We’re heading into a really great weekend!

College baseball begins around the nation. Nebraska heads to Tempe, AZ for a big opening weekend as other Big Ten teams head to warmer climates to open their seasons.

In case you missed it, Indiana was tabbed as the Big Ten Baseball preseason favorite. Conference coaches voted on who would finish where amongst the top six teams. Here’s what they came up with, along with preseason honors - three players from each team.. EXCLUDING WISCONSIN WHO DOESN’T HAVE A BASEBALL TEAM.

2018 BIG TEN BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL

1. Indiana
2. Nebraska
3. Minnesota
4. Maryland
5. Michigan
6. Iowa

2018 BIG TEN BASEBALL PRESEASON HONORS LIST

• Michael Massey, INF, So., Illinois
• Zac Taylor, OF, Jr., Illinois
• Jack Yalowitz, OF, Jr., Illinois
• Matt Lloyd, INF, Jr., Indiana
• Luke Miller, INF, So., Indiana
• Logan Sowers, OF, Sr., Indiana
• Tyler Cropley, C/OF, Sr., Iowa
• Zach Daniels, RHP/INF, Jr., Iowa
• Robert Neustrom, OF, Jr., Iowa
• Tyler Blohm, SP, So., Maryland
• Marty Costes, OF, Jr., Maryland
• Nick Dunn, INF, Jr., Maryland
• Jonathan Engelmann, OF, Jr., Michigan
• Miles Lewis, OF, Jr., Michigan
• Ako Thomas, INF, Jr., Michigan
• Riley McCauley, RHP, Jr., Michigan State
• Bryce Kelley, OF/LHP, So., Michigan State
• Jake Lowery, RHP, Sr., Michigan State
• Micah Coffey, INF, Sr., Minnesota
• Toby Hanson, INF/OF, Sr., Minnesota
• Luke Pettersen, INF, Sr., Minnesota
• Luis Alvarado, RHP/OF, Sr., Nebraska
• Jake McSteen, SP, Jr., Nebraska
• Scott Schreiber, OF, Sr., Nebraska
• Hank Christie, SP, So., Northwestern
• Jack Dunn, INF, Jr., Northwestern
• Alex Erro, INF, So., Northwestern
• Dominic Canzone, OF, So., Ohio State
• Ryan Feltner, SP, Jr., Ohio State
• Seth Kinker, RHP, Sr., Ohio State
• Jordan Bowersox, OF, Jr., Penn State
• Justin Hagenman, SP, Jr., Penn State
• Mason Nadeau, OF, So., Penn State
• Tanner Andrews, SP, Sr., Purdue
• Ross Learnard, RP, Sr., Purdue
• Harry Shipley, INF, Sr., Purdue
• Jawuan Harris, OF, Jr., Rutgers
• Nick Matera, C, Jr., Rutgers
• John O’Reilly, SP, Sr., Rutgers

Take yourself back to last year. Both of our basketball teams were bloody damned awful. The men finished 13th in the Big Ten with a 6-12 record in conference player just ahead of Rutgers. They lost their last five games, and after the season, some guys transferred. It looked like the team was in disarray.

The women’s basketball team finished tied for last with Illinois, Wisconsin, and Rutgers. They all had identical 3-13 conference records.

This year both teams are competing well, and both are in the hunt for a NCAA tournament bid. That’s quite a turn around in one year. It’s exciting - unless you’re one of those fans who only pays attention to Nebraska football, and then I guess you’re missing out. Hey, there might be an important article on what Scott Frost had for breakfast today.

News

There is not a whole lot today.

The March to March: Win and . . . We'll See | Hail Varsity
We continue our look at the Huskers' tournament chances as the regular season winds to a close.

Wisconsin basketball: Badgers upset Purdue on Frank Kaminsky Night - Bucky's 5th Quarter
With some famous former Badgers in the house, Wisconsin did not disappoint in its biggest win of the year.

Indiana Baseball tops preseason Big Ten poll - The Crimson Quarry
The Hoosiers were tabbed as the favorites in the preseason coaches poll.

Overtime wants to turn high school jocks into social media stars - Recode
While there are lots of digital media companies focused on high school sports, Overtime has a different angle: It doesn’t care about scores, stats and recruiting narratives. It’s focused instead on a couple dozen athletes it thinks have the charisma to become internet stars.

Olympics

Olympic hockey 2018: Schedule, scores, and results for the men’s tournament - SBNation.com
A ragtag Team USA will look to pull off another miracle in Pyeongchang this month.

Winter Olympics 2018: Team USA news, medal count updates on Feb. 16 - SBNation.com
Here’s what you missed last night in Pyeongchang and what you should watch out for on Friday.

Then There’s This

Polygon and SB Nation face off in a competition of Olympic proportions - Polygon

Polygon’s finest digital athletes will go head to head with SB Nation’s most capable sports-likers in Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. There will be curling, bobsledding, figure skating and plenty of surprises.

Tune in for an unforgettable battle between Nerds and Nerds Who Know What a Football Looks Like. The live show kicks off at 1 p.m. ET on Feb. 16.

This could be fun... if you’re a video game nerd. I might watch.... I might....

Exposing the Power Vampires in Self-Driving Cars - IEEE Spectrum
Autonomous driving systems give cars and trucks eco-driving skills. Their computers and sensors could, however, consume enough electricity to negate this anticipated green dividend.