behrens

B1G Preview I lurk Huskerboard and rarely post, but I had to share some good news. I have seen this team do some great things under Erstad, and I am forever hopeful. I think we go to a regional this year if (1) Kubat stays healthy, and (2) we find 3-4 strong bats to fill the void in our lineup. Baseball America author Aaron Fitt will be taking questions on Reddit, Thursday February 14 @ 2PM CST. You can ask about this article, this publication, the rankings, the B1G, or anything baseball.

Let's just win every game for the rest of the season and make the rest of the baseball world fear us. </fantasy> I think the quote is spot on. In last decade, several B1G schools have received at large bids when and only when they achieved 39 wins by the end of the conference tournament. No B1G team finished with 38 wins and needed an at-large bid. Snubs seem particularly unjust in the B1G. In the worst case, Michigan finished tied for 4th in the conference standings, went 1-2 in the conference tournament, but received an at-large for a 41 win season. Ohio State (also tied for 4th) received the automatic bid that year, while the top 3 teams in the conference standings got the snubs. If Nebraska finished with 35-38 wins, I think the strong out-of-conference schedule could have pushed them into the tournament. At this point however, that means Nebraska should sweep their remaining schedule and picking up at least 1 win in the conference tournament. I like to remain optimistic, but I can't bring myself to accept that kind of delusion.

How much time left until first pitch?

Don't forget to pick up your 4:30 volleyball tickets.

I guess I should specify... those win totals and percentages include conference tournament games. 13 out of 14 sounds nearly impossible. The tournament could extend that denominator by up to 7 games. (You can thank the Big 10's ridiculous losers bracket for that extension.) Of course, that does not necessarily mean Nebraska reaches that .678 mark.

This is my first post, so hello everyone, and I'll save an introduction for another time. Clearly there is no such thing as a "magic number" in college baseball, but there may be one statistically in the Big 10. Since 2004 (an arbitrary number), no Big 10 team has been selected "at-large" with 37 wins or fewer. All teams that were selected at-large won 40+ (Minnesota 2007 [41], Ohio State 2009 [42], Michigan 2007 [42], Michigan 2005 [42], Minnesota 2009 [40]). Similarly, those teams all had winning percentages .678 or greater (Minnesota 2007 [.695], Ohio State 2009 [.689], Michigan [.689], Michigan [.689], Minnesota [.678]). Purdue's 2011 and 2010 teams got snubbed with .649 and .642. Whether the selection committee intended it or not, other factors such as conference standing and conference win % did not factor into the at large bids. For example, 2011 Michigan State and 2005 Illinois were snubbed despite number one finishes during conference play. 2005 Michigan made an at-large bid despite finishing fourth in conference play. So if Nebraska has a "magic number" I would put it at 13 wins with a .675 winning percentage (one does not necessarily imply the other). With a stronger BIG 10, and clear front-runner in Purdue, one can certainly argue that number to be lower. Of course, I would like Nebraska to win the Big 10's automatic bid, making any debate on this irrelevant. So given this information (and any subsequent corrections), what are our chances?