The second part of the season finally kicks off for the Central Region on February 17th, with a doubleheader between the University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP) and University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL). The games will be played in Lincoln, Nebraska at the Nebraska Coliseum. After this event is completed, it will be the 5th time this year that these teams will have played each other and it will not be the last if UNL can come out to the Zanderthon Throw-Down in a few weeks. Below is the schedule for the day and a look at both teams heading into the weekend.
The Tale of the Tape
The Cornhuskers right now are the dominant team in this rivalry and have had the Pioneers number since the league started back up from the Covid shutdown. Since that time, the teams have played a total of 11 games against each other, and UNL has won 10 of them, with their only loss coming in overtime. This season in the three games they’ve played, UNL has come out on top 6-0 and 5-0 at the Cyclone Clash, and 5-1 at the Pioneer Classic IV. None of these games have been close, as Nebraska’s experience and talent are simply too much for Platteville.
UNL
For Nebraska, one of their goals at the last event was not to give up a single point, but they unfortunately were unable to accomplish that. Their goal this time will once again be to challenge themselves to just that. They want to show they are one of the top teams in the league and continuing to dominate Platteville without a slip-up will go a long way towards keeping themselves in the conversation. With it being a home event, they should have a full squad which will allow them to build up team chemistry and hopefully give their more inexperienced players more reps. If they are going to compete at nationals, they will need a squad from top to bottom that can compete with the best.
UWP
In order for the Pioneers to compete, they need to do the little things right and stick to the fundamentals. They need to remember that they have to stick to the game plan and keep with the strategy that works for them. UWP has seen how much they struggle when they decide to go off course and those types of mistakes can’t happen anymore. UWP will need players like Zach Brand, Dalton Foreyt, and Cody Baxter to step up and play up to their abilities if the team hopes to compete. The rookies also need to start trusting their skills and play more confident on the court.
Make sure to tune in to watch the games live. They will be streamed on the UW-Platteville Dodgeball YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe to get notifications when they go live!
