Obviously nobody knows for sure how good everyone will be throughout the country but on paper it looks like we got a pretty good big ten draw. We play northwestern, penn state and Michigan state who are almost always towards the bottom of the conference and we also play Minnesota who has been the worst team in the conference the last 3 years. That will likely help our chances at a big ten championship but could hurt our RPI and chances at an at large bid. Either way I’m very excited for the baseball season to start in 3 months. Go hawks!
What does everyone think of the baseball schedule?
- Thread starter Hershey01
- Start date
Cool to see LSU on there for a game. I might take a trip out to Lubbock to catch a game or two for the Texas Tech series.
The RPI didn’t work for basketball so they changed it and it seems to work better for them. Why does baseball not change as well? If you play a bad team and win your RPI might go down. Iowa Wednesday games doesn’t allow for much travel distance and with no really strong teams nearby hard to build up that RPI. So they better tear it up in the south in early Feb and March to build up the RPI. Problem is Iowa will be stuck inside for the 3 months before going south while southern teams have been outside practicing. Seeing a ball pitched on a bright sunny day, playing the wind in the outfield, or getting a ground ball in the grass infield, etc. are all going to be different for the northern teams for awhile. I hate excuses, but system doesn’t seem right. Sending 2 teams from big 10 last year was a joke. Iowa got screwed and Rutgers REALLY got screwed. With all that whining done 
I’m very excited for this team. Good speed and some power, defense should be salty, and good pitching depth. This team looks good on paper and I hear chemistry is already very strong. I’m excited for the season. Go Hawks!
I’m very excited for this team. Good speed and some power, defense should be salty, and good pitching depth. This team looks good on paper and I hear chemistry is already very strong. I’m excited for the season. Go Hawks!
I'd prefer a tougher schedule down south even if it means a couple more losses. If you get a victory here and there it's great. I look at illinois and what they've done in the past, have a tough non conference but when it comes to being selected they are in better position of being selected. Can't do too much for the conference schedule, it sucks that the better teams are off the schedule.
The schedule is alright. The early out of conference is solid. I do not like back to back home series against South Dakota State and Western Michigan. If you drop a game or two then that could hurt a lot.
They did change the RPI for basketball, you are correct they pretty much dropped it. Mostly due to the way baseball and basketball is played. Basically the advanced metrics in basketball (such as the Pomeroy Rankings), which take into account offensive and defensive efficiency, give a much more accurate view of how good/bad a team is than RPI, which is just whether you won or lost, and the W/L record of the opponent and the opponent's opponents.The RPI didn’t work for basketball so they changed it and it seems to work better for them. Why does baseball not change as well? If you play a bad team and win your RPI might go down. Iowa Wednesday games doesn’t allow for much travel distance and with no really strong teams nearby hard to build up that RPI. So they better tear it up in the south in early Feb and March to build up the RPI. Problem is Iowa will be stuck inside for the 3 months before going south while southern teams have been outside practicing. Seeing a ball pitched on a bright sunny day, playing the wind in the outfield, or getting a ground ball in the grass infield, etc. are all going to be different for the northern teams for awhile. I hate excuses, but system doesn’t seem right. Sending 2 teams from big 10 last year was a joke. Iowa got screwed and Rutgers REALLY got screwed. With all that whining done
Very hard to do that in baseball, as baseball has much more potential randomness due to the nature of the game itself and how much variance there can be based on who the starting pitcher is in a baseball game. RPI is seriously flawed, but it is at least a metric of some sort. Otherwise, the tournament committee would be left to just putting in more southern teams "just because they are better" with no metrics to back it up with. They still do it to an extent. I am not sure the Big 10 deserved more than 2 teams last year, hate to say it. The conference just wasn't very good. Not a ton of OOC marquee wins. In Iowa's case, they lost a ton of close early games (A&m Corpus Christi, A&M, Wichita State (twice), UC-Irvine (2 of 3) to teams that mostly ended up not being very good. Wichita State ended up 21-36, Corpus Christi was 27-28 with a RPI of 185. A&M was very good (RPI of 8), but Iowa lost that game 7-3. UC Irvine, Iowa lost 2 of 3 to a team with a RPI of 87. Iowa also had some bad luck in that some of the non-conference wins against teams that have been good but weren't (Pepperdine, Washington State, San Diego State).
You are on point that much of Iowa's fate of getting in the NCAA tournament is determined in Feb and March when they go south. If you notice, the first series when Iowa goes south they play mostly other northern teams who are also going south, to be on a theoretical level playing field. First series this year in the Snowbird Classic includes 2 games against Indiana State and one against Quinnipiac, the games are in Port Charlotte, FL. Second series is against Sam Houston State, K-State and LSU in Round Rock, TX. LSU and Sam Houston for sure will have been outside a lot more than Iowa by that time, and likely K-State will have been as well. Third series against Southern, South Alabama and Pepperdine (games in Alabama), then the fourth series Iowa plays at Texas Tech in Lubbock. Those 12 games, like it or not, will determine if Iowa can realistically get an at-large berth with a good Big 10 season.
Love to see you guys play South Carolina for a weekend in February.
We have 7 Games vs the Top 25:
#1 LSU
Sat Feb 25
Round Rock, TX
at #16 Texas Tech
Fri March 10, 11, and 12
vs. #22 Maryland
Fri March 31, April 1, April 2
The Top 25:
www.perfectgame.org
Iowa's Schedule:
hawkeyesports.com
#1 LSU
Sat Feb 25
Round Rock, TX
at #16 Texas Tech
Fri March 10, 11, and 12
vs. #22 Maryland
Fri March 31, April 1, April 2
The Top 25:
Preseason Top 25 Rankings
Vinnie Cervino & Craig Cozart take a deep dive into the college scene for their initial Top 25 release as the 2023 season is just around the corner.
www.perfectgame.org
Iowa's Schedule:
Baseball
The Official Athletic Site of the Iowa Hawkeyes, partner of WMT Digital. The most comprehensive coverage of Iowa Hawkeyes Baseball on the web with highlights, scores, game summaries, schedule and rosters.
hawkeyesports.com
We're gonna get slapped by LSU.
Iowa may make the tournament come June, but there's zero chance this team will be put together well enough to not get embarrassed by LSU in February.............
Iowa may make the tournament come June, but there's zero chance this team will be put together well enough to not get embarrassed by LSU in February.............
We've scheduled a game with Loras for Feb 28th, weather permitting of course.
Per Kyle Huesmann, we'd previously had Coe on that date, which has been moved to March 7th. Verified on hawkeysports.com
Per Kyle Huesmann, we'd previously had Coe on that date, which has been moved to March 7th. Verified on hawkeysports.com
Last edited:
