nebraska wrestling, getting prepped and ready for the Big Ten wrestling championships, that is a big deal. And I think we had some conversation with Mark Manning on Wednesday about rankings and seedings and how those things play out. Wrestling is unique in how that's handled. and the coaches get together and have to kind of cede. And I would imagine that's a pretty spectacular room to be in.

To have where five of the top 10 programs in the country are in the Big Ten, and those coaches are at the table. And that 70% of the nation's top 10 wrestlers at each weight class are in the Big Ten. So you've got guys who are ranked in the top five who aren't really a one seed at the Big Ten tournament. And then you've got to look for matchups and otherwise, and it's pretty interesting that, man, I kind of have to go to Big Ten wrestling tournament.

Like you become fully invested in. You go, wait a minute, this is really a thing. And I kind of want to see, I saw it when it was at PBA. And it was really, it was cool to watch. Just all the behind the scenes, the wrestlers preparing, all the conversations that go on. And it's different than basketball, because basketball really is a season. It's not, it's not a ranking. It's a seating, right?

It's, what's the difference, Bach, in your mind, between the ranking and seating? Well, usually you want them to fall along the same lines, right? But it, I mean, it can get bad. I mean, seating is almost is getting with the college football playoff and talking about wrestling. It's almost like it's kind of just out of whack. Ranking is kind of, this is kind of where we believe this lines up. And then seeding kind of can play into it. And that can change.

Like we say, with the college football playoffs or in what different sports based on what the format is for you to determine a championship. And so I've always been kind of fascinated by that because like post-bowl season, And some teams would be more punished than others for losses. And so rankings, I mean, rankings are fun in themselves too because you have preseason. And then, you know, like you were just kind of saying, it all comes down to the mat. It doesn't matter what your seat or rank is. But it's just kind of funny to follow those and kind of feel between them. But yeah, I mean, I guess when I think seating, I think more, you know, tournament style.

It is one the season, the season that you've had and where you are currently. Like, is that the difference that you could be the number two wrestler in your way class by record? But you've won your last eight. Or you could be number three, or number one, but you just took a loss. Ranking seating for me is always interesting. And wrestling, college wrestling and high school wrestling, because I caught some of that. I'm a teammate. And my mentee is a high school wrestler.

And he was explaining, you know, points and other things. And that takes a science degree. Like that you, man, you need an advanced math degree to figure that out. But it's a weird thing that where you are versus who others think you are. Right? Like, it's an interesting thing. And with basketball, like the women's basketball program, is in, I mean, man, we like to say in sports that there's nothing wrong that a win won't cure, right?

There's nothing wrong in a program or with an athlete that a win won't cure it. Never can that be said any more truthfully than about both the men and women's basketball programs. They, man, you're almost that every game is must win because it really is must win. season ends if you don't get it right. For women's basketball, this is the last kind of got a win moment because the tournament's coming. And you don't want to go into the tournament. As a coach, I always paid attention to, I would coach my district tournament two games

ahead. So whatever personnel I was going to use, two games in two. games left in my regular season, that's who, that's the rotation. Play calls, play sets and basketball, the sets that are there, baseball and the rotations that you set up and how you use your bullpen. And again, baseball is a little different because your bullpen rotation can be game situation. Your number one starter could go get shelled and you got to go, you got to change it.

But Amy Williams is fighting to stay. I don't think you want to be, nobody wants to be in the lower half. Right? Because then you're looking uphill and it is a statement that some things have gone away from you. The other side of it is that Coach Hoyberg and the men's program, do we know who this basketball team is? Is this? Okay, Baca, I'll ask you this way. Is Nebraska basketball a top half of the Big Ten program? Right now, again, back to the rankings. their seating.

But, I mean, it doesn't feel like you're right. The Penn State blowout, the Michigan performance. I mean, you know, the Northwestern had to come back. I mean, those are most three recent games. They're not exactly getting hot at the right time, if you will. Well, I mean, in that part, because I said, that's why you try to, I try to coach the regular season, the last two games of the regular season. And it depended on the team.

Sometimes it was the third game, right? That if we've done everything right and I don't have to adjust, then I can just keep playing. If things have not gone well, extraordinarily well, I have to really shape it and define it. If we're kind of back and forth, I just need to fine tune in those final games.

And the women's program, because you're currently, what are they, one more game left in regular season? Yeah, Northwestern on Sunday. Right? That the importance of that, sitting at 18, 18 and 10,

and Bach were humans. We're absolutely humans. So if they win against a win, when they win against Northwestern, I have to change my conversation. It will put them at 10 and 8 in the Big 10 conference. You know what? That is an exceptional season. Well, that's a good season.

Right? Yeah. That's a good season. 19 wins. Good season. It also sets the table that if you go to the Big 10 at 10 and 8, you're going to be expected to win your first game in the Big Ten tournament. And if you do so, if you beat Northwestern, get to win 19,

and then you win the first game as a favored seeded team, you're at 20 wins going into bracket seating, rankings, etc. But if the other thing happens, you're now sitting at 9 and 9. and I'm not sure what your ranking is going to be in the Big Ten tournament. Not sure if you're going to be the favorite. And at 18 wins, you may have to,

you have to absolutely win a game in the Big Ten tournament and maybe two. So then you say, hey, Bach, let me clear this up for you. Your tournament starts against Northwestern. You want this thing to go? the way you wanted to go, beat Northwestern.

You beat Northwestern. You can exhale and work on some things. You can, you know, you know what? I'm not going to get the worst seed in the tournament. I'm not going to get the worst seed. I'm not going to be a lower, lower seed in the NCAA tournament. Not that it really matters because, you know, if you're at 10 wins and 20 wins,

you're still going to face a 25 or 30 win team in the NCAA tournament. So on your scale, Bach, one to ten, how important is it to beat Northwestern if you're, if you're the Huskers? Well, I mean, I mean, the loss also, Northwestern is not a very good team as far as the standings, right? As far as the Big Ten goes. So they're not going to be a tournament team. So it also wouldn't help you there. Nebraska's lost, what, six of nine here. Brent Prince, hopefully you can get her back.

We've kind of been waiting for Barricade to come back. Okay, Bearcase back now. Now we can get their full go out of it. It's a similar thing now with the whim. And, of course, the only pots out for the year. But you can get Britt Prince back. I mean, it feels it's one of those not, maybe not must win, but must not lose. So it equates to the same thing.

Well, I mean, see, this is where people get in trouble. When you say that when losing becomes a part of the conversation, you've lost the conversation. To me, you're going to be favored. If you do what you're supposed to do, you're favored, because you're facing a 9 and 17, 2 and 15 in the conference Northwestern team. If you're talking about tournament basketball, the Huskers have to show up and show out.

They have got to, look, this is one to be impressive at. Even on the road. Shouldn't matter. Don't leave anything on the tape. Don't leave anything on the table. And I think the way I see it, they beat Northwestern. They meet those numbers. They get a pretty good...

I'd like to see them play on Thursday. I don't want to see them play on Wednesday. Like, we don't want that. You know, I had... There's a fan. Says, I'd be okay with Wednesday. It means another day of basketball. Another day of Husker basketball,

which is a fully Husker basketball thing to say. There is this. There is something to do that. I can agree with that for some reason. It feels a little bit empty when Nebraska's not playing on Wednesday. That's our spot. That is so, I mean, listen, I was at PBA and there's a fan and a knowledgeable fan. He said, look, I feel kind of bad for saying this, but I'm kind of okay if they get,

because in their minds, you're going to get somebody in that on Wednesday that you should be. which but my thing is if you're playing on Wednesday you didn't beat somebody you should have beat you this is fully a thing on the men's side it it is really to me it's time now to hit the on switch it's the on switch

that you're going to get two you're going to get a Minnesota team that again you match up well with at PBA on a Saturday the weather's going to be nice. The crowd should be fantastic. You handle your business. You get a couple of days to recover.

You travel to Columbus to face an Ohio State team that you, again, you match up well with. And then you would come back to PBA next Sunday against an Iowa team for an 1130 tip-off. And the rules of engagement say you handle your home 1130 tip-offs pretty well. you should get it. Now, those three wins, those three wins is the ideal. But, but, but three wins puts you at 10 and 10 in the big 10. And men's basketball, that's a go. That's a full green flag, right?

Green flag, no yellow flag required when it comes to Nebraska. They're going in on a three-game win streak. They beat teams that they should have beat. went through some friction to do it, and those three wins will put the Huskers at 20 wins for the season. 20 wins in the regular season, 10 and 10, 500 ball in the Big Ten conference, and then a favored seed in the Big Ten tournament

and another game that you should win, which would put you above 500. That means you could, at your worst, go into the NCAA bidding season with a 500 Big Ten record and 20 plus wins. Rock, three wins, possible. Possible. Hopefully, like you said, that would be them getting hot at the right time. The team's back, Bearcase, back.

Maybe they can get this going. But, I mean, we're coming off a game where Bryce Williams was the only one that could put the ball in the bucket. So, I mean, they're not, I said earlier, they're just not getting hot at the right time. Neither pro. And that's what I think is the feeling right now. Nebraska basketball, women's and men's, very square on the bubble and just not playing their best basketball. but that can quickly turn around. You remember right after the six-game losing streak

is when they went on a little bit of a winning streak of their own. So hopefully this is a turning point. It is also a big weekend around. Bowling has the weekend off. Tennis, men's tennis and is at home. Women's Tennis, I believe is on the road. I will have to check that out. But I'll check that at the break.

We'll talk about those. And then we'll talk about the thing that happened because yesterday, my eyes were drawn to Adam, Hackman Jones, who retired and at age 40 decided he was going to run a 40. That dude ran a 4-5-40 at 40 years old. We're going to talk about that for all those old heads. But that's crazy. One-on-one on the ticket.

We'll be right back.