Tournament Central / Bracket / Game Notes / Live Video / Live Audio / Gameday Central
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT INFORMATION / FIRST TWO ROUNDS
No. 8-seed Purdue (29-26, 12-12 B1G) vs. No. 1-seed Nebraska (34-18-1, 16-7-1 B1G)
Wednesday, May 24 at 5 p.m. ET / Big Ten Network, BTN2Go
Bart Kaufman Field / Bloomington, Indiana
All-Time Series: Nebraska leads 11-9 / All-Time at Big Ten Tournament: First Meeting
Last Meetings: Nebraska swept a 3-game series (March 2016 in West Lafayette)
No. 8-seed Purdue vs. No. 4-seed Maryland or No. 5-seed Iowa
Thursday, May 25 at 1:30 or 8:30 p.m. ET / Big Ten Network, BTN2Go
Bart Kaufman Field / Bloomington, Indiana
All-Time Series vs. Maryland: UMD leads 7-1 / All-Time at Big Ten Tournament: First Meeting
Last Meetings vs. Maryland: UMD won 2 of 3 (April 2016 in College Park)
All-Time Series vs. Iowa: Iowa leads 97-64-1 / All-Time at Big Ten Tournament: Iowa leads 2-1
2017 vs. Iowa: Iowa won 2 of 3 (March 24-26 in Iowa City)
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Wednesday: Tanner Andrews (Jr, RHP) vs. NEB's Jake Hohensee (Jr, RHP)
Thursday: Gareth Stroh (So, LHP) vs. TBA for Maryland/Iowa
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue baseball gets its first taste of postseason action since 2012, opening Big Ten Tournament play Wednesday against a Nebraska team that won the regular-season title on the final day of the season thanks in part to an assist from the Boilermakers.
For the first time since Ohio State served as an unexpected host in 2010, the Big Ten Tournament is being held at an on-campus stadium. Indiana's Bart Kaufman Field hosts the eight-team event this week. Purdue will be making its third trip to Bloomington since the fifth-year ballpark opened in 2013.
First pitch Wednesday vs. the Cornhuskers is set for 5 p.m. ET. Every game of the Big Ten Tournament will be televised live by the Big Ten Network. The games are also available on BTN2Go with an authenticated pay-TV account.
The Big Ten Tournament expanded to eight teams beginning in 2014, which means the Boilermakers will playing as the eight seed for the first time. A year ago, Iowa won its first three games as the eight seed before losing to fourth-seeded Ohio State in the winner-take-all championship game.
Coincidentally, three of the four first-round matchups this year are between teams that did not play each other during the regular season. Only the first game of the day Wednesday, Indiana vs. Minnesota, is a rematch of a regular-season series. Maryland and Iowa are also part of Purdue's half of the bracket. The Boilermakers did not play Maryland this season either and have not seen Iowa since the opening weekend (March 24-26) of the conference schedule.
Purdue's series win at Minnesota, its first since 2000, not only locked up a tournament berth for the Boilermakers, it also allowed Nebraska to win its first Big Ten title. Minnesota entered the weekend in first place and could have repeated as conference champs by sweeping the series. After Penn State rallied for a walk-off win vs. the Huskers on Thursday, all Minnesota had to do was take two of three vs. Purdue. But the Boilermakers opened the door for Nebraska twice. The Huskers overcame Thursday's heartbreaker to take the series Central Pennsylvania, winning the league by virtue of a .021 edge over Michigan in winning percentage. The Wolverines also won 16 conference games this year but Nebraska had one fewer loss after its April 2 game at Indiana ended in a 1-1 tie due to a travel curfew.
Purdue's series win at Minnesota, its first since 2000, not only locked up a tournament berth for the Boilermakers, it also allowed Nebraska to win its first Big Ten title. Minnesota entered the weekend in first place and could have repeated as conference champs by sweeping the series. After Penn State rallied for a walk-off win vs. the Huskers on Thursday, all Minnesota had to do was take two of three vs. Purdue. But the Boilermakers opened the door for Nebraska twice. The Huskers overcame Thursday's heartbreaker to take the series in Central Pennsylvania, winning the league by virtue of a .021 edge over Michigan in winning percentage. The Wolverines also won 16 conference games this year, but Nebraska had one fewer loss after its April 2 game at Indiana ended in a 1-1 tie due to a travel curfew.
Gareth Stroh, Coach @Waz4412, @T13Andrews & @J_McGowan23 met with the media today to preview the Big Ten Tournament. https://t.co/lkq8sAPRCS
-- Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) May 22, 2017
By winning three of its final four regular-season games, Purdue assured itself of having an overall winning record this year. With one victory this week in Bloomington, the Boilermakers can triple their win total from last year. Their 19-win improvement remains No. 1 nationally. Meanwhile, Purdue matched the largest win improvements in the Big Ten since 1988. The 2008 Boilermakers had been the only other Big Ten team to win 10 more league games than the year before. And a .417 improvement in winning percentage matched Minnesota's 2009 team. Purdue also became the sixth team since 2000, and first since Penn State in 2011, to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament one season removed from finishing last in the standings.
Purdue has won at least one game in its last eight Big Ten Tournament appearances dating back to 2004. Prior to its four-year postseason drought, the Boilermakers were the only team to qualify for the six-team field every year from 2008 to 2012. Indiana and Nebraska now have the longest active streaks in the league, each qualifying for the sixth straight seasons dating back to 2012.
Nebraska and Maryland have both qualified for the Big Ten Tournament every year they've been in the league. Iowa made it for a fourth straight year, its longest streak since earning five consecutive berths from 1983 to 1987. The Huskers made it to the championship game in both 2013 and 2014, but have gone two-and-out the last two years. The No. 1 seed won five consecutive Big Ten Tournaments from 2010 to 2014, losing only one game in the process. But with the top two seeds no longer having the advantage of a first-round bye, the tournament's top seed (Illinois in 2015 and Minnesota in 2016) is a combined 2-4 the last two years.
Coach @Waz4412 discussed #Purdue's return to the Big Ten Tournament at today's coaches press conference in B-Town. https://t.co/8FcSUIHe7Z
-- Purdue Baseball (@PurdueBaseball) May 23, 2017
Since the Huskers joined the Big Ten in time for the 2012 baseball season, the road team has dominated the Purdue-Nebraska series. The Boilermakers won two of three in Lincoln in 2012 and 2015 while the Huskers swept series at Alexander Field in 2013 and 2016. Purdue played just one neutral-site game this year, but led the league with 18 true road wins. Nebraska played nine neutral-site games, going 3-6 in the process. However, the Huskers won all four of their road series in league play, taking two of three at Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio State and Penn State.
Nebraska won the league despite ranking last with 20 home runs and second to last with 38 stolen bases. But the Huskers were once again among the top teams in the league defensively (.976 fielding percentage), turning 56 double plays while surrendering the second fewest stolen bases (23) in the league. Nebraska also had one its finest seasons on the mound since joining the Big Ten. The Huskers' staff is not overpowering (6.6 Ks per 9 innings) but surrendered a league-low 20 homers and effectively closed out its tight games (19 saves).
Jake Meyers (.298, 35 walks, , 18 steals; 8 wins, 52 Ks vs. 9 walks) and Luis Alvarado (12 doubles, 21 RBI; 10 saves in 15 appearances) both excelled as two-way players this year. Scott Schreiber, brother of Purdue alumnus Brad Schreiber, didn't duplicate his 16-homer campaign of year ago, but remained Nebraska's top run producer thanks to a .335 average, 14 doubles and 46 RBI.