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Despite a comfortable lead atop the Big Ten with a 20-4 conference record and a 31-13 overall record, Iowa baseball has been given differing outlooks in the latest NCAA tournament projections.
While the Hawkeyes have had a tremendous Big Ten record, they have struggled to gather wins against non-conference opponents throughout the season. The strugglesome non-conference record has unfortunately dragged the program down in terms of its RPI rankings among other programs throughout the nation, as the Hawkeyes hold the No. 70 slot behind Nebraska (No. 63), Michigan (No.52), Oregon (No. 35), and UCLA (No. 18).
In terms of the PEAR Tournament Outlook, Iowa is listed in the “First Four Out” grouping, which would leave the Hawkeyes outside of the tournament. While the PEAR rankings are not the “end all” regarding the NCAA Tournament field, given that Iowa could still capture the conference’s automatic bid with a Big Ten Tournament title, the numbers surrounding the ranking could be somewhat concerning.
In regards to the D1Baseball.com projections, the Hawkeyes land in the Fayetteville, Ark., regional hosted by Arkansas, which is projected to be the No. 3 overall seed.
While the D1Baseball projection is more favorable than that of PEAR, the Hawkeyes would certainly like to improve their positioning by winning more games against high-quality opponents and potentially securing the Big Ten’s automatic bid.
Iowa’s next game will be the series opener of a three-game series vs. Washington (25-21, 15-8 Big Ten) from Seattle, Wash., running from May 2-4. Game one of the series will start at 9:02 p.m. CT and be broadcast on Big Ten Plus (subscription required). Fans can also follow along through the Hawkeyes Radio Network alongside play-by-play voice John Leo and color analyst John Evans.
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