Big Ten Conference

Michigan has picked up more commits, so that means we hit the front page. (Tons of) action since last rankings:

7-21-11 Iowa gais commitment from Ryan Ward.
7-24-11 Illinois gains commitment from Joey Warburg.
7-25-11 Iowa gains commitment from Michael Malloy.
7-26-11 Michigan gains commitment from Sione Houma.Penn State gains commitment from Jake Kiley.
7-27-11 Indiana(!) gains commitment from Gunner Kiel.
7-28-11 Michigan State gains commitments from Aaron Burbridge and Jermaine Edmondson. Indiana gains commitment from Jason Spriggs.
7-29-11 Purdue gains commitment from Andy Garcia.
7-30-11 Minnesota gains commitment from Jonah Pirsig.
7-31-11 Michigan gains commitment from Chris Wormley.

PLUS, Scout updated their rankings, so there's a little bit of movement there.

Big Ten+ Recruiting Class Rankings
Rank	School	# Commits	Rivals Avg	Scout Avg	ESPN Avg	24/7 Avg
1	Michigan	21	3.38	3.57	3.43	3.48
2	Notre Dame	12	3.25	3.67	3.33	3.25
3	Ohio State	11	3.27	3.36	3.18	3.36
4	Michigan State	13	3.15	3.15	3.08	3.15
5	Penn State	13	3.00	2.85	3.00	2.77
6	Wisconsin	8	3.13	3.25	2.75	2.88
7	Indiana	15	2.27	2.60	2.71	2.40
8	Northwestern	13	2.62	2.38	2.38	1.85
9	Minnesota	17	2.47	2.24	2.38*	1.94
10	Nebraska	5	3.40	3.40	3.40	3.80
11	Iowa	8	3.13	2.63	3.00	2.63
12	Purdue	9	2.33	2.11	2.38	2.00
13	Illinois	6	2.17	2.67	2.17	2.33

*ESPN doesn't rate JUCOs, so Isaac Fruechte is not included in Minnesota's average, Darius Stroud doesn't count against Indiana's average, and Steffon Martin is excluded from Purdue's.

On to the full data, after the jump.

Michigan took two of three games at Penn State this weekend to claim a #2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. While all three games had many great positives, the ending to game two is how this series will be remembered. Michigan held a 4 run lead going into the bottom of the 9th, and the bull pen collapsed.

Weekend recap, series thoughts, and a look at the Big Ten bracket after the jump

Side Note: Derek Dennis's status is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

With half of the Big Ten regular season complete, it's time to take a look at the conference to see where Michigan is and what it will take to get a good seed in the Big Ten Tournament. In this post, we'll walk through the series we've already completed and then look at the opponents we still have on the schedule.

So, for all you late comers to the baseball season, here's what you need to know.

Where We've Been

@Indiana
Series Record	2-1	Indiana Recap
Scores	16-10	6-4	6-26
Game One	Wild and crazy high scoring affair as it goes back and forth after Michigan was all but dead early. Dufek wins it in the 10th with a RBI double. Two bench clearings. Crazy.
Game Two	Brosnahan is sporadic but his emotion carries him through for the win in a well pitched game by both teams. Michigan's early lead is enough to get by.
Game Three	Katzman makes the start and can't get through the first. Yours truly quits the game early as Michigan was down 17.
Outlook Then	For as exciting and tense as the first two games of the series were, the last game left a sour taste in the mouth. IU was better than expected and Leininger is the real deal.

While not much has changed in terms of outlook, Indiana hasn't turned out just as good as I expected either. They've been quite inconsistent, with their top hitters going ice cold the weak after they torched us. That freeze of course happened against Ohio State, giving the Buckeyes a pretty easy 2-1 series victory. They did sweep Iowa, though, something Michigan couldn't do.

Purdue
Series Record	2-1	Purdue Recap
Scores	5-8	6-4	9-4
Game One	Alan Oaks continued to struggle and Michigan could do nothing with Purdue's Matt Bischoff in the loss.
Game Two	Big inning early and a solid Brosnahan start allows Michigan to coast to a victory with Burgoon locking down the 8-9th.
Game Three	Brandon Sinnery gets his first start and makes good. A 7-run 4th inning caps off Ryan LaMarre's POTW winning series.
Outlook Then	Michigan is going to continue to make decent to good pitchers look great. We're hitting well overall though, and attendance has been great. We'll take 2-1 if the loss is Bischoff.

The loss to Bischoff is still nothing to worry about. It really would have helped for Michigan to get a sweep. Ohio State isn't on their schedule, but I'm not sure if that helps or hurts us. Purdue may be able to steal a game from the Buckeyes, or they may get blown out in all three.

@Illinois
Series Record	2-1	Illinois Recap
Scores	17-1	2-6	11-4
Game One	Alan Oaks is back! 8 innings of great pitching and the offense explodes for 17 runs? We're rolling.
Game Two	The bats fall asleep and Brosnahan has his shaky start that should be good enough for a win. Bad defense doesn't help.
Game Three	After 3 ugly innings by both teams, Tyler Burgoon steps in and shuts down the Illini for Pitcher OTW honors. Offense explodes late, sparked by POTW Patrick Biondi.
Outlook Then	2-1 series win over a BTT contender will work. We really had a good chance to sweep if offense can stay consistent.

Things haven't changed much here in a week. Illinois lost 2 of 3 at Michigan State, which means the Spartans are just keeping pace with us.

Iowa
Series Record	1-2	Iowa Recap
Scores	2-5	3-5	7-5
Game One	Jarred Hippen is really good. He overshadowed anything Michigan related in this game.
Game Two	Due to rain in the forecast, it was a double header, & Hippen momentum carried right through game 2. Michigan grabbed an early lead then blew a big inning. Brosnahan's luck runs dry.
Game Three	Michigan jumps ahead and, for the most part, stays ahead. Offense finally shows up late in the game.
Outlook Then	1-2 isn't going to cut it. Losing one to Iowa in the Hippen start would have been alright. Letting game 2 get away shows lack of leadership.

That happened. Nothing has happened in our season and it still stings. I can't wait for this weekend to come so I can get it out of my head. Plus, the Buckeyes did us a favor losing a home series to Penn State just so we could keep pace.

After the jump, we look at the present and then haphazardly predict the future.