NCAA Prelims Subdivision Two Analysis

The 2016 season is finally coming to a close, but twelves stills are still alive and fighting for six spots in the Super Six finals. While neither subdivision is straightforward as to who will qualify, the second of the second of the two will be slightly easier than the first as only two teams are realistically vying for the third spot.

This session will also most likely come down to the last qualifying spot. Oklahoma is as much of a shoo-in as any team can be. The Sooners have been solid all year and don’t look like they’re letting up any time soon. The national title is theirs for the taking.Alabama is also pretty much set for finals. Even with B-team lineups, we’ve seen the Crimson Tide be able to produce top scores and challenge the best teams (see: SEC Championships). However, come finals, if Alabama wants any chance at winning, depth exploration has to stop and the big guns have to come out and play.

As for the third spot, like the afternoon session, there are four teams fighting for that one position. However, realistically, only two teams really have a shot at qualifying. Of course, Nebraska could always pull a 2014 and sneak in and shock everyone — and the same goes for California — but it’s not likely. Nebraska started 2016 ROUGH and Cal will be without Toni-Ann Williams who will be competing at the Olympic Test Event in the hopes of qualifying to the 2016 Rio Games. Both teams will have to count on other teams’ mistakes to squeeze into the Super Six.

So if everything goes to plan, the last spot will go to either Utah or UCLA. Utah defeated UCLA at regionals in Salt Lake City while UCLA bested Utah both in Los Angeles and at the Pac-12 Championships in Seattle. The teams are pretty evenly matched. With UCLA having the advantage on beam and floor and Utah better on bars. Speaking of bars, the event was the downfall of the Bruin squad at regionals. One more slip up and the Bruins would be watching nationals at home. Cleaning that up as well as getting rid of stupid floor mistakes is crucial if UCLA wants to compete another day in Texas.

The race should be tight from the beginning. Utah starts vault, one of its stronger events while UCLA begins on bars. The Bruins’ best two events are sandwiched between its two weaker ones, so capitalizing on the strengths and then finishing as strong as possible on vault will be important. Utah will have to come out strong, hitting landings on vault and nailing bars. Beam isn’t as much of a strength for the Utes and floor is fine, so building a lead early so the team can absorb any potential miscues later on is the key to success for the team.

Stay tuned for our individual all around and event title contender analysis tomorrow. We will also provide all the links and information you need to follow the competition in the last Mount of the season Thursday.