Big Ten Baseball Tournament 2018: Schedule, TV Info and Predictions

The Big Ten Conference baseball tournament gets underway on Wednesday morning at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.

The top eight teams in the conference compete in a double-elimination format, culminating in the championship game on Sunday afternoon with an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line.

The latest projected tournament field from Michael Lananna and Teddy Cahill of Baseball America included Big Ten teams in the field of 64—Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio State and Purdue.

No. 1 seed Minnesota is projected to host a regional and is a clear lock to be part of the field as the No. 11 team in the nation in the latest poll from D1Baseball.com, regardless of how things go this week.

While no other Big Ten team is currently ranked nationally, Indiana also looks like a relatively safe bet to be part of the tournament field thanks to an RPI of 24 in the latest rankings.

Those other three teams are still looking to punch their ticket, though, and an opening round win on Wednesday would be a good first step.

Wednesday Schedule and Predictions

Matchup	Time (CT)	TV	Prediction
No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 6 Iowa	9 a.m.	BTN	Iowa
No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 7 Ohio State	1 p.m.	BTN	Purdue
No. 1 Minnesota vs. No. 8 Michigan State	5 p.m.	BTN	Minnesota
No. 4 Illinois vs. No. 5 Indiana	9 p.m.	BTN	Illinois

Wednesday Game to Watch: No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 7 Ohio State

Both of these teams need a strong showing this week to prove they belong among the field of 64.

The Buckeyes took two of three at home when the two teams met up earlier this month, but they ended the season on a sour note when they dropped two of three to a Michigan State team that snuck into the field as the No. 8 seed.

Meanwhile, the Boilermakers have won four in a row, including a three-game sweep of No. 3 seed Michigan.

Ohio State third baseman Noah McGowan (.364/.456/.610, 9 HR, 54 RBI) earned All-Big Ten First Team honors earlier this week when the conference's postseason awards were announced, and he'll certainly be one to watch in this matchup.

Seth Kinker (13 SV, 1.62 ERA, 8.4 K/9) was a Second Team honoree for the Buckeyes and Ross Learnard (13 SV, 2.40 ERA, 9.3 K/9) earned a spot on the Third Team for the Boilermakers, so the two closers could factor heavily into this matchup if things stay close.

Whoever wins this one will have taken a significant first step toward securing a spot in the upcoming NCAA tournament, while the loser will have a tough hill to climb in the double-elimination format. 

All stats courtesy of Baseball Cube, unless otherwise noted.