Chill

[coolonetoo]

I haven't been able to be on the board for a few days but did just now get caught up. Here's my take on all this bubble talk as I channel my inner Aaron Rodgers: R-E-L-A-X.

A team that has reached this point in the season with 30 wins and a 17 RPI is not on the bubble. A lot can still happen--good or bad--but at the moment it's a regional lock. Conference records are definitely part of the equation for the committee but in a 13 team league, it's important to dig deeper than just the standings.

Nebraska has BY FAR the most difficult conference schedule. It's the only team in the league that plays four of the other five teams (Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State) in the RPI top 35. Some play as few as two. Illinois and Iowa have only played one so far so it's no surprise they are the leaders at the moment. And Nebraska hasn't hit the easy part of its schedule yet. 5+ wins against Northwestern and Purdue will make for a climb in the standings. Finishing fourth or fifth in the league doesn't sound sexy but it will be more than good enough to make a regional and might actually be good enough to host one.

None of us agree with John "Loser" Anderson. The NCAA tournament is the thing and conference titles are secondary by a wide margin. Do the Huskers need to hit better on the weekends? Absolutely. Have all the season goals been trashed in the last two weeks? Absolutely not.

It's all still in front of this team...
.

 

[Kleitus]

if we take 4 of 6 from illinois and iowa and win all but one (6-1) of the rest of our games we're going to be a 1-seed pending the big ten tournament. that's not exactly a stretch given how bad northwestern and purdue are and that the other game is against creighton in midweek and we've got one of the best midweek starters in the country.

win. just win. that's all there is to it.

 

[k9_r]

if we take 4 of 6 from illinois and iowa and win all but one (6-1) of the rest of our games we're going to be a 1-seed pending the big ten tournament. that's not exactly a stretch given how bad northwestern and purdue are and that the other game is against creighton in midweek and we've got one of the best midweek starters in the country.

win. just win. that's all there is to it.

If we win 10 of the final 13 games our RPI will be flirting with single digits and our SOS will be low 20s. That's national seed territory. Very tall order for this team.

 

[RobsterMobster]

I haven't been able to be on the board for a few days but did just now get caught up. Here's my take on all this bubble talk as I channel my inner Aaron Rodgers: R-E-L-A-X.

A team that has reached this point in the season with 30 wins and a 17 RPI is not on the bubble. A lot can still happen--good or bad--but at the moment it's a regional lock. Conference records are definitely part of the equation for the committee but in a 13 team league, it's important to dig deeper than just the standings.

Nebraska has BY FAR the most difficult conference schedule. It's the only team in the league that plays four of the other five teams (Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State) in the RPI top 35. Some play as few as two. Illinois and Iowa have only played one so far so it's no surprise they are the leaders at the moment. And Nebraska hasn't hit the easy part of its schedule yet. 5+ wins against Northwestern and Purdue will make for a climb in the standings. Finishing fourth or fifth in the league doesn't sound sexy but it will be more than good enough to make a regional and might actually be good enough to host one.

None of us agree with John "Loser" Anderson. The NCAA tournament is the thing and conference titles are secondary by a wide margin. Do the Huskers need to hit better on the weekends? Absolutely. Have all the season goals been trashed in the last two weeks? Absolutely not.

It's all still in front of this team...
.

Exactly, the schedule may not help out our finish in the Big Ten standings but it certainly helps out our ultimate goal of hosting a regional. Baseball is a very different sport in that standings tend to take a backseat to many other categories, such as RPI and SOS.

 

[k9_r]

Here's a question - Who has the toughest B1G schedule?

The B1G tourney will be eight teams. If today's top eight stay the same, we can ask who plays the most of them and who plays the fewest of them.

NW - 8 of 8
NEBRASKA - 6 of 7 (Plays two of the bottom five)
INDIANA - 6 of 8
PURDUE- 6 of 8
MARYLAND - 5 of 7 (Plays three of the bottom five)
MINNESOTA - 5 of 7 (Plays three of the bottom five)
RUTGERS - 5 of 8
PENN ST- 5 of 8
MICHIGAN- 4 of 7 (Plays four of the bottom five)
OSU- 4 of 7 (Plays four of the bottom five)
IOWA - 4 of 7 (Plays four of the bottom five)
MSU - 3 of 7 (Plays all of the bottom five)
ILLINOIS - 3 of 7 (Plays all of the bottom five)

No one plays themselves so the top eight could have just seven such opponents. Indiana and Minnesota could change spots so that would alter this list somewhat.

Is it interesting that the three leaders in the standings are in the bottom four of this list?

 

[schuele]

Plus, NU is 2-0 against Brad Hill, who is still my least favorite baseball coach in the country. That has to be worth something.

 

[Cornhusker_fan99]

I agree with you OP. I'm extremely disappointed with the teams performance of late, as they were in contention for a host bid. However theres still a lot left to be accomplished. If the Huskers get their momentum back, which is actually a matter of time before they do, we'll be in great shape come mid May.

 

[huskerbaseball13]

6-7 in the Big Ten....if we aren't on the bubble as of today we should be. Erstad ball baby.

 

[Truehuskerfan]

At this point, we are not even a lock to make the B1G tournament. Granted, considering we should be able to get some wins vs. Northwestern and Purdue that it's unlikely that will happen. But the fact it even looks like a possibility is bad enough.

 

[huskerbaseball13]

At this point, we are not even a lock to make the B1G tournament. Granted, considering we should be able to get some wins vs. Northwestern and Purdue that it's unlikely that will happen. But the fact it even looks like a possibility is bad enough.

Assuming we dont take the Illinois series which seems highly unlikely at this point. NW and Purdue are must series wins and if they fail against one of those teams I'm afraid we will be in trouble barring a Big Ten tourney run. Winning two tomorrow would go a long ways.

 

[k9_r]

Guys, guys, guys, the selection committee does not leave 20ish RPIs home. Especially those with 20ish SOS. Finishing the regular season .500 gets us in the B1G tourney - guaranteed. That .500 record going out + an average showing in Minneapolis will keep our RPI/SOS ~ the same. We are a lock for an at large bid.

 

[huskerbaseball13]

Guys, guys, guys, the selection committee does not leave 20ish RPIs home. Especially those with 20ish SOS. Finishing the regular season .500 gets us in the B1G tourney - guaranteed. That .500 record going out + an average showing in Minneapolis will keep our RPI/SOS ~ the same. We are a lock for an at large bid.

If we finish 7th-8th Place in the Big Ten we will be anything but a lock and will be in trouble no matter what our RPI is. As I pointed out in the other thread. Both major publications have us as a three seed before today's loss. Again...anything but a lock. It's actually quite sad that we even have to talk about this.