...is Purdue backing into the Big Ten baseball tournament. The Boilers came into the weekend needing a sweep and a Minnesota loss to Ohio State to wint heir first Big Ten title in 101 years. They got the one Minnesota loss they needed and the sweep, but it wasn't the right kind of sweep.
Iowa handled Purdue quite easily in all three games, winning 7-2, 5-1, and 12-9 to roar into the tournament themselves as the four seed. Fortunately, Purdue got enough help from around the rest of the league to qualify for the tournament anyway with a 12-12 conference record. Their reward for such a bad weekend amongst the cornfields of Iowa City? The number five seed and a rematch with the same Hawkeye team that just finished beating the crap out of them.
Purdue will open the Big Ten Tournament at Bill Davis Stadium on the campus of Ohio State on Wednesday at 12:05pm against Iowa. All games will be on the Big Ten Network. The rest of the schedule is as follows:
Wednesday
12:05pm #5 Purdue vs. #4 Iowa
3:35pm #6 Indiana vs. #3 Northwestern
Thursday
12:05pm Wednesday's losers
3:35pm Highest winning seed on Wednesday vs. #2 Michigan
7:05pm Lowest winning seed on Wednesday vs. #1 Minnesota
Friday
12:05 p.m.: Winner Game 3 vs. Lowest Seed of Games 4 & 5 Losers#
3:35 p.m.: Winner Game 6 vs. Highest Seed of Games 4 & 5 Losers#
7:05 p.m.: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 4
# - Exception: if one of the Games 4 or 5 losers has already had a bye (Michigan or Minnesota), that team will play in Game 6, regardless of seed.
Saturday
3:35 p.m.: Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8
7:05 p.m.: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9 (Championship Game)
Sunday (if necessary)
12:05 p.m.: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 10 (Second Championship Game)