After their fourth sweep of the 2022 season, this time against Penn State, Illinois is headed to the Big Ten Baseball Tournament!
Let’s take a look at the details…
Illinois finished with a 31-20 record but more importantly, they had a 17-7 Big Ten conference record. That put them in a three-way tie for second place with Rutgers and Iowa.
For that, Illinois was awarded the fourth seed in the tourney. Here is the bracket from the Big Ten.
Some raised questions about the seeding since Illinois had a better head-to-head record against Iowa. I assumed it was based on overall record but it was a little more complicated than that. According to Big Ten regulations, the next tiebreaker goes to best record in common Big Ten opponents. That is how Illinois got their fourth seed.
What’s next?
The Illini are already in Omaha and will take on #5 seed Michigan (28-25, 12-12 Big Ten) on Wednesday. It will be a late night for the guys as the game isn’t scheduled to start till 9pm. The winner of that game will face the winner between the Maryland/Indiana matchup on Wednesday. The loser will end facing the loser of that same matchup.
Fans should bookmark this link for the Big Ten Baseball Tournament Central. All relevant information including scheduling, scores, highlights, and the updated bracket will be there.
Good luck Illini!!