D1Baseball Weekly Chat: March 11 • D1Baseball
Another huge week of college baseball action is in the books and it's time for Kendall Rogers and Aaron Fitt to answer your burning questions.
Posting any Big Ten or relevant national commentary............
Chandler: Thoughts on Nebraska? Another series win and another come-from-behind win down multiple runs. Historically Nebraska is a top 20 or 30 team defensively, but this year they are surrendering way too many errors (eventually going to hurt them I assume). What is your outlook on the team so far? Tough week coming up with two at Wichita State and three at home against a decent Nicholls State team. GBR!
Kendall Rogers: I like the pulse of this Nebraska team a lot. I think I've said this a few times over the past few weeks, but I thought it had a solid, balanced lineup to go with some solid pitching depth at Globe Life a couple of weeks ago. That has proven to be the case since that point. Yes, the Huskers had that stinker in the opener against South Alabama, but ultra-impressed with the way they played the rest of the weekend. Definitely looks like a regional club at this juncture.
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Kyle: How dire is the situation for the Iowa Hawkeyes sitting at 7-8? They have a midweek against Georgia this week and a home series against Western Illinois before Big Ten play.
Kendall Rogers: Kyle -- great question. Iowa is a really odd team. I'm a believer in the offense and the starting pitching, but the bullpen has been a hot mess since day one this season. The issue for the Hawkeyes moving forward is they basically have nothing on their resume in non-conference play. That basically means Iowa will need to just dominate the Big Ten schedule for the most part, which seems like a bold ask considering how well a few Big Ten teams are playing right now. Iowa is definitely in trouble at this juncture.
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Oxford Bald Eagle: Will the committee ever seed the NCAA Tournament correctly? 1 vs. 64 and so on? I'd love to go Stanford or UCLA then get stuck as the 2 in an SEC ballpark when we are a border line host. The boys in Hattiesburg aren't scared but I'd love an Oral Roberts or Stanford path to the tournament.
Kendall Rogers: Privately, anyone who has been on or is on the committee says they want to seed 1-64, but I think I'd be surprised if it happens anytime soon. The issue? Most of the committees in other sports don't have time to follow the sport throughout the season, and baseball is a very long season with 300+ teams. That means there's likely more room for error in seeding 1-64. But again, I'd love to see us make it work as a sport.
Aaron Fitt: I don't think they'll ever do that, because there are good reasons to keep geography as something of a factor -- makes it easier for visiting fans to go to games, for instance. Southern Miss playing Louisiana Tech in Starkville in front of a rocking crowd, for instance. Obviously travel costs are another issue, though the tournament is making money and I don't think that should be the primary driver.
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Guest: Is Nebraska in consideration to be ranked?
Aaron Fitt: Certainly -- I like the body of work so far, with quality series wins at Grand Canyon, College of Charleston and South Alabama. We just didn't have any open spots in the rankings this week, but I'd put Nebraska on the short list of teams just outside the Top 25, along with Florida State, Georgia, Northeastern, Virginia Tech and a few others.
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MW: Does the Big Ten still run through Maryland? They haven't seemed to have lost a step under Swope.
Aaron Fitt: Heck, maybe so, huh? Iowa was the clear favorite heading into the year but obviously the Hawkeyes have not gotten off to a good start, albeit against a tough schedule. I still like Indiana and Rutgers also, but there's Maryland at 12-4 with solid series wins at Charlotte and Georgia Southern, plus decent wins against Pitt and Georgetown. I certainly don't think Maryland is as good as it was the last two years, but it does appear the Terps will remain right there in the hunt for the Big Ten title. Plenty of talent on that roster, especially in the position player group.
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Hardball Fan: Indiana has sputtered after a nice start down at Coastal. Hoosiers haven't played well at home, either. What do you make of them? Likewise, what do you make of Indiana State this season? Very Early RPI has them at 33 and Indiana in the 50s.
Kendall Rogers: The common denominator for Indiana in all of those losses has been very iffy pitching to say the least. That'll need to improve as Big Ten play nears. As for Indiana State, the Sycamores went on the road a lot in non-conference and played some good teams in the process. Thankfully for ISU, it won some of those games. I actually think the Sycamores are in a pretty solid spot right now.
