Indiana Baseball: As Expected, Hoosiers Left Out of NCAA Tournament Field

Indiana has one of the best pitching staffs in the country, but a lack of hitting down the stretch cost them a shot at making the NCAA Tournament field on Monday.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – By the end, it was something of a longshot anyway, but when the 64-team NCAA Tournament bracket was announced on Monday, Indiana wasn't included.

There were only three Big Ten teams that made the field, regular-season champion Nebraska, and at-large choices Michigan and Maryland. It's the first time since 2016 that the league had only three selections. The Big Ten has been a four-bid or five-bid league since then.

Indiana finished the season with a 26-18 record, but went 4-9 down the stretch in  their back-loaded schedule, falling from first place during those final three weeks when they had to face all three of the league's NCAA teams.

The Hoosiers just didn't hit enough down the stretch, and it wound up costing them. Indiana's pitching, which was great all year, held up most of the time, and its 3.17 team earned run average ranks No. 4 in the country and No. 2 among Power 5 schools behind only Texas. 

But hitting was a problem. Their .256 batting average ranked No. 208 in the country out of 286 Division I teams. And it came back to haunt them too often, especially against the league's best arms – and there were a lot of them.

There are 13 Big Ten baseball teams – Wisconsin doesn't play – and just by breaking down the Hoosiers results against the best teams in the league, it's clear why they weren't chosen,

Here's how their season broke down:

Against the Big Ten's best

• Nebraska – 1-3
• Michigan – 1-2
• Maryland – 1-2
• Ohio State – 1-5
• TOTAL – 4-12
• Win Pct. – .333

Against the middle

• Iowa – 2-1
• Illinois – 2-1
• Rutgers – 3-1
• Michigan State – 2-1
• TOTAL – 9-4
• Win Pct. – .692

Against the bottom

• Minnesota 5-0
• Penn State 4-0
• Northwestern 2-1
• Purdue 2-1
• TOTAL – 13-2
• Win Pct. – .867

Indiana also suffered from the fact that the Big Ten shortened its baseball season and played a conference-only schedule. It didn't allow for non-conference games during the week or early in the season. Playing more games probably would have helped Indiana, with all the quality pitching at their disposal.

The Big Ten getting only three spots is certainly a slap in the face to the league. The SEC had nine selections, the ACC had eight, the Pac-12 got six teams in and the Big 12 had four. Even Conference USA got more teams in – four.

Alabama, Michigan, North Carolina and UC Santa Barbara were the last four teams in, according to the NCAA, while Baylor, Pitt, Georgia and Ball State were the first four out. 

Nebraska is the No. 2 seed in the Fayetteville Regional, and they'll have to beat Arkansas, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, to advance. The Cornhuskers (31-12) open play on Friday against Northeastern (36-10). Arkansas plays NJIT (26-22).

Michigan is the No. 3 seed in the South Bend Regional. The Wolverines (27-17) play No. 2 seed Connecticut on Friday night. Host Notre Dame (30-11) takes on Central Michigan (40-16) on Friday afternoon.

Maryland is the No. 3 seed in the Greenville Regional. No. 1 seed East Carolina (41-15) plays Norfolk State (25-26) on Friday afternoon, and the Terrapins take on No. 2 seed Charlotte (39-19) on Friday night. 

Related stories on Big Ten baseball

• FATHER AND SON: Indiana baseball coach Jeff Mercer lives right next door to his dad, Jeff Mercer Sr., and the long-time coach lends an ear whenever necessary. Read Tom Brew's takeout on the closeness of father and son. CLICK HERE
• NCAA TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS: Here are the pairings and game times for the 64-team NCAA baseball tournament that starts on Friday. CLICK HERE