Just a dozen days remain before the NCAA tournament selection, and the Pac-12 still remains a puzzle with too many pieces not yet in place to know exactly what the picture is. Let's take a look at that and the rest of the country as we edge closer to tournament time.
Oregon remains in the hunt
There are still five teams that mathematically could win or share the Pac-12 conference title. Among them is Oregon, which has a big weekend ahead in Los Angeles.
On Friday, the Ducks are at UCLA, and Saturday they face USC. The Bruins are tied with Washington atop the league at 12-4, although they'll play Oregon State first this week, on Wednesday.
Oregon is 18-7 overall and tied for third with Stanford at 11-5 in the Pac-12, with Utah in fifth at 10-6. The Ducks lead the league in hitting percentage (.274) and assists per set (13.57), with sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Vander Weide among the conference leaders with 316 kills thus far.
Oregon made it to the national championship match back in 2012, when the Ducks fell to Texas. In the past three years, they've lost in the NCAA second round (2013), the Sweet 16 (2014) and the first round (2015).
The Ducks started this season hosting the VERT Challenge, where they fell 3-1 to both Texas and Florida. When Oregon hosted UCLA and USC in mid-October, the Ducks lost both matches, and it seemed their odds of even contending for the Pac-12 title were slim.
But they've won six of eight since, and they're 7-0 this season on the road. Which is where they'll play their last four regular-season matches.
Texas tumbles on road again
The Longhorns have found the trip to Ames, Iowa, treacherous before, and it got them again last week. Texas fell 3-2 at Iowa State on Saturday. The Cyclones took the fifth set 15-11, securing that with a 6-1 run.
That dropped Texas to 11-2 in the Big 12, which means Kansas moves into the driver's seat in the conference at 12-1. The Jayhawks beat Texas 3-2 on Oct. 29 in Lawrence, Kansas, and they finish the regular season at West Virginia (Wednesday), at home against Iowa State (Saturday) and at Baylor (Nov. 26).
Texas will close the season with three matches at home -- vs. Texas Tech (Wednesday), Kansas State (Saturday), and West Virginia (Nov. 26).
In last week's NCAA top-10 reveal, the Longhorns were No. 4 and Kansas was No. 6. Though they split their meetings, Texas has an overall better strength of schedule. But we'll have to see how the teams are evaluated for real if the Jayhawks are the outright winners of the league.
No surprise at 1-2-3
The NCAA had Nebraska, Minnesota and Wisconsin as its top three teams. In the Big Ten standings, however, they're in this order: Nebraska (15-1), Wisconsin (14-2) and Minnesota (13-3). But there remain three real blockbuster matches in the Big Ten. Two of them involve Nebraska: The Huskers are host to seven-time NCAA champ Penn State (Wednesday) and then play at Minnesota (Nov. 23). The Huskers finish their season at home against Michigan (Nov. 26). The Wolverines are tough, too, sitting in sixth place in the Big Ten at 10-6.
The Huskers and Nittany Lions went five sets on Nov. 4 at Penn State, with Nebraska winning 15-11 in the finale. Nebraska also beat Minnesota 3-2 on Oct. 23; that final set was 15-8.
And then it's only fitting that Wisconsin and Minnesota get another shot at each other. They meet Nov. 26 in Minneapolis.
Buckeyes move into rankings
The final four is in Columbus, Ohio, and admittedly it's a long shot that the hometown team will be there. But Ohio State is now ranked No. 24 in the American Volleyball Association Coaches poll after the Buckeyes prevailed 3-2 over Penn State this past Saturday.
Ohio State is 17-11 overall and 7-9 in the Big Ten. Having a losing record in conference play doesn't preclude an NCAA berth in a league as strong as the Big Ten. That said, the Buckeyes would like to secure their postseason position over the next two weeks. They play Friday at Northwestern -- which put a scare into Wisconsin last week before falling 3-2 -- and Saturday at Illinois.
SEC showdown
Missouri was upset by South Carolina last week, which means Florida is now alone in first place in the SEC at 14-1. Then Kentucky is 13-2, with Missouri and Texas A&M at 12-2.
What's the biggest obstacle between the Gators and the SEC title? Missouri, which is host to Florida on Sunday and will be trying to atone for slipping up against the Gamecocks. The Gators are unbeaten on the road in SEC play this year. Also on Sunday, Kentucky is host to Texas A&M.