Iowa polished off a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, rallying with a monster seventh inning. It was a seven-hit, eight-run seventh inning that catapulted the Hawkeyes to a 9-3 series-sweeping victory.
Now, Iowa sits at 20-12 overall and improved to 6-3 in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes are tied fourth in the Big Ten standings but own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Michigan thanks to their series win over the Wolverines to open the month of April.
Iowa hosts Bradley on Tuesday night at 6:05 p.m. CT from Duane Banks Field in Iowa City where the Hawks will look to run their winning streak to a season-best five straight. Then, it’s an all-important series at Big Ten-leading Rutgers over the weekend.
With limited resume-enhancing opportunities ahead, Iowa needs to cash in on its opportunity to pick up several quality wins against the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers is currently on a 15-game winning streak, sits 30-6 overall and owns an 11-1 mark in Big Ten play. With games against Iona (1-29) on Tuesday and Princeton (4-24) on Wednesday, it’s likely that Rutgers will play host to Iowa on a 17-game winning streak.
To say that Rutgers has been a surprise would be an understatement. In the 2022 preseason coaches poll, the Scarlet Knights weren’t even voted one of the top six. Instead, Nebraska was the preseason favorite. The Huskers were followed by Michigan at No. 2, Iowa at No. 3, Maryland at No. 4, Ohio State at No. 5 and Indiana at No. 6.
Nebraska has been a big disappointment thus far. The Huskers are just 13-21 overall and 4-5 in Big Ten play. Ohio State hasn’t been what the coaches thought they would be either. The Buckeyes are currently 11-21 overall and 2-8 in Big Ten play. Here’s the full look at updated records and standings through the April 17 games.
Which teams are well positioned to make the postseason? Taking a peek at the updated RPI rankings following the April 17 games can give us a glimpse into answering that question. Below is a look at each team’s RPI ranking to start the week of April 18.