B1G standings and RPI rankings for 5/14...

[ptrich]

The B1G action is over with for the weekend and here are the standings and the RPI rankings. There are still some games in progress that can affect the RPI rankings.

Conference Standings - 2023 Big Ten Baseball | WarrenNolan.com

Big Ten Conference Standings for College Baseball with division standings, games back, team RPI, streaks, and conference RPI

www.warrennolan.com

If IU sweeps MSU they will have at a minimum a co-championship. If IU takes 2 of 3, the worst they can finish is 2nd place by themselves if the Terps sweep PSU on the road. Iowa could sweep NW, but if IU wins at least 2 of 3 games against MSU, IU will still finish a half game up on Iowa for 2nd place, again if the Terps sweep PSU. It would help if Maryland stubbed their toe at least once at PSU which is in a big slump right now with six straight conference losses.

You have Iowa (13-7), Rutgers (13-8), Nebraska (13-8), and Michigan (13-8) all bunched together in the standings and there are all kinds of scenarios involving those four teams as far as how they finish and are seeded as well as any tie breakers in seeding.

Illinois (12-12) has completed their conference slate while Purdue (10-11), and MSU (10-11) need to take 2 of 3 games in the upcoming season ending series just to tie Illinois and I don't know what the tie breakers are if there is a tie between any of those teams. Purdue has lost four straight B1G games, while MSU has lost six straight B1G games in getting swept in their last two series.

I think I got all of that straight.

The schedule for Thurs - Sat:

IU @ MSU

Iowa @ NW

MD @ PSU

Michigan @ OSU

Rutgers @ Minn

Nebraska @ Purdue

UT Martin @ Illinois

 

[82IU]

It is sad that the Northern Conferences have a razor thin margin of error. IU cannot afford a let down this week. We need to win the Series at least at MSU in order to have some breathing room for a tournament bid. If we finish at least in 2nd place in the B1G, I feel that we are in. We might end up as a 3 seed instead of a 2 seed if some team besides IU, Maryland or Iowa wins the B1G tournament. It would be hard to swallow if we have another bad weekend and fall in the standings (and say finish somewhere between 3rd and 6th) and then we might have to win the tournament to get selected. It was sad that Rutgers got hosed last year, even after having a really good year, just because Michigan stole the automatic bid. Our RPI should help out but it could drop down due to our competition this upcoming week. The Boys simply must stay focused and finish strong! Lot's of scenarios still in play!
Go Hoosiers!
82

 

[ptrich]

It is sad that the Northern Conferences have a razor thin margin of error. IU cannot afford a let down this week. We need to win the Series at least at MSU in order to have some breathing room for a tournament bid. If we finish at least in 2nd place in the B1G, I feel that we are in. We might end up as a 3 seed instead of a 2 seed if some team besides IU, Maryland or Iowa wins the B1G tournament. It would be hard to swallow if we have another bad weekend and fall in the standings (and say finish somewhere between 3rd and 6th) and then we might have to win the tournament to get selected. It was sad that Rutgers got hosed last year, even after having a really good year, just because Michigan stole the automatic bid. Our RPI should help out but it could drop down due to our competition this upcoming week. The Boys simply must stay focused and finish strong! Lot's of scenarios still in play!
Go Hoosiers!
82

Simply put, IU is in full control of their destiny, and it's right there for the taking this week. You also would never think of Evansville as a resume game, but it's exactly that on Tuesday since they are sitting at a RPI of 89 right now - a Q2 team.

 

[Orford]

According to d1 baseball rpi Iowa passed IU to 29 and we are 30 now.

 

[ptrich]

According to d1 baseball rpi Iowa passed IU to 29 and we are 30 now.

Despite a slumping team, MSU played a big part in Iowa moving up since MSU was and still is a Q2 team even after losing six straight games in the conference and they are still at a RPI of 76 right now. You have that factor of what each of your opponents on the season are doing and also what their opponents are doing. Purdue had a RPI of 210 and stayed there throughout our series with them (they are 211 now) and we moved up a little bit, but not much. Iowa plays NW with a current RPI of 267 while IU plays MSU with a current 76 RPI, so things will be reversed in that area.

If you looked at the Warren Nolan numbers straight up for each team, IU has a better resume outside of being behind them by one spot in the RPI. Like the RPI rankings, the quad numbers are pretty fluid and keep changing as teams move up and down in the RPI rankings.

SOS has IU at 77 while Iowa is at 81.
Non-conference SOS has IU at 77 while Iowa is at 171.
Q1 record right now: IU is 6-11 while Iowa is 6-6, with IU playing five more Q1 opponents.
Q2 record right now: IU is 7-2 while Iowa is 5-2.
Q3 record right now: IU is 7-1 while Iowa is 5-2.
Q4 record right now: IU is 18-0 while Iowa is 17-2.

We already own a 2-1 series win against them this season, but Iowa is still a formidable opponent and they will be a tough out in the B1G tournament, and all of the prognosticators have them in the Field of 64.

Note: As I posted this, something happened to flip flop IU and Iowa in the RPI rankings and IU is now 29 and Iowa 30. There are a handful of games today, but none have been completed yet.

 

[ptrich]

An interesting thing with Iowa. Despite today being a sunny day in Iowa City, they postponed today's game with UIC with it being rescheduled for next season. It was a lose/lose situation from a RPI standpoint with UIC being a Q3 team, and they protected their RPI some by not playing the game. It also allowed them to save pitchers for the NW series which starts on Thursday. It's actually a good strategy for the Hawkeyes and it took the cooperation of UIC. IU certainly has to be careful how they approach the Evansville game today from a pitching staff usage standpoint.