Nebraska at crossroads heading into Big Ten play

At 12-9, Nebraska enters conference play with a near identical record to the 13-10 mark posted heading into 2017's Big Ten season. The main difference, however, is a few more glaring issues.

The Huskers have four injured star pitchers in an inexperienced bullpen. Key contributors like Zack Engelken, Paul Tillotson, Reece Eddins and Ethan Frazier are coming off injuries and the vast majority of the remainder haven't shown flashes of stardom yet.

"You've got guys that are in roles that, going into it, weren't expecting to be in those roles," head coach Darin Erstad said. "You've got your boys just lined up that have been there and done that - that's just not there right now. So that's what we have and we're going to find a way to make it work."

The Nebraska bullpen has allowed 21 runs over the last four games.

While NU may be close to getting Eddins back and Jake McSteen is working his way back into the bullpen, NU will have to find a way to hold off a strong Minnesota offense in the later innings.

The Huskers' offense, while significantly better than a year ago, can't keep the team afloat if it can't find the strike zone.

"You look at Minnesota, that's a quality baseball team with a lot of quality left-handed bats that can really hit," Erstad said. "We'll have our hands full."

On to the breakdown...

Friday, March 23 (4:05 p.m.): Nebraska senior RHP Luis Alvarado (1-1, 2.54 ERA, 28.1 IP, 31 K) vs. Minnesota junior RHP Reggie Meyer (1-2, 3.38 ERA, 29.1 IP, 15 K)

Saturday, March 24 (2:05 p.m.): Nebraska junior RHP Matt Waldron (1-1, 4.20 ERA, 15.0 IP, 10 K) vs. Minnesota junior LHP Nick Lackney (1-0, 4.70 ERA, 23.0 IP, 15 K)

Sunday, March 25 (2:05 p.m.): Nebraska senior RHP Matt Warren (3-0, 5.84 ERA, 24.2 IP, 18 K) vs. Minnesota freshman RHP Patrick Fredrickson (2-0, 2.22 ERA, 24.1 IP, 24 K)

Minnesota Golden Gophers (14-8, coming off series win at No. 11 TCU)

Last year: 36-21, 15-8 and 3rd in Big Ten

2018: The Gophers are coming off an impressive series win on the road at national powerhouse TCU, sugarcoating what has otherwise been a mixed bag of results. Minnesota brought back some significant firepower from a year ago in Jordan Kozicky and Terrin Vavra, who has been one of the better hitters in the nation this season with a .414 batting average. The Gophers also have probably the conference's best reliever in Brett Schulze. UM boasts the series win over TCU (with the only loss on the weekend in 13 innings) and wins over Arizona and Boston College, but went just 1-2 in the Dairy Queen Classic and dropped a home series to Creighton.

Biggest strength: Hitting for average. The Gophers boast a .308 team batting average, and while the team slugging percentage isn't blowing anyone away (14 home runs on the season) UM knows how to hit through the shifts. The Gophers pounded out 8 runs on 10 hits in the series finale against TCU and may see that as an offensive turning point.

Biggest weakness: Who's starting? Minnesota may have found lightning in a bottle with freshman Patrick Fredrickson, but the Gophers have tried six different starting pitchers this year with varying results. The bullpen averages much better numbers than the starters, but can Minnesota avoid falling behind early?

1. Waldron gets his first rotation start.

Nebraska junior Matt Waldron saw just one inning of relief in Tuesday's loss to Oral Roberts in relief of his brother, Mike's, start. In what seemed like a perplexing move, Erstad explained the decision as a reason to get Waldron stretched out to play on Saturday. It'll be the first game of Waldron's third season appearing in the standard weekend rotation, with the junior from Omaha Westside being yanked from the weekend lineup after a rough start to 2017. Erstad said they chose Waldron because he's "out there throwing strikes," so will Waldron find his groove in the weekend starting role? The hard-throwing righty earned Big Ten All-Freshman team honors in 2016.

2. Huskers may be Luckey on the hot corner.

Since the series against Cal Poly, Husker freshman and Creighton Prep grad Zac Luckey has burst onto the scene as a new reliable bat in the Nebraska lineup. The 5-foot-11 budding star has already racked up a pair of doubles to go with five singles in limited action, replicating a similar impact that Mojo Hagge brought as an Omaha freshman walk-on last year.

"That's why we do an open competition," Erstad said. "He's making the most of his opportunities."

With fellow freshman Jaxon Hallmark starting to lock down center field, Luckey has been a key piece at third base. If he can continue to show growth at the plate and in the field, he'll become near-irreplaceable in the Husker lineup.

3. Title defense begins now.

It's been a rocky non-conference season for the Huskers, but the Big Ten title defense dangles in front of the team's goals in 2018. With perhaps the most difficult bookends in the conference in Minnesota and Indiana at the beginning and end of the schedule, the Huskers will need to start strong and finish strong. Nebraska swept just one conference series last year - Rutgers - on a walk-off single by Luis Alvarado. If NU can string a winning streak together, it'll be an important piece to the puzzle of getting over the proverbial hump.