Not only is a Big Ten tournament title on the line, but IU’s national seed in the NCAA tournament is contingent upon its performance this weekend.
No. 6 seed IU plays No. 2 Ohio State on Friday. The victor would play the winner of the matchup between No. 1 seed Maryland and No. 5 Michigan State.
“We know that what we do will determine a lot,” IU ?senior defender Patrick Doody said. “But we’re not concerned about that. Whatever happens, happens.”
IU enters the weekend ranked No. 6 in the RPI. A top-four finish in the RPI would guarantee IU home games until the College Cup in North ?Carolina.
IU sophomore midfielder Tanner Thompson said any potential implications this weekend might have on IU’s national seed is far from the team’s mind.
“We’re focused on winning the Big Ten tournament right now,” Thompson said. “All that stuff doesn’t matter right now.”
Winning the Big Ten tournament will be no small feat. First IU must defeat upstart Ohio State. The Buckeyes were picked for a dead last Big Ten finish in the preseason poll before finishing second in the conference.
“They’re kind of like us because people weren’t expecting us to do much,” Doody said. “They’ve just been consistent.”
IU and Ohio State are similar statistically, as well.
There are three Buckeyes tied for the team lead in goals with five each in senior Yianni Sarris, sophomore Danny Jensen and junior Liam Doyle.
IU junior forward Femi ?Hollinger-Janzen and Thompson are tied for the team lead with five goals each.
“Whenever there’s a ?balanced scorer we just have to focus on a lot of different areas,” Thompson said. “They have a couple good attackers that we need to deal with.”
Each team has also allowed 17 goals this season.
IU sophomore Colin Webb has a goals allowed average of 0.85. Ohio State senior Alex Ivanov has one of 0.86. Webb and Ivanov each have seven shutouts as well.
Thompson said IU has to attack Ohio State’s outside backs, as it did in IU’s 2-1 victory earlier this season at Ohio State.
If IU manages to defeat Ohio State, the prospects of its next match do not appear very promising.
IU lost to Maryland and Michigan State by scores of 2-1 and 3-2, respectively.
Both Maryland and Michigan State also have a lot at stake in terms of seeding this weekend. Michigan State is No. 7 in the RPI while Maryland is No. 16.
A Big Ten final with Michigan State would be a rematch of the final last season, a 1-0 IU victory.
A potential final between IU and Maryland would be an away match for IU, as Maryland is hosting the Big Ten tournament.
IU is 7-0-2 in matches played away from Bloomington this season and has played four of its last five matches on the road.
“We feel well-prepared for Ohio State and anybody who we face at this time,” Doody said. “That’s due to a tough regular season schedule.”
