B1G Baseball Update 5/18-5/20

STANDINGS	CONF.	PCT.	OVERALL	PCT.	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL	LAST 10	STREAK
Nebraska	16-7-1	.688	34-18-1	.651	17-6-0	14-6-1	3-6-0	8-2-0	W2
Michigan	16-8-0	.667	42-13-0	.764	23-5-0	13-6-0	6-2-0	7-3-0	W2
Minnesota	15-8-0	.652	33-19-0	.635	17-14-0	16-5-0	0-0-0	6-4-0	W1
Iowa	15-9-0	.625	34-19-0	.642	19-4-0	9-12-0	6-3-0	7-3-0	W1
Maryland	15-9-0	.625	34-19-0	.642	20-3-0	9-14-0	5-2-0	4-6-0	W1
Indiana	14-9-1	.604	32-20-2	.611	15-8-1	14-10-1	3-2-0	7-3-0	W2
Northwestern	13-11-0	.542	24-28-0	.462	12-12-0	12-16-0	0-0-0	7-3-0	W5
Purdue	12-12-0	.500	29-25-0	.537	10-10-0	18-15-0	1-0-0	4-6-0	L1
Michigan State	10-14-0	.417	29-23-0	.558	10-8-0	14-13-0	5-2-0	5-5-0	L2
Illinois	9-15-0	.375	23-28-0	.451	12-11-0	10-15-0	1-2-0	5-5-0	L1
Ohio State	8-16-0	.333	22-34-0	.393	9-17-0	8-12-0	5-5-0	5-5-0	L2
Rutgers	7-16-0	.304	19-34-0	.358	8-10-0	11-24-0	0-0-0	2-8-0	L5
Penn State	4-20-0	.167	18-37-0	.327	10-13-0	6-21-0	2-3-0	4-6-0	L2

The final week of the 2017 regular has come to a close and boy was it an exciting one. Even before the final series were played Minnesota ended up sweeping a mid-week doubleheader against Rutgers in a quasi makeup from an earlier canceled series. With those two wins the Gophers took the lead before the final showdowns of the year meaning both Nebraska and Michigan would need help if they wanted to be kings of the mountain.

Both the Huskers and Wolverines started things off on the wrong foot losing their respective openers. However, after a power outage during the Minnesota-Purdue opener, the Gophers ended up losing the first two games of the series opening the door for Nebraska/Michigan. After another close call in the Friday night game Nebraska emphatically beat PSU on Saturday and with the less than half a game lead over Michigan becomes the 2017 B1G regular season champs. RPI as of 5/22/17

Illinois 23-28 (9-15) RPI: 134

05/18/17 IOWA L 5-6
05/19/17 IOWA W 12-8
05/19/17 IOWA L 3-8

Bloomington Bound? Dropping the series to Iowa puts the Illini at 10th place and out of tournament contention.

NCAAs? With an RPI above 100 Illinois' season will come to an end.

Indiana 32-20-2 (14-9-1) RPI: 28

05/18/17 at Ohio State L 4-7
05/19/17 at Ohio State W 8-4
05/20/17 at Ohio State W 4-3

Bloomington Bound? They would be regardless but with the series win over aOSU, Indiana locked up the #6 seed facing off against #3 Minnesota.

NCAAs? The Hoosiers RPI has been solid for a while now so expect them to be in but a win or two wouldn't hurt especially if they want to appease the home crowd.

Iowa 34-19 (15-9) RPI: 103

05/18/17 at Illinois W 6-5
05/19/17 at Illinois L 8-12
05/19/17 at Illinois W 8-3

Bloomington Bound? Got the series win over Illinois so the Hawkeyes will be the #5 seed playing #4 Maryland.

NCAAs? Iowa also has an RPI above 100 so they'll need to try a repeat of last year and win the whole thing this time.

Maryland 34-19 (15-9) RPI: 32

05/18/17 at High Point L 1-2
05/19/17 at High Point L 6-7
05/20/17 at High Point W 9-2

Bloomington Bound? Maryland didn't have a B1G series the final week but was going to Indiana anyway. However, after dropping the final two series the Terps got bumped down to the #4 seed and will play #5 Iowa.

NCAAs? Maryland should still be in but after losing the last three series may need to grab a win or two to be safe.

#16 Michigan 42-13 (16-8) RPI: 31

05/18/17 at Michigan State L 1-6
05/19/17 MICHIGAN STATE W 11-6
05/20/17 at Michigan State W 2-1

Bloomington Bound? Michigan juuuuust missed out on finishing at the top so will have to settle for the #2 seed in which they'll face #7 Northwestern.

NCAAs? The Wolverines are in good shape here and unless they go 0-2 in Bloomington shouldn't get snubbed this time around.

Michigan State 29-23 (10-14) RPI: 80

05/18/17 MICHIGAN W 6-1
05/19/17 at Michigan L 6-11
05/20/17 MICHIGAN L 1-2

Bloomington Bound? Almost had a shot but dropped the series with Michigan which puts the Spartans at #9 and below the cut line.

NCAAs? MSU played some tough competition this year but the RPI is just a bit too high for them to continue on.

Minnesota 33-19 (15-8) RPI: 79

05/19/17 PURDUE L 2-5
05/19/17 PURDUE L 1-11
05/19/17 PURDUE W 9-2

Bloomington Bound? After the marathon of finishing three games in one day versus Purdue the Gophers dropped the series which puts them at #3 playing against the home team #6 Indiana.

NCAAs? Minnesota's RPI is up there so they are going to have to win the tournament to continue playing after this week.

#21 Nebraska 34-18-1 (16-7-1) RPI: 39

05/18/17 at Penn State L 7-8
05/19/17 at Penn State W 3-1
05/20/17 at Penn State W 21-3

Bloomington Bound? With the series win over PSU and Purdue winning the series against Minnesota, Nebraska takes the 2017 regular season title and the #1 seed into Bart Kaufman Field. The Huskers will face off against #8 Purdue.

NCAAs? The RPI is in a good spot and the regular season title is nice to have in the back pocket but another win or two would be good to stay on the safe side.

Northwestern 24-28 (13-11) RPI: 196

05/18/17 RUTGERS W 14-0
05/19/17 RUTGERS W 4-0
05/19/17 RUTGERS W 5-4

Bloomington Bound? Northwestern needed some wins to stay above the cut line and boy did they get them with the sweep over Rutgers. This puts the Wildcats as the #7 seed and will face off against #2 Michigan.

NCAAs? Considering the RPI has been hovering around the 200 range all year Northwestern will have to win the whole thing to even think about going to the NCAAs.

Ohio State 22-34 (8-16) RPI: 155

05/18/17 INDIANA W 7-4
05/19/17 INDIANA L 4-8
05/20/17 INDIANA L 3-4

Bloomington Bound? aOSU had a slim chance of making it regardless but with the series loss to Indiana the Buckeyes will finish 11th and out of contention for the B1G tourney.

NCAAs? Amazingly was one of the four teams to beat Oregon State this year but in the end the season is over for the Nuts.

Penn State 18-37 (4-20) RPI: 207

05/18/17 NEBRASKA W 8-7
05/19/17 NEBRASKA L 1-3
05/20/17 NEBRASKA L 3-21

Bloomington Bound? You're kidding, right?

NCAAs? Yeeeeeaaaahhh, no.

Purdue 29-25 (12-12) RPI: 110

05/19/17 at Minnesota W 5-2
05/19/17 at Minnesota W 11-1
05/19/17 at Minnesota L 2-9

Bloomington Bound? With the marathon series win over Minnesota Purdue gets to join the others in the B1G tournament as the final #8 seed in which they'll take on #1 Nebraska.

NCAAs? Much like half the field in the B1G tourney the Boilers will need to win it all to advance.

Rutgers 19-34 (7-16) RPI: 127

05/18/17 at Northwestern L 0-14
05/19/17 at Northwestern L 0-4
05/19/17 at Northwestern L 4-5

Bloomington Bound? Had a slim shot but after going 0-fer on the week the Knights will finish 12th and miss out on the B1G tournament.

NCAAs? Amazingly had a decent RPI considering their record all year but the season has come to a close for Rutgers.

Wisconsin -
X

What's that spell?  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Players of the Week

May 22nd 2017

Player of the Week -

Jake Adams Jr. Iowa

Had a .353 AVG with 6 hits, 8 RBIs, and 5 home runs. With those home runs ties for first in the NCAA for total home runs in a season at 24. This is his third player of the week award and the third of this season.

Pitcher of the Week -

Alex Troop So. Michigan State

In the opening game win versus Michigan pitched 8.0 innings striking out 10 and only allowing 2 hits. This is his first pitcher of the week award.

Freshman of the Week -

Mojo Hagge Nebraska

Had a .462 AVG with 4 hits (including a double and a triple) and 3 RBIs. This is his first freshman of the week award.

I Want My BTN

All times EST

BTN/ BTN2Go 2017 Baseball Schedule

ITS THE B1G TOURNAMENT!!!  THEY'LL PLAY ALL THE GAMES THIS WEEK!!!  WATCH IT!!!

B1G Softball Update

The softball teams were spread throughout the country for the NCAA tournament with most going to the regional finals. However, the home teams proved too much as all B1G teams will be heading home after the weekend. What sucks the most is that Minnesota, who was ranked in the top 5 prior to the start of the NCAAs, didn't get to host their own regional and the way they lost to Bama has to leave a bitter taste in their mouths. Regardless they had a great season and should be proud of what they accomplished.

EUGENE REGIONAL

Game 1: Wisconsin 7, Missouri 2

Game 3: (3) Oregon 6, Wisconsin 5 (8)

Game 5: Wisconsin 2, Illinois-Chicago 0

Game 6: (3) Oregon 9, Wisconsin 0 (Oregon advances to super regional)

SEATTLE REGIONAL

Game 1: Michigan 3, Fresno State 1

Game 3: (6) Washington 12, Michigan 4

Game 5: Michigan 4, Fresno State 0

Game 6: (6) Washington 4, Michigan 2

KNOXVILLE REGIONAL

Game 1: USC Upstate 7, Ohio State 3

Game 4: Longwood 3, Ohio State 1

LEXINGTON REGIONAL

Game 1: Illinois 3, Marshall 2 (12)

Game 3: (14) Kentucky 1, Illinois 0

Game 5: Illinois 10, Marshall 2

Game 6: (14) Kentucky 4, Illinois 2

TUSCALOOSA REGIONAL

Game 1: Minnesota 11, Louisiana Tech 3 (5)

Game 3: (16) Alabama 1, Minnesota 0

Game 5: Minnesota 5, Louisiana Tech 2

Game 6: (16) Alabama 1, Minnesota 0

Schedules and players of the week courtesy of bigten.org

RPI courtesy of Boyd's World (http://www.boydsworld.com/baseball/rpi/currentrpi.html)