Big Ten Tournament Preview

The Big Ten baseball tournament begins this week at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, starting with Illinois and Maryland Wednesday morning and lasting until the championship game on Sunday. The tournament consists of the top-8 teams in the conference where they are sorted first by win percentage and second by head-to-head matchups throughout the regular season.

Nebraska finished the regular season with a conference record of 15-9 (.625), good enough for a three-way tie for third in the league, but find themselves as the No. 5 seed due to series losses to No. 3 Illinois and No. 4 Minnesota. The Cornhuskers are heading into the tournament hoping to cash in on a bit of late-season success, taking series from Arizona State and Michigan, and are looking to keep the hot bats going.

Ahead of the tournament, HuskerOnline takes a deeper look into the teams that join the Huskers in Omaha.

First-Round Matchup: vs No. 8 Iowa at 5 p.m.

Record: 36-19, 17-7 Big Ten

RPI: 30

Players to watch: Senior Matt Lloyd and junior Matt Gorski each lead the Hoosiers with 60 hits as well as combining for 28 total home runs. Llyod also leads the Hoosiers in ERA (1.80) and saves (5).

The Hoosiers enter the tournament as one of the best power-hitting teams in the country and are quite comparable to the Sun Devils at the plate. Indiana leads the nation in home runs (90) due in part to Cole Barr who added 16 home runs for Indiana. Pitching is another strength of the Hoosiers, boasting a team ERA of 3.58 and striking out a conference-leading 528 batters. That combination of hitting and pitching led the Hoosiers to the Big Ten regular-season championship.

First-Round Matchup: vs No. 7 Ohio State at 1 p.m.

Record: 38-16, 16-7 Big Ten

RPI: 48

Players to watch: Freshman RHP Isaiah Paige leads the Wolverines in ERA (2.48) and WHIP (.98). Junior outfielder Jordan Brewer leads his team in batting average (.358), runs (51), hits (69), doubles (18), RBIs (52), and slugging percentage (.637).

While Michigan wasn't one of the best power-hitting teams in the league, they were the most consistent at the plate with a league-leading batting average of .285 in 2019. The Wolverines also led the conference in ERA with a mark of 3.40 as well as walking only 191 batters, second behind Nebraska (143) and Indiana (178). Look for the Wolverines to be active on the basepaths, as they have attempted to steal 101 bases this year with a conversion rate of 79.2%.

First-Round Matchup: vs No. 6 Maryland at 9 a.m.

Record: 36-17, 15-9 Big Ten

RPI: 22

Players to watch: RHP Garrett Action has been one of the most clutch closers in the country, setting the Big Ten record and leading the nation in saves with 19. Second basemen Michael Massey was a Preseason All-American who has only one error in his last 90 starts as well as sitting at 8th in the conference in batting average (.323).

Illinois has proven to be one of the most disciplined teams in the conference with a league-leading fielding percentage of .982 and recording only 34 errors. The mark of .64 errors per game ranks second in the entire country behind only Navy. The Fighting Illini's RPI of 22 is the highest of any Big Ten team and they are also featured in polls such as D1Baseball (No. 20), Perfect Game (No. 23), and the USA Today/Coaches Poll (No. 22).

First-Round Matchup: vs No. 5 Nebraska at 9 p.m.

Record: 24-25, 15-9 Big Ten

RPI: 66

Players to watch: Freshman infielder Zack Raabe is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak for the Gophers heading into Omaha. Jordan Kozicky is the run-producer for the Gophers, leading his squad in runs (33), home runs (10) and RBIs (43).

After starting the season with a disappointing 2-11 record, the Golden Gophers found their stride in the latter part of the season and have since gone 24-14 en route to a No. 4 seed in the tournament. Minnesota has still struggled, however, at the plate with the team only posting .256 batting average and scoring 255 runs, which are eighth and ninth in the Big Ten, respectively.

First-Round Matchup: vs No. 3 Illinois at 9 a.m.

Record: 28-27, 12-12 Big Ten

RPI: 71

Players to watch: Sophomore outfielder Randy Bednar has provided an offensive spark for the Terps, recording a hit in 16 of the last 18 games, raising his average from .255 to .301 over that stretch. RHP Hunter Parsons leads the Big Ten with nine wins on the year.

Heading into its' final series of the regular season against Iowa, the Terrapins faced a must-win scenario sitting at 10th in the standings. A sweep of the Hawkeyes gave Maryland the life it needed and catapulted them to a No. 6 seed in the tournament and dropping Iowa to No. 8. The Terrapins have struggled on the mound this season with the lowest mark in the Big Ten in ERA (5.52), runs (352) and walks allowed (280). Maryland hasn't done much better at the plate, with a team batting average of only .249 and having 517 batters strike out, the second highest in the conference.

First-Round Matchup: vs No. 2 Michigan at 1 p.m.

Record: 31-24, 12-12 Big Ten

RPI: 135

Players to watch: Junior Dominic Canzone currently leads the Big Ten in hits (81) and total bases (146). Freshman pitcher Seth Lonsway leads the league in strikeouts with 110 and received National POTW honors following the Purdue series.

The Buckeyes are currently 7-3 over their last 10 games heading into Omaha with a sweep of Purdue and a series win against Penn State. During that time, Ohio State had a team batting average of .275 with 15 doubles and 16 home runs. Last week against Purdue, the Buckeyes sent 10 balls over the fence for a total of 62 home runs on the season which is their highest mark since 66 total homers in 2009. The Buckeyes also lead the Big Ten in total hits with 526 on the year.

First-Round Matchup: vs No. 1 Indiana at 5 p.m.

Record: 28-22, 12-12 Big Ten

RPI: 98

Players to watch: Junior Grant Judkins currently has an ERA of 2.32 and has allowed two or fewer runs in 10 of his last 14 starts. Izaya Fullard leads the team in batting average (.310) as well as total hits (58).

Iowa sits firmly in the category of a "middle-of-the-pack" team in the Big Ten conference this season. As a team, they are hitting .269 while their pitching staff has an ERA of 4.51 to go along with 17 saves on the year, the second highest mark in the Big Ten. Where the Hawkeyes struggle the most is in the field where they have a fielding percentage of .968 and 64 total errors on the year which is the second-lowest among teams in the field. Iowa has been one of the best teams late in the game this season as they have 15 come-from-behind victories as well as four total walk-off wins.