So it's not really a double elimination tournament?

[El Simbolo]

Seems to me if Maryland beats Indiana this morning in their first matchup, and then faces Illinois tomorrow, that Illiniois should have to beat Maryland twice to be champions. But looking at the bracket it appears the B1G sacrifices true double-elimination philosophy in favor of making sure there is one single Championship Game.

 

[scarletred]

No it isn't and everyone understands that going in mainly because Coach's want to save their pitchers arms going into the NCAA tournament next weekend which means more in the realm of things.

Also keep in mind Illinois will have to win 2 games today and Maryland only has to beat Indiana once.

 

[IowaHawkeyeFBnBB4Life]

I would actually prefer a 12 team single elimination (like softball) over the current format.

 

[Row55]

Not me, too many weird things can happen in a single game in baseball/softball. That's why the regular season is made up of 3-game series rather than single games.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Not me, too many weird things can happen in a single game in baseball/softball. That's why the regular season is made up of 3-game series rather than single games.

Which I think is also why Iowa struggled in the tournament. Much like the wrestling team, they seemed to be built for regular season-mode. Lots of success during the regular season in those 3-game series while other teams tinkered and what not, but when it came down to a one-game winner-take all series of best against best in a tournament-format, Iowa still doesn't have what it takes to truly top the better teams in the conference, which is why they'll struggle in the NCAA tournament as well.

Oh well. At least our baseball team is competitive again, for the most part.

 

[StormHawk42]

I mean to be fair, are we really expecting to compete with the elite right now given our history? You need to be happier, monkey.

 

[non-poster]

The reason Iowa won every weekend conference series but one this season is because pitching (both starting and relief) was the backbone. Mix in some very good defense to help out a low scoring offense and you had several close games that Iowa was able to tough out. The reason Iowa struggled in the BIG Tournament was because two of their three frontline pitchers couldn't get past the third inning. Five errors combined in the two losses made a bad situation worse. It's really that simple. No tinkering...no rabbits pulled out of a hat...no surprises.

While the Hawkeyes did not play Illinois or Ohio State during the regular season, they did win the regular season series against both teams that will be playing for the championship. The conference tournament is not a one-game/winner take all format. In a 5-day tournament every team finds itself in the same situation--they need to go deep into their pitching. The team that can get the most out of their starters and save their bullpen almost always has the best chance. Iowa imploded in the areas that have been their strengths all season long.

While there are about 5-6 heavy hitting lineups that I think would be bad matchups, if the starting rotation shows up next weekend (wherever they are assigned to play) they can compete with just about anyone in the country.

 

[Alum-Ni]

CWS was setup like this for a long time. Double elimination until the championship game where it was a single game winner-take-all final

 

[icu81222]

Having been involved in some of those double elim tourneys years ago, I mostly agree with the single game championship. Generally, if you come through the losers bracket, you have had to earn it.

Having to play that second game, many times makes the game almost unrecognizable by that time. Not just for the team needing to win twice either.


I remember playing a 2 day double elim tournament where we played 2 on Friday (lost 1 on Friday)and then played 9-noon-3 and 6 pm on Saturday. We won but it was kind of ridiculous.

 

[Legend12]

Not me, too many weird things can happen in a single game in baseball/softball. That's why the regular season is made up of 3-game series rather than single games.

lol Wut??