Two big races going on in the Big Ten baseball right now. Let’s look at the standings before the last weekend of regular play:
| 2005-06 | Big Ten | Overall | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | W | L | T | Pct. | W | L | T | Pct. |
| Northwestern | 19 | 9 | 0 | .679 | 23 | 29 | 0 | .442 |
| Michigan | 19 | 9 | 0 | .679 | 34 | 18 | 0 | .654 |
| Ohio State | 16 | 11 | 0 | .593 | 32 | 18 | 0 | .640 |
| Minnesota | 13 | 14 | 0 | .481 | 26 | 24 | 0 | .520 |
| Purdue | 13 | 15 | 0 | .464 | 28 | 23 | 0 | .549 |
| Illinois | 13 | 15 | 0 | .464 | 27 | 25 | 0 | .519 |
| Iowa | 12 | 16 | 0 | .429 | 23 | 29 | 0 | .442 |
| Penn State | 12 | 16 | 0 | .429 | 19 | 33 | 0 | .365 |
| Michigan State | 11 | 17 | 0 | .393 | 24 | 28 | 0 | .462 |
| Indiana | 11 | 17 | 0 | .393 | 22 | 30 | 0 | .423 |
At 19-9, the Northwestern Wildcats and Michigan Wolverines are in a dead heat for first place. The team that finishes first wins not only the Big Ten title but also the rights to host the Big Ten Tournament next week.
The second big race is for eligibility for the tournament. The top six team will compete. As you can see, two teams (Iowa and Penn State) are knocking on sixth place’s door, just one game back.
The Illini had a chance to gain ground Tuesday but lost to Missouri. That leaves a four game set this weekend against Michigan St who are tied for last place.
Good luck, Illini!