The weekly thread from D1Baseball where I will post any Big Ten talk and anything nationally relevant to B1G teams
Eric Simmons: What is it going to take for Indiana to get an at-large bid? I think winning the rest of their series.
Kendall Rogers: Long way to go -- 77 RPI as a Big Ten. Hoosiers will need to finish the season very strong to have a chance to make the field.
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Craig: In addition to RPI, which is an imperfect metric, what other factors does the committee consider when determining hosts?
Aaron Fitt: Conference standings, certainly, are important. I think only one or two teams in the last 20 years have hosted without a winning record in conference play (Mark Etheridge has those exact numbers). They look at nonconference strength of schedule, overall strength of schedule, road record, record vs. Q1 and Q2 opponents, and record down the stretch, say in the final 15 games (even though those things are also baked into the RPI). The committee chairmen are fond of saying that it's more of an art than a science, but they have a bunch of data points to blend together. Unfortunately, too often they wind up just leaning on the RPI as a crutch.
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B1G: With the stronger teams not all coming out flames blazin' in the Big Ten race, how do you foresee it playing over the next month+ with Illinois and Michigan near the top?
Aaron Fitt: Great question -- and I have no idea what to make of the Big Ten at this point. I'm still not ready to fully buy in on Illinois, and with series left at Maryland and vs. Iowa, we'll see what the Illini are made of down the stretch. They are 10-2 in the league, and they do have a nice road series win at Indiana, but the last two conference series came against lesser teams in the league. Michigan has a more impressive resume to me, with series wins vs. Maryland, at Iowa and vs. Ohio State. Wolverines have been pitching a lot better than they did early, and I'm wondering if they might just be the team to beat in the league.
Eric Simmons: What is it going to take for Indiana to get an at-large bid? I think winning the rest of their series.
Kendall Rogers: Long way to go -- 77 RPI as a Big Ten. Hoosiers will need to finish the season very strong to have a chance to make the field.
==============================
Craig: In addition to RPI, which is an imperfect metric, what other factors does the committee consider when determining hosts?
Aaron Fitt: Conference standings, certainly, are important. I think only one or two teams in the last 20 years have hosted without a winning record in conference play (Mark Etheridge has those exact numbers). They look at nonconference strength of schedule, overall strength of schedule, road record, record vs. Q1 and Q2 opponents, and record down the stretch, say in the final 15 games (even though those things are also baked into the RPI). The committee chairmen are fond of saying that it's more of an art than a science, but they have a bunch of data points to blend together. Unfortunately, too often they wind up just leaning on the RPI as a crutch.
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B1G: With the stronger teams not all coming out flames blazin' in the Big Ten race, how do you foresee it playing over the next month+ with Illinois and Michigan near the top?
Aaron Fitt: Great question -- and I have no idea what to make of the Big Ten at this point. I'm still not ready to fully buy in on Illinois, and with series left at Maryland and vs. Iowa, we'll see what the Illini are made of down the stretch. They are 10-2 in the league, and they do have a nice road series win at Indiana, but the last two conference series came against lesser teams in the league. Michigan has a more impressive resume to me, with series wins vs. Maryland, at Iowa and vs. Ohio State. Wolverines have been pitching a lot better than they did early, and I'm wondering if they might just be the team to beat in the league.
