Aaron

Is this a clue?

Could be both:). There was definitely a slight odor (albeit very mild) coming from the porta potties as I sat in the bleachers today!

Usually Big East uses FloTV. However, with game being a last minute addition no broadcast. With that said, even if it were streamed, FloTV is $19.99 a month and the most expensive online broadcast there is for college sports (and not great quality). It is the same platform women's basketball has those November tournaments on. For all the complaints about BTN+ and the way they stream, the Big East has by far the most expensive and most obscure streaming option of all the major conferences.

Probably the stench from the porta potties;). I have been to many (probably 40 in all) college baseball stadiums and this one at Xavier is easily the worst that is still in use I have seen. The only rival to it is Purdue's old stadium before they built Alexander Field. Both of those places make Sembower Field look world class and that is hard to do! Not kidding.

Long overdue and not a terrible price for season tickets.

Again need a sweep which is very likely as IU has best offense in conference and MSU has worst pitching. You do that and you are in the NCAA Tourney with 40 wins (first time since 1994) regardless of how things go in Big Ten Tourney. You also lock in to no. 2 seed for it with all three victories which needs to be the expectation. Lose even one and you might need to win a game or two in conference tourney.

Smartest thing they could have done from a tournament perspective to secure at-large bid. Losing at Xavier will be worth the same in the RPI as beating Southern Indiana would have. However, beating Xavier will be worth several spots in the RPI. Also, Musky plays Cincy on Tuesday so IU will be at a pitching advantage.

No chance they host. RPI is to low even if they win the Big Ten Tourney. Northwestern will host, but IU will not even if they sweep the Big Ten Tournament and sweep MSU. Their RPI is simply to low and will not finish higher than the mid 20's no matter what. Need to be in top 20 at minimum to host and no way the Hoosiers can get there.

Well I thought they clinched a bid with the win yesterday but this removed any remaining doubt.

That likely punches IU's ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 12 years if they don't have a slip up against Michigan St at home next weekend who is the worst team in the league. What a nice job Shonda Stanton has done turning the program around.

Most definitely!

All I can say is sigh of relief. That ninth inning was ugly but a win is a win in the end so no complaints.

Hosts per D1 Baseball and Baseball America: https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2023-ncaa-tournament-projected-field-of-64-41923/ https://d1baseball.com/projections/d1baseball-field-of-64-projections-week-10/ It is possible but they probably need to 16-3 at worst down stretch to maintain this given they have sub-200 Purdue and NW still. Of those three losses they cannot be PU, NW, or Southern Indiana. Definitely possible but very little margin for error given weak schedule. On the other hand they are all but certain to get in to the tourney and hopefully get their Regional at UK, Vandy, or Indiana St if they have to travel. Outside chance Louisville and Mizzou also host. However, UK, and Vandy only driving distance teams very likely to host at moment. IU and Indiana St have next best chance in this area to be one seeds and get home games..

He deserves a promotion to bigger games and sports.

Dare I say those announcers were the best I have ever heard on an ESPN broadcast? Not kidding. They were very complimentary of IU and the Big Ten and northern baseball in general. They were also extremely well prepared and had studied both teams quite well and knew what they needed about them. They also called a perfect game on the broadcast from a play-by-play standpoint. So unusual for ESPN for something like that to happen but not complaining:).

As long as IU has the media school and they use it as a way to get experience for the students that is not changing. Maybe games like Wednesday they sync the radio once replay arrives when students are not available. However, as long as students are available they will be used to gain experience for most broadcasts.

Every conference has an extra streaming subscription service to watch some of the smaller sports. ACC, SEC, Big 12, Pac 12 have ESPN+ which is same price per month. Big East has Big East Digital. Smaller conferences use ESPN+ also. BTN+ is no different than any other league in how they handle Olympic sports. The issue is leaving the broadcast itself in hands of the schools where some take it seriously (IU generally does but if they run out of students to help they will do a one camera broadcast) and some will use a single camera with no announcer. This is what needs to change. Every other league the streaming service handles the broadcasts rather than the schools. As a result some BTN+ telecasts are pretty poor quality. This is what has to change (particularly if they are adding replay in all the sports as seems to be the case next year). The platform itself and the way it is accessed is very much on par with other conferences (most Olympic sports streamed for extra $$$ online only with a few games on regular TV although the latter could be increased somewhat as Btown said). The issue is 100% the quality. I would be happy for Bardo to go:).

While it will take a LOT of winning down the stretch to hold onto this and a top 16 RPI, IU is now projected to host a regional by College Sports Madness in their latest Bracketology: https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/baseball/bracketology A nice change of pace after the last couple years to be talking about whether team is hosting and not whether they are in at all. Not that different from the basketball team this year going from not in or barely in, to safely in and question being if they get a top four protected seed (note the top 16 teams host in baseball just like women's basketball except all are made one seeds instead of one through four).

Ironically the Louisville game is on ESPNU but what you said about an FS College would be a great idea indeed.

Agreed they need more just not all of them. I misunderstood you. To me though it is a bigger deal to have standard streaming requirements like watchespn does for other leagues and no more one camera broadcasts. To me the quality of the online stream by some teams (IU among them in rare cases) is what needs to be fixed as much as getting more games on TV. This is where the Big Ten needs to step in and tell the schools 'no more one camera anouncerless broadcasts and all online games going forward are going to be TV quality like all other leagues do'. This is where I am hoping having a former MLB person as commissioner puts the wheels in motion on all of this.

Not likely. No conference has every single game on regular TV. Ever Power 5 league has some games on ESPN Networks but the rest streamed on Watch ESPN in some form. There is no chance the Big Ten becomes the first conference to televise every single game nor should they. Now with that said, the Big Ten does need to put more games on regular TV as you said but it certainly won't be all of them. What the Big Ten does need to mandate is NO MORE one camera broadcasts like PSU did and even IU did Wednesday against Ball State. They need every stream to have full cameras like a TV broadcast like other conferences do when it is an online broadcast only. This is where the Big Ten really lacks. While IU is much better than most at usually making BTN+ broadcasts having as many camera's as TV, they do have a very occasional game like Wednesday with one camera and that needs to go. With the Big Ten adding instant replay likely next year (and yes it sounds like they are), the conference is going to need to mandate that every broadcast is done like a TV broadcast and no more one camera games. I know IU uses students and the issue Tuesday was between softball (which had a TV level broadcast on BTN+) and classes for some, they didn't have enough people in the media school to do two full camera games with both teams. This is where next year IU (and all other conference schools) are either going to need to hire full time people to run cameras or make sure before the season starts they have enough students accounted for and available for all broadcasts. Hopefully with the new league commissioner coming from MLB he will start to put down certain mandates (I.E. all broadcasts are now required to have full camera's like other conferences do when streaming online so instant replay can start) to make the league on par with the rest of the Power 5. Another thing that needs to happen is requiring all teams to have lights. Northwestern is now the last school to not have them because their stadium is in a neighborhood and the residents don't want night games. This is where the Big Ten needs to put the mandate down for lights and then see if the Evanston city council mysteriously allows them if it kicks the Wildcats out of the Big Ten (not fully just for baseball where their lack of being competitive most years is hurting the league). More likely they need a compromise like with Wrigley Field where lights can go in, but only a limited number (four home Friday Big Ten series) of night games are allowed. There is I hate nothing more than people that move next to a place that creates noise at night (I.E. Stadiums, Concert Venues, Airports, Train Tracks, ETC.) and then get mad when the sound is generated in the evening. If that bothers you move somewhere where there is not a venue that generates a lot of noise at night. Unless the venue goes in AFTER you moved in (which is usually not the case), you forfeit the right to complain about any noise it generates and part of me hopes that becomes a law someday.

Starting with adding replay for the umpires as the Big Ten continues to be the only major conference without it for baseball.

That Hollycross guy IU saw for five innings is probably the best arm they have seen this season and his numbers back that up (0.47 ERA). He went multiple shutout innings against very highly ranked Kentucky and Miami also so the Hoosiers are far from the first high powered offense he has completely befuddled . Just one of those days. Focus on winning the Iowa series which is most important. RPI will stay between 25-30 and keep team in position for an at-large bid should they win the games they are supposed to down the stretch.

I was talking about missing the Final Four this season. It would def be nice to have sixth player for next year once Berger leaves.

As hard as it is for IU fans to admit, Clark deserves every bit of hype she gets after tonight and it makes me feel dirty to say that but credit where it is due. This reminds me of 2015 when Wisconsin knocked off the seemingly indestructible undefeated UK team only to choke in the championship. Can Iowa become the first Big Ten team men or women to hang a banner since MSU in 2000? A Big Ten team has won a title once with PU in 99 on women's side.