Born4Corn
Sophmore
OSU has dramatically upgraded their schedule. Adding NU really helped the B1G as well. Big 12 baseball is well respected.
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- Thread starter Born4Corn
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Damnit! I meant to respond and somehow ended up editing B4C's post.Born4Corn;2331531; said:
Public apology to Born4Corn.
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Born4Corn
Sophmore
Haha, don't worry about it.
For those that didn't see my original post it was just me commenting on a Baseball America article that projects the Big Ten to have 4 tournament bids right now. Here's the article:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/college-stock-report-week-10/
Big Ten (4 bids)
SAFELY IN: Indiana
ON THE BUBBLE (IN): Nebraska, Michigan State, Ohio State
ON THE BUBBLE (OUT): Illinois, Minnesota
Change from last week: Nebraska and Ohio State join our field, making the Big Ten a four-bid league. The Cornhuskers paid their dues against a rigorous nonconference schedule, but their 3-9 mark against the top 50 (with all but three of those games on the road) helps them in the RPI, where they shot up from No. 68 to No. 35 after going 5-0 last week against Arkansas and Purdue. Nebraska is still just 19-19 overall, so there isn?t much margin for error, but they have a strong 11-4 record in the No. 6 RPI conference, and they are hot. Just as importantly, there are no RPI-killing games left on the schedule, as 12 of their last 15 games come against teams inside the top 100, including three against No. 14 Indiana (at home, which helps Nebraska?s chances to win that series).
Michigan State is in even better RPI shape (No. 23), thanks to a 7-5 record against the top 50 that includes a sweep of Indiana two weeks ago. Improving a 5-4 conference record would help, but the Spartans got in last year despite finishing in fifth place (13-11) in the Big Ten, so their RPI and strength of schedule gives them some breathing room.
Ohio State is also in good RPI shape (No. 38), with nine home games remaining against top 25 RPI teams Georgia Tech, Oregon, Louisville and Indiana. Just playing those games will help the Buckeyes, because the committee clearly weights nonconference strength of schedule heavily. We think the Buckeyes need to win at least three of those games to feel good about their chances, which won?t be easy because all of those teams are very good. But Ohio State is playing well at the right time, with back-to-back quality series wins against Nebraska and Illinois. The Buckeyes get the benefit of the doubt.
The RPI (No. 89) submarines Minnesota, which is 7-2 in the conference and owns a series win against Ohio State. But the Gophers are finally healthy in the weekend rotation, and they are a real threat to win the conference tournament. That would probably bump one of the other teams out of an at-large spot, rather than make the Big Ten a five-bid league.
For those that didn't see my original post it was just me commenting on a Baseball America article that projects the Big Ten to have 4 tournament bids right now. Here's the article:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/college-stock-report-week-10/
Big Ten (4 bids)
SAFELY IN: Indiana
ON THE BUBBLE (IN): Nebraska, Michigan State, Ohio State
ON THE BUBBLE (OUT): Illinois, Minnesota
Change from last week: Nebraska and Ohio State join our field, making the Big Ten a four-bid league. The Cornhuskers paid their dues against a rigorous nonconference schedule, but their 3-9 mark against the top 50 (with all but three of those games on the road) helps them in the RPI, where they shot up from No. 68 to No. 35 after going 5-0 last week against Arkansas and Purdue. Nebraska is still just 19-19 overall, so there isn?t much margin for error, but they have a strong 11-4 record in the No. 6 RPI conference, and they are hot. Just as importantly, there are no RPI-killing games left on the schedule, as 12 of their last 15 games come against teams inside the top 100, including three against No. 14 Indiana (at home, which helps Nebraska?s chances to win that series).
Michigan State is in even better RPI shape (No. 23), thanks to a 7-5 record against the top 50 that includes a sweep of Indiana two weeks ago. Improving a 5-4 conference record would help, but the Spartans got in last year despite finishing in fifth place (13-11) in the Big Ten, so their RPI and strength of schedule gives them some breathing room.
Ohio State is also in good RPI shape (No. 38), with nine home games remaining against top 25 RPI teams Georgia Tech, Oregon, Louisville and Indiana. Just playing those games will help the Buckeyes, because the committee clearly weights nonconference strength of schedule heavily. We think the Buckeyes need to win at least three of those games to feel good about their chances, which won?t be easy because all of those teams are very good. But Ohio State is playing well at the right time, with back-to-back quality series wins against Nebraska and Illinois. The Buckeyes get the benefit of the doubt.
The RPI (No. 89) submarines Minnesota, which is 7-2 in the conference and owns a series win against Ohio State. But the Gophers are finally healthy in the weekend rotation, and they are a real threat to win the conference tournament. That would probably bump one of the other teams out of an at-large spot, rather than make the Big Ten a five-bid league.
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Born4Corn
Sophmore
Also, here's another article talking about, among other things, Big Ten team's tournament chances.
http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=8325
Postseason picture
Sure, the league has been the object of some jokes in the past, but ask SEC power Arkansas about the Big Ten this season. The Hogs, of course, hit the road for midweek action against the Huskers last week, getting swept in the two-game set. The Big Ten also got a nice boost earlier this season when Illinois hit the road and swept Baylor.
Some of the Big Ten's wins certainly have helped the league's RPI. For instance, the Big Ten has the nation's sixth-best conference RPI. That might not sound overly impressive, but also throw in the league has a better RPI than the Big East, Conference USA and Big West. Pretty impressive to say the least.
Here's a quick look at teams vying for postseason bids out of the Big Ten:
Nebraska: The Huskers lead the conference with an 11-4 league mark, a game ahead of Minnesota in the standings. However, even with an RPI of 36, they'll need to finish the season strong, currently sitting with a .500 record, which if the season ended today, would make them ineligible for an at-large postseason bid. NU is 3-9 vs. RPI Top 50 clubs.
Minnesota: The Golden Gophers have a pair of excellent starting pitchers in Tom Windle and DJ Snelten, but will need an incredible finish to earn an at-large bid with an RPI of 90. Minnesota has a respectable 4-4 mark vs. RPI Top 50, but again, the RPI will be determining factor with this club. Losing that Michigan State series to weather over the weekend might be a killer.
Michigan: The Wolverines have been playing an impressive brand of baseball as of late, but is it too late to earn at-large bid? Likely so. Michigan has a good 8-4 league mark with a 22-16 overall record. However, it also has an RPI of 129 with a surprisingly good 6-3 mark vs. RPI Top 50 clubs. It'll be interesting to see how Michigan's RPI moves the final month of the season.
Indiana: The Hoosiers have pretty much clinched a spot in the NCAA postseason no matter what happens the rest of the year. They're also in terrific shape to earn an NCAA host site. IU is 8-4 in the league, 29-8 overall and has an RPI of 14 along with a 7-5 mark vs. RPI Top 50 clubs. Indiana also is still in the mix for a national seed, albeit, those chances have decreased over the past couple of weeks.
Ohio State: The Buckeyes recorded a huge series win over Illinois this past weekend. The Bucks are 9-6 in the Big Ten (two games out of first) with an RPI of 38. The Bucks also are 6-7 vs. RPI Top 50. OSU has moved squarely onto the NCAA postseason projections bubble this week with that Illinois series win.
Michigan State: The Spartans could've used that series against Minnesota to bolster their resume. The Spartans have an RPI of 25 and a solid 7-5 mark vs. RPI Top 50 clubs, but a 5-4 league mark could scare some NCAA committee members. MSU needs to finish the season strong in conference play to leave little doubt. For now, the Spartans probably would be in the field of 64.
Illinois: The Fighting Illini really had an opportunity to help their postseason case against the Buckeyes over the weekend, but are now just .500 in the league after that series. With that said, Illinois' RPI will give it a chance with a strong finish. The Illini is 24-12 with an RPI of 49. They're also 3-6 vs. RPI Top 50.
http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=8325
Postseason picture
Sure, the league has been the object of some jokes in the past, but ask SEC power Arkansas about the Big Ten this season. The Hogs, of course, hit the road for midweek action against the Huskers last week, getting swept in the two-game set. The Big Ten also got a nice boost earlier this season when Illinois hit the road and swept Baylor.
Some of the Big Ten's wins certainly have helped the league's RPI. For instance, the Big Ten has the nation's sixth-best conference RPI. That might not sound overly impressive, but also throw in the league has a better RPI than the Big East, Conference USA and Big West. Pretty impressive to say the least.
Here's a quick look at teams vying for postseason bids out of the Big Ten:
Nebraska: The Huskers lead the conference with an 11-4 league mark, a game ahead of Minnesota in the standings. However, even with an RPI of 36, they'll need to finish the season strong, currently sitting with a .500 record, which if the season ended today, would make them ineligible for an at-large postseason bid. NU is 3-9 vs. RPI Top 50 clubs.
Minnesota: The Golden Gophers have a pair of excellent starting pitchers in Tom Windle and DJ Snelten, but will need an incredible finish to earn an at-large bid with an RPI of 90. Minnesota has a respectable 4-4 mark vs. RPI Top 50, but again, the RPI will be determining factor with this club. Losing that Michigan State series to weather over the weekend might be a killer.
Michigan: The Wolverines have been playing an impressive brand of baseball as of late, but is it too late to earn at-large bid? Likely so. Michigan has a good 8-4 league mark with a 22-16 overall record. However, it also has an RPI of 129 with a surprisingly good 6-3 mark vs. RPI Top 50 clubs. It'll be interesting to see how Michigan's RPI moves the final month of the season.
Indiana: The Hoosiers have pretty much clinched a spot in the NCAA postseason no matter what happens the rest of the year. They're also in terrific shape to earn an NCAA host site. IU is 8-4 in the league, 29-8 overall and has an RPI of 14 along with a 7-5 mark vs. RPI Top 50 clubs. Indiana also is still in the mix for a national seed, albeit, those chances have decreased over the past couple of weeks.
Ohio State: The Buckeyes recorded a huge series win over Illinois this past weekend. The Bucks are 9-6 in the Big Ten (two games out of first) with an RPI of 38. The Bucks also are 6-7 vs. RPI Top 50. OSU has moved squarely onto the NCAA postseason projections bubble this week with that Illinois series win.
Michigan State: The Spartans could've used that series against Minnesota to bolster their resume. The Spartans have an RPI of 25 and a solid 7-5 mark vs. RPI Top 50 clubs, but a 5-4 league mark could scare some NCAA committee members. MSU needs to finish the season strong in conference play to leave little doubt. For now, the Spartans probably would be in the field of 64.
Illinois: The Fighting Illini really had an opportunity to help their postseason case against the Buckeyes over the weekend, but are now just .500 in the league after that series. With that said, Illinois' RPI will give it a chance with a strong finish. The Illini is 24-12 with an RPI of 49. They're also 3-6 vs. RPI Top 50.
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