Examining The Series:
The Indiana Hoosiers baseball program just wrapped up an impressive one-game series against the Vanderbilt Commodores, winning by a score of 5-1 in Nashville. Vanderbilt is having a down year by their lofty standards, but are still a very good team with great talent and always high expectations. This was a fantastic win for the Hoosiers and one they undoubtedly hope to build on as the Minnesota Golden Gophers come to town for a three-game weekend series in Bloomington.
The games this weekend are as follows:
Friday, March 20 @ 6:00 PM ET
Live Video: bit.ly/4dAOJT4
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/46VZA6j
Saturday, March 21 @ 2:00 PM ET
Live Video: bit.ly/3NBx434
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/46VZA6j
Sunday, March 22 @ 1:00 PM ET
Live Video: bit.ly/4bxy8NE
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/46VZA6j
All games can be seen on B1G+.
Now, the Hoosiers and Golden Gophers match up very similarly, presenting an evenly matched series that is ripe for tense entertainment and action. Minnesota’s RPI comes in at 74th in the country, while their ELO (a more analytical way to rank teams) lands at 75th in the country.
Similarly, the Hoosiers’ RPI is 83rd in the country, while their ELO is 78th in the country.
These two teams are very even when it comes to weighted rankings, but couldn’t be more different if you looked at their records. The Golden Gophers are 5th in the Big Ten by overall record at 15-6 while the Hoosiers are 14th in the Big Ten with a record of 8-12. This large difference in record but near-zero difference in overall ranking can be explained by each team’s respective strength of schedule. Minnesota has played the 150th toughest schedule in the country while the Hoosiers have played the 32nd toughest schedule in the country. As such, this series has the chance to be a real barometer for both teams on where they truly stand against similar competition.
Indiana Injury Report
Senior right-handed pitcher Jackson Bergman will miss the rest of the 2026 campaign with a season-ending elbow injury. The Ohio native will undergo surgery in the coming weeks. He plans to file for a medical hardship waiver and return for the 2027 season in Bloomington.
Bergman was a weekend starter for the first three weeks of the season. In his three starts, the 6-foot-6 right-handed pitcher held a 4.50 ERA over 14 innings of work. He allowed just seven earned runs and picked up nine combined strikeouts in appearances against North Carolina, Notre Dame and Western Kentucky.
Indiana Stats and Figures:
6th vs. 15th: The Golden Gophers currently sit 6th in the Big Ten by team OPS with an OPS of .866, while the Hoosiers fall to 15th in the Big Ten by the same metric with an OPS of .741. The Hoosiers are led by Hogan Denny, who has been Indiana’s best hitter by far this season. Denny has an OPS of 1.049 on the season and will need to be a difference maker if the Hoosiers want to win the series.
3rd vs. 14th: Minnesota ranks 3rd in the Big Ten by team ERA with an ERA of 3.19, while Indiana lands at 14th in the Big Ten with a team ERA of 6.07. Pitching has been a struggle for the Hoosiers this season, but sophomore starter Brayton Thomas has been a major bright spot. He leads Indiana’s starting pitchers with an ERA of 2.95 and will take the mound in game 3 of the series on Sunday.
Prediction and Next Series:
The Hoosiers played very well against Vanderbilt, and I believe that momentum will carry through into this series against the Golden Gophers, especially since the Hoosiers are back home in Bloomington. I have Indiana winning two out of the three games, which will be a major boost when it comes to RPI and ELO rankings.
Beyond this weekend series, the Hoosiers then face off against Indiana State on Tuesday before traveling to Lincoln to take on the Cornhuskers of Nebraska in a three game weekend series.
Stay locked in with Hoosier Huddle for recaps of IU baseball games and series along with previews examining each one ahead of time. Go Hoosiers!