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I am currently being destroyed at a customer site, so I did not get more stats in this one. It's rather light, in fact.
Indiana swept Michigan State this past weekend, putting some distance between themselves and second place Illinois. Said it at the beginning of the season, and I will say it again - this is Indiana's conference.
Nebraska came into the weekend one of the hottest teams in the nation, then nearly got swept by Northwestern, the worst team in the conference. You want the real problem? Nebraska this weekend acted like they've earned something when they haven't earned a single damned thing.
Indiana is going to win the conference regular season. Their RPI is 4. FOUR. FOUR, did you get that? FOUR. Nebraska's RPI is 53 (boydsworld.com). Last week it was in the 30s. WHEN YOU LOSE TO A SHITTY TEAM AT HOME WHOSE RPI IS 226 YOU DO NOT DESERVE TO MAKE THE NCAA TOURNEY BECAUSE IT'S CLEAR YOU SUCK AND THERE ARE OTHER TEAMS WHO DESERVE IT MORE THAN YOU. (Continued rant below)
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Big Ten |
Overall |
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Team |
Record |
Pct. |
Record |
Pct. |
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1. Indiana |
11-1 |
.917 |
25-11 |
.694 |
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2. Illinois |
9-3 |
.750 |
21-14 |
.600 |
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3. Nebraska |
8-4 |
.667 |
26-16 |
.619 |
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4. Michigan |
8-7 |
.533 |
18-21-1 |
.463 |
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5. Iowa |
7-8 |
.467 |
22-15 |
.595 |
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6. Penn State |
5-6 |
.455 |
17-19 |
.472 |
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7. Michigan State |
5-7 |
.417 |
20-17 |
.541 |
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8. Minnesota |
6-9 |
.400 |
19-16 |
.543 |
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9. Ohio State |
4-8 |
.333 |
22-18 |
.550 |
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Purdue |
4-8 |
.333 |
9-26 |
.257 |
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11. Northwestern |
4-10 |
.286 |
10-25 |
.286 |
Through games of April 20
Let's face it. Most of the time the Big Ten gets one team in the NCAA tourney. Nebraska (or anyone else) is a long shot to win the Big Ten tournament, so that means that Indiana will take the AQ. That leaves (at this point) Nebraska and Illinois. Neither of these teams can afford crappy losses and "crappy losses" includes a fair number of Big Ten teams.
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Illinois |
3-1 |
Illinois State 6, Illinois 2 Illinois 6, Penn State 3 Illinois 7, Penn State 3 Illinois 7, Penn State 6 |
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Illinois RPI is at 74. They'll play Indiana next week so the RPI will go up, win or lose, but like everyone in the Big Ten, they need to win |
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Indiana |
4-0 |
Indiana 1, Western Kentucky 0 Indiana 7, Michigan State 0 Indiana 2, Michigan State 1 Indiana 4, Michigan State 1 |
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It's a little surprising that the Hoosiers swept this series. Surprising, not shocking. Joey DeNato keeps setting more records, winning more games. |
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Iowa |
2-2 |
Western Illinois 8, Iowa 6 Minnesota 4, Iowa 3 Iowa 11, Minnesota 5 Iowa 7, Minnesota 6 |
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Question for all y'all - John Anderson has been a damned good coach at Minnesota. Rich Heller is an up and comer. Is this a sign that Iowa is moving up, and Minnesota is moving down? |
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Michigan |
2-2 |
Eastern Michigan 4, Michigan 3 Michigan 7, Purdue 6 Purdue 6, Michigan 2 Michigan 13, Purdue 3 |
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I think I called this one Friday. At least one of them I got right. |
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Michigan State |
0-4 |
Central Michigan 7, Michigan State 5 Indiana 7, Michigan State 0 Indiana 2, Michigan State 1 Indiana 4, Michigan State 1 |
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What a horrid week for the Spartans. |
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Minnesota |
2-2 |
Minnesota 5, North Dakota State 3 Minnesota 4, Iowa 3 Iowa 11, Minnesota 5 Iowa 7, Minnesota 6 |
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The Gophers are in danger of dropping below that line where you make the Big Ten tourney. The question is - how long can John Anderson do that and still have a job anymore? I mean, the guy is a wonderful coach - he spent years at Minnesota without a contract (he still got paid, obviously), waiting for that Siebert Field upgrade. Well, now they've got it. |
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Nebraska |
3-2 |
Nebraska 14, Kansas State 5 Nebraska 17, Nebraska -Omaha 6 Northwestern 2, Nebraska 1 (12 innings) Northwestern 3, Nebraska 2 Nebraska 10, Northwestern 9 |
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WTF, Nebraska? You kill KSU, you kill UNO, and then you read all your own press, think that you'll just show up and beat Northwestern? Not only that, you waste good performances from your pitchers. If I were Nebraska's pitchers, I'd be so damned pissed off at my offense I'd probably throw at them during practice. |
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Northwestern |
4-1 |
Northwestern 6, Chicago State 1 Northwestern 4, Chicago State 2 Northwestern 2, Nebraska 1 (12 innings) Northwestern 3, Nebraska 2 Nebraska 10, Northwestern 9 |
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What a great week for that other NU team. Seriously, I mean they played the series very well. The starting pitchers killed a Husker offense that had been hitting and scoring at a tremendous rate. Sunday Northwestern's lack of pitching depth was apparent. It's why they'll lose most of their series. Nebraska wasn't able to capitalize on that. Shame on them. |
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Ohio State |
2-3 |
West Virginia 4, Ohio State 1 Ball State 8, Ohio State 6 Ohio State 3, Murray State 1 Murray State 7, Ohio State 5 Ohio State 7, Murray State 3 |
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Ohio State remains somewhat of an enigma.The midweek games were losses to teams that don't suck - but you'd think they'd take one of them. And they won the series against Murray State, but, wow, that's like saying they beat up a small child, but struggled in doing so. |
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Penn State |
0-3 |
Illinois 6, Penn State 3 Illinois 7, Penn State 3 Illinois 7, Penn State 6 |
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Penn State baseball. I've already said I'm not going to bother until they do.
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Purdue |
2-2 |
Purdue 5, Butler 4 Michigan 7, Purdue 6 Purdue 6, Michigan 2 Michigan 13, Purdue 3 |
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About where you'd expect Purdue to finish the week. Take heart, Boilers, the season is coming to a close soon. |
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Player of the Week
Michael Handel, Minnesota
Jr., SS, Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie
- Drove in six runs and scored three times on the strength of four doubles and a home run in games against North Dakota State and Iowa last week
- Went 4-for-8, drove in five runs and scored twice against the Hawkeyes, hitting a home run in the opener and three doubles in game two before missing the finale due to injury
- Went 2-for-5 in a midweek win over North Dakota State, finishing with a double, an RBI and a run scored
- Wins his first career Big Ten Player of the Week award
- Last Minnesota Big Ten Player of the Week: Nick O'Shea (May 9, 2011)
Co-Pitchers of the Week
Joey DeNato, Indiana
Sr., LHP, San Diego, Calif./Torrey Pines
- Pitched eight shutout innings on Friday in a win against Michigan State, becoming the Hoosiers' all-time leader in innings pitched
- Struck out five and scattered just five hits to win his fifth consecutive decision, including each of his four starts in Big Ten play
- Lowered his season ERA to 2.12 and improved to 8-1 on the season
- Wins his third career Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honor
- Last Indiana Big Ten Pitcher of the Week: Kyle Hart (March 24, 2014)
Jack Quigley, Northwestern
Sr., RHP, Birmingham, Mich./Seaholm
- Earned a win and a save in Northwestern's triumphs at Nebraska last weekend, pitching 4.1 scoreless innings in two relief appearances
- Threw 3.1 frames of relief to earn the win in Friday night's 12-inning victory before coming on in the ninth to earn the save in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader
- Allowed just one hit and one walk in his two outings, holding the conference's top hitting team to an .077 average
- Claims his first career Big Ten Pitcher of the Week award
- Last Northwestern Big Ten Pitcher of the Week: Brandon Magallones (May 13, 2013)
Freshman of the Week
Ryne Roper, Illinois
3B, Harrisburg, Ill./Harrisburg
- Drove in three runs and scored three more in helping Illinois to a three-game sweep of Penn State last weekend
- Posted two-hit games in the series opener and finale, driving in two runs and scoring once on Friday and recording an RBI and a run scored on Sunday
- Singled and scored a run on Saturday to increase his average in Big Ten play to .340
- Wins his first Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor
- Last Illinois Big Ten Freshman of the Week: Kevin Duchene (May 13, 2013)