D1Baseball Weekly Chat: April 10 • D1Baseball
Have questions about the latest Top 25 Rankings and much more? Ask our experts Kendall Rogers and Aaron Fitt.
Including any B1G or nationally/generally relevant questions:
Chandler: Thoughts on Nebraska's series win over Michigan?
Kendall Rogers: Chandler -- really good series win. I liked the fact that the Huskers used strong pitching to win one of the games, and then used a barrage of offense to overwhelm Michigan in the series-clincher. The RPI is still in a very iffy spot at 78 -- but there's plenty of time to make up some ground.
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Dustin: How are the Huskers looking to get back in the tournament? 6-1 in weekend play this year. win over Vanderbilt and 18-7 in their last 25 games.
Aaron Fitt: I'm still a little skeptical that Nebraska's RPI is going to get to where it needs to be for an at-large bid, but the Huskers are definitely trending in the right direction, and I like their resume more than the RPI does. They're going to need a torrid second half to get that RPI up from No. 78 into the top 50 or so, where it probably needs to be to have a shot at an at-large bid. Maybe they can do it too, they're playing great baseball. But it won't be easy.
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Spencer: Back to back series wins for the Terps to start Big Ten play. With a tough start in non-conference play, do they need to finish the regular season in the top two in the conference to make the postseason?
Aaron Fitt: Probably so. The RPI for Maryland isn't great (No. 68) despite playing what I consider a pretty rugged nonconference schedule. I think they really do need to finish at or near the top of the Big Ten -- and they're off to a great start against two of the most talented teams in the league, so I like their chances.
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Squash: Y'all talked a few weeks ago about the possibility of adding more teams in the CWS tournament. Do you think there could ever be a baseball NIT tournament? Maybe the "Last Four Out" in a round-robin or a regional format?
Kendall Rogers: Squash -- there has been talk over the years to having an NIT tournament in college baseball. The issue is I don't think players are going to want to play in it and risk injury for the MLB Draft when the NIT would essentially have zero meaning at the end of the season. I do think we will expand the baseball tournament in due time, however. How much? Not 100 percent sure, but it would be an incremental increase.
