Aaron

Their volleyball is elite only because they have had a coach for years who is essentially Todd Yeagley and is left over from the last athletic director (Morgan Burke) who took all the sports seriously. This current guy (Mike Bobinski who is retiring) only cares about football and men's basketball and whatever else happens is a bonus. There is a reason why the Crimson and Gold Cup was more even in the past as Purdue took all their sports seriously. However, right now they could care less what happens outside the big two and it's why IU almost always wins the overall competition across all sports. IU since Glass has made all 24 sports an equal priority for better or worse. You can argue both ways certainly which model is better but that is the reality right now.

Not even close. When was the last time Woodson won the Big Ten in his tenure? Also if you are saying he is basically Woodson (which is far from true) then the equivalent of the history for baseball would need to except Woodson's results. Three NCAA Appearances in four years would be adequate. If Woodson had the level of success for baseball that he has had in basketball that would be enough given the expectations of this program relative to history. Now lets get to why he is not Woodson. He was 100% qualified to coach in D1 with previous experience at Wright St. Woodson had none. Also, his in game management and ability to make adjustments as the season goes on and cater to the needs of his given team are something Woodson could only dream about. Both are not the greatest at teaching fundamentals but the similarity ends there. Woodson is a lazy and terrible recruiter. Mercer works his butt off with recruiting and is a good recruiter. The fact that both are not the greatest at teaching fundamentals and player development is certainly equivalent. However, Mercer has flexibility to make adjustments and the work ethic to recruit and do the job that Woodson has not touched. On a scale of 1-10 Mercer is about a 6 due to a lack of development of players and teaching fundamentals well. However, he is a good recruiter and flexible at trying new things when something doesn't work. On a scale of 1-10 Woodson is about a 3-4 due to the same development and fundamental issues. At the same time he is a lazy recruiter and unwilling to adjust. I would liken Mercer more to Crean in that it is a bit of a roller coaster and he is far from perfect. However, in baseball given the history and expectations that is slightly more acceptable if not livable. Also both have won the Big Ten Mercer is far from perfect and I cannot defend everything he does. However, he is much more Crean than Woodson in a sport with far lower expectations.

Here is my question: 1. Would IU rather rematch Oregon in what will basically be a home game in Big Ten Tournament with 95% IU fans and a close trip vs. a long trip? 2. Play Illinois again in what will be basically a true neutral site game where both teams are a short bus ride away and fans are pretty evenly split? Which is better matchup and preferable? Those who want Oregon should root for Illinois in their next game. Those who want Illinois should root for Purdue,

Purdue has made it clear they only care about football and men's basketball and whatever happens with their other sports is a bonus. This is basically the Kansas model and there is certainly justification for it given that is where the money is. The question is do the other four teams near the bottom of the league use the Kansas model and just let their programs continue to be beyond terrible. Stay tuned.

Again you and way to many others have out of control expectations for this program. In the Mercer era of 5 years you have 3 NCAA appearances, 1 Big Ten Title, a weird COVID season of conference play missing by a game only and then one bad season in between. You are not firing someone after making the NCAA Tourney last season. The Big Ten in baseball is essentially the Mountain West when it comes to other sports and IU is the most consistent team with ONE losing record since 2008 and been to NCAA's nine times. No one in the conference comes close to that and any other squad in this league would kill for our last 17 years. Mercer is not elite, but to think someone is going to come into the Big Ten and do so much better is not based in reality. Yes his teams are not always good fundamentally and start slow. However, he is a good recruiter and excellent at adjusting on the fly. The question is do you want to fire a decent coach for a small shot at greatness that could also make things a lot worse if you miss? Remember this is northern baseball where the Big Ten and Big East are essentially the A10 or Mountain West of basketball and never getting to the pinnacle. On the surface things are far from perfect, but the reality is you can't just be getting rid of a coach every time you are not an elite program.

Average is fair. Above average recruiter, very flexible at changing things when needed (which is why team improves as season gets later), average to below average teaching fundamentals. Not the best or worst and his record shows that with 3 NCAA’s in five yrs all coming because team got hot late.

I actually think they have potential starters in Grable, Seebold, and Giley who can all be decent for weekend series. The problem is the depth outside Buhr and maybe 1-2 others is beyond terrible and on a four game week it is going to snowball like this. The offense compared to expectation is far more disappointing right now. That guys like Cerny and Oliver who are projected as high draft picks are hitting this badly is inexcusable. While the back end of the pitching staff like today is terrible no one should have expectations for much better there.

I'm going another way with this. Yes giving up 13 runs stinks. However, this pitching staff while solid at the top, has only 5-6 guys you can count on. We know Dustin Glant takes half a season to develop depth on his staff and a ton of runs will be given up on a five game week. Until Mercer demands Glant figure this out from the get go, this team will be rallying late to try to squeak into the tourney and catch fire as they have done nearly every year since he has been here. This is a known and not changing until more is demanded and clearly the staff is OK with this. What is unacceptable is leaving 14 runners on base and this is why team is not hitting expectations. They are leaving a ridiculous number of runners on base offensively all season and if they would stop this they could work around the pitching. The staff has no depth. What they do have are multiple high end draft picks failing to drive runs in as they are projected to do. I don't like the pitching at the back end but its giving you exactly what one would project. Leaving all these runners on base is not something that can be excepted given the projection and hitting ability from this lineup. This is where team is failing to meet expectations is clutch hitting at times. The pitching while terrible beyond top few on staff is expected with this personnel. Leaving these amount of runners on base given the quality of arms team is facing in midweek is well below par and more should be demanded.

I would say Ben McCollum coaching at DII is far closer to coaching in the Big Ten than coaching at the NAIA or NBA level. However, your point is well taken!

227-49 at Marian does not prepare you for the gauntlet of the Big Ten just as 315 NBA coaching wins did not prepare Woodson to coach in this league. Both have the wrong type of experience to succeed at the top of D1 basketball and were unqualified alumni hires. Same as my sister being a child and law attorney would not qualify her to do a good job as a property lawyer. She knows the basics of the latter and could get a job there but would not do as good of work there since it is not her area. Just like all areas of law are different, all areas of coaching at different levels are not the same and anyone who tries to move to a job completely different from their last is likely to struggle despite knowing the industry overall. Its really no mystery why Gearlds and Woodson have failed when you put in the correct perspective.

Like Mike Woodson, Katie Gearlds is the "hump" keeping Purdue basketball from getting back to their former greatness. The situations are remarkably similar with both being totally unqualified sentimental hires of alums who do not have what it takes to be competitive in the Big Ten. Whether it be coaching in the NAIA or NBA, neither remotely prepares someone for coaching at this level of college basketball. There is only one small difference between Woodson and Gearlds. Woodson has made the head-to-head series between the Hoosiers and Boilers far more competitive then it has been in a long time. Gearlds on other hand has never beaten Indiana and combined with the end of the awfulness of the Versyp era, IU has now won 13 straight in series.

That post player McCarthy for PU would fit so well here at IU to fill the center spot. If she wants to get off this horrible Purdue team and get coached by Moren, she has the size and athleticism to be a great center in this league and can rebound. Especially, since Moren has plenty of shooters to open up the paint for her. At Purdue she could be a building block but only if they put better players around her. At IU she would be missing piece next year.

The amazing thing is everyone was worried about the pitching but that has been ok to solid in all but one game. You never thought it would be the offense with the talent in this lineup that would struggle. Especially since hitting has been the strength of the Mercer era in every season but 2021.

Not as good today. Fell 8-4 to Stetson this time. The offense still needs to be more consistent to get where the team wants to be.

Another dominant win. This time 8-1 over host Stetson. For once it was the opponent who committed all the errors and gave themselves no chance. The big development though was Ben Grable throwing five shutout innings. If he can become a third starter that can give four or five innings while pitching well, that changes a lot come conference play. It is already known that Seebold and Giley can start and give you 4-6 innings and if Grable can do same, team has three solid starters for weekend series for Big Ten play for first time since 2021. As I have said the pitching to me looks more promising then it has since that 2021 campaign (offense struggled that yr). If the offense can just get going like it did today and the defense can not be terrible, you are in great position to compete for league title.

I take it you have not watched Purdue? They are slow as molasses getting up the court and less athletic then IU. If IU can get out in transition with their superior speed this should be a double digits win. The way this would be tough is if shots don't fall from long range although if Indiana can get out and run it may not matter.

IU won easily 18-5 in opener over Mount St Mary's. This team has shown they have no issues beating teams at the bottom of Division One. Its beating others that needs to start happening to make hay on the resume.

Nope. Team is still almost a lock to make NCAA Tournament. Losing to Maryland in a quad one game was not changing much in terms of seeding or outlook. Losing to Purdue on other hand and taking that quad four loss would put March Madness hopes very tenuous. Take care of Boilers and you leave no doubt you will be in March Madness. That was the case win or lose to Maryland. This win is much more important. It sucks to lose on senior night but beating the Terps was far from a must win. This one on Sunday is a can't lose.

22-0. Team must have though they were playing football with that score;).

This team is what it is and is not changing till at least next season. They have most of the characteristics of a Moren team playing hard nosed D and a lot of hustle as well as good shooters. Without a starting center or more athleticism in the back court, this team will struggle with length and athleticism like Maryland has. Everyone thought Lily would leap forward to be the starting center but has instead gone backwards. Thank god they got Striplin in the portal who is better suited to be a backup but at least gives you something. For this team to be more than a ceiling of a second round NCAA Tournament team, they need either a starting level center to go with knock down shooters (which they have now and will again next season) or more athletic guards. This team also has issues with turnovers and leadership but the bottom line is if Lily took the leap many including myself expected, you would be Maryland at the back end of the top-25 and a borderline host. Given Moren's system, a lack of a starting level center is nearly fatal. The fact she is almost certainly going to limp this squad into the NCAA Tournament speaks to how good she is at her job. Many coaches would be at the bottom of the league and not sniffing postseason with this flawed personnel. Getting either a starting level big or more athleticism in the backcourt for 2024-2025 is a must or the ceiling will be lower than now. Yarden, Shay, and Lennee are starting level guards and knock down shooters. However, the other two spots have to be filled in the portal. Unless one of the freshman is an immediate contributor (unlikely) like Garzon was you would have two backup level players starting which will not be good. Jules, Henna, and Lex are all terrific options of the bench but if any of them are forced to start this is not going to go well. Getting a high level big and/or another shooter or more athletic wing is a must. Moren has made magic in the portal with Patberg, Parrish, Scalia, Shay, and Strip recently and needs to do it again to fill in around the back court trio.

Why has no one mentioned Brian Dutcher at San Diego St? Has coached to a Final Four and a resume not that different from most others being considered?

IU falls 8-4 to Xavier and is 3-5 overall and still has not beaten a good squad. This team has two massive issues right now and neither have anything to do with pitching despite all the criticism the last few seasons here. The pitching is not elite but is totally fine despite being a big unknown coming in. They have two solid starters and several short relievers who have been adequate as well as a long relief guy in Drew Buhr who is elite. This unit is doing more than enough given expectations, and keeping team ERA under six given offensive surge in college baseball as a whole is acceptable and this is where they are at. Where this team is failing is offensively where average needs to be at or near .300 minimum as a team in this day and age. They are about 25 points to low here and the hitting with runners on base is atrocious. Also, the defense is awful with way to many errors. If they can get that average up a bit and hit with runners in scoring position, you have the team you did two years ago that won over 40 games and made Regional Final. I was really worried about pitching and as long as this holds at this level and offense hits like expected this team will be fine. This team always starts slowly and struggles with defense and this year is no different. However, it is usually not the offense that needs to improve so this is something different and hopefully leaves optimism if this level of pitching holds. Xavier is a likely postseason squad that will be near the top of the Big East and IU is expected to do similar in Big Ten. Both these leagues are essentially the Mountain West in baseball as an elite Mid-Major that gets 3-4 bids a yr. but awful at bottom. Can't beat an equal like the Musketeers when offense fails miserably with runners on base and the middle infield boots the ball around.

The reason this was done is that NW could have back doored their way into the Big Ten Tourney with fewer losses without these forfeits (remember bottom three miss Indy completely). Penn State played during this time and made trip during the wildfires and life went on. NW chose not to travel when others did (maybe trying to avoid two losses although I have no proof of that) and the Big Ten penalized them accordingly so they don't screw others who made this trip out of spot in Indy. I cannot stand all this media seeing the release and not knowing the whole story parachute in and criticize the league. To the Big Ten's criticism though, what I said should have been laid out in press release with the decision so it was clear why. Something like "Northwestern made what they thought was a sound decision to not travel during the LA wildfires. However, given the decision by Penn State to make this trip at the exact same time, we felt the forfeits were necessary so other teams were not penalized from making the Big Ten Tourney who did compete against UCLA and USC" A terrible press release when it comes to PR, so in some ways Big Ten getting the criticism it deserves for not explaining this well and leaving interpretation open. However, the decision itself was absolutely correct.

The reason so few tickets are available is because the venue itself (Gainbridge, Ticketmaster) is only selling all session tickets right now. Once the venue releases tickets for individual sessions (not sure when that will be) inventory will be much more available on both the primary and secondary market.

So far pitching for the most part has been much improved from previous seasons in the early going which is a positive. This offense though needs to be better given the talent and hopefully they heat up as the weather gets warmer.