Purdue can win the Big Ten outright in baseball this weekend.

It could also, technically, miss the entire Big Ten Tournament by falling out of the top eight.

That’s just how wild the Big Ten is going into the final weekend. Here are the standings entering the final weekend:

First, we'll discuss the Big Ten race.

The Sunday collapse agaisnt Indiana two weeks ago looms very large here. Had Purdue held on they would be in a much better position both for the Big Ten and the NCAA Tournament. Now the ONLY chance Purdue for at least a share of the Big Ten title requires a sweep of Illinois. Even then, Purdue needs some help.

There are three series that will decide the Big Ten this weekend: Illinois at Purdue, Michigan at Indiana, and Nebraska at Michigan State. You can watch plenty of action too, as BTN will broadcast all three series:

BTN TV SCHEDULE FOR MAY 16-18

Thursday

Michigan at Indiana at 5 p.m. ET

Illinois at Purdue at 8 p.m. ET

Friday

Nebraska at Michigan State at 5 p.m. ET

Illinois at Purdue at 8 p.m. ET

Saturday

Nebraska at Michigan State at Noon ET

Illinois at Purdue at 3 p.m. ET

For the Outright Big Ten Title:

- Purdue must sweep Illinois

- Michigan State must win the series vs. Nebraska

- Indiana and Michigan cannot end in a sweep

For a Shared Big Ten Title:

- Purdue Must Sweep Illinois

- Michigan State must win at least one game vs. Nebraska

Purdue Misses the Big Ten Tournament if:

- Illinois Sweeps Purdue

- Maryland sweeps Penn State

- Ohio State sweeps Rutgers

Purdue could win the Big Ten outright or it could share in as much as a three-way tie with Nebraska and either Indiana or Michigan if that series ends in a sweep.

Now, in terms of the NCAA Tournament, Purdue is in a very similar spot. To have any chance at this point it probably has to sweep Illinois. If it can get at least a piece of the Big Ten title that would help, as a sweep brings the RPI into the mid-50s. Even then, winning a game or two in the Big Ten Tournament next week would be a very good idea.

There are some other factors to keep an eye on, too:

- Florida is 26-25 overall with an RPI of 30, but they are at top 10 Georgia this weekend. If they finish over .500 overall they are in the field, but if they finish under .500 they can't make it.

- Ole Miss at 27-25 with an RPI of 24 is in a very similar spot, and they are at defending NCAA champion LSU.

- Auburn is 25-25 with an RPI of 45, but they are just 6-21 in the SEC and will miss the SEC Tournament, so that means they are likely out of the NCAAs.

- Maryland is in a very weird spot where they have a nominally safe RPI of 33, but if they struggle at home agaisnt Penn State this weekend they could miss the Big Ten Tournament, which all but knocks them out.

That's four teams that admittedly have better profile than Purdue, but they could find themselves eliminated from the NCAAs.

Basically, Purdue must get a home sweep of the Illini this weekend to have any chance at either. It can still make the NCAAs by winning the Big Ten Tournament too.

Getting the requisite sweep this weekend will not be easy. Illinois is on top in conference play and has series wins over Indiana, Ohio State, and Iowa as teams Purdue lost series to. They also swept Northwestern (like Purdue) and Penn State. They are also 6-1 in series opening games in conference play. Their best win was a wild 21-11 win over Indiana State in a midweek game a few weeks ago.

Purdue's Jordan Morales (7-4) won Big Ten Pitcher of the Week last week since he was beahing the Boilermakers' 4-0 shutout win over Michigan. He will face Illinois' Jack Crowder, who is 5-1 on the year. Luke Wagner (7-1) will go on Saturday for Purdue and Kyle Iwinski (2-2) on Sunday, while Illinois has not announced its starters yet.

Purdue struggled to contain the No. 12 rated offense in the Big Ten last week agaisnt Michigan, and Illinois comes in third in the league with a .302 team average. They have also hit a conference best 96 home runs, well ahead of second place Indiana with 69. Ryan Moerman leads the BIg Ten individually with 15 home runs. Drake Westcott and Jacob Schroeder have each hit 14 homers.

It is a pretty tall order for Purdue this weekend. Losing the last two series, especially when two of the losses were by one run, really stings right now. Overall Purdue has three losses in conference play where it was tied or leading enteirng the ninth inning. That is the difference right now.

Purdue's offense has struggled of late to get the big hit, as it has left a lot of runners on the basepaths. If it can figure it out this weekend it could pay off huge.

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