I'm not sure if it exactly makes up for this school year's horrible football and basketball season, but it has been a lot of fun watching the Hoosiers brutalize their first three opponents in the Big Ten Baseball Tournament. In three games, IU has outscored its opponents 34-7. Blake Monar wasn't quite as dominant as Bashore and Arnett were in the first two games, but allowed only 2 earned runs in 6 and 2/3 innings. Now, the schedule begins to work in IU's favor. Ohio State and Minnesota play tomorrow at 3:35, and the winner plays a rested IU team in the 7:05 championship game. If IU wins tomorrow night, then the Hoosiers win the tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament. If OSU/Minnesota wins, then the two teams play again on Sunday afternoon. In the 28 previous editions of the Big Ten tournament, the winner of the loser's bracket has won two in a row to win the tournament 6 times. It's certainly not unheard of, and it's quite possible that IU will again face #1 seed Ohio State in front of a partisan Columbus crowd. But for only the second time in the history of the Big Ten baseball tournament, IU will play for the championship.
Incidentally, when IU won the tournament in 1996, the Hoosiers lost the "championship" game to Illinois but won the next day.