How to Watch Nebraska Baseball in the Big Ten Tournament vs. Michigan State: Preview, Breakdown, TV Channel

The postseason is officially here for the Nebraska baseball team.

Despite what could only be described as a disappointing regular season, the Huskers made due with what they had – overcoming the loss of ace Mason McConnaughey and getting over early season turmoil to finish with a 28-27 record and eighth in the Big Ten.

On the conference tournament bubble going into the last three weeks of the season, NU pulled out three big weekend series wins over Minnesota, Michigan and Purdue to secure its place in Omaha to compete for the Big Ten’s automatic NCAA qualifier spot – which is the only way for Nebraska to compete in a regional in 2025.

A massive change for this season, the Big Ten Tournament switched up its format to declare a conference champion. The top 12 teams in the conference make it to Omaha where they’ll be split into four three-team pools. After a round robin, the winner of each pool will be entered into a four-team, single elimination bracket to determine a winner. The Huskers have their work cut out for them by belonging in the same pool as No. 12 Michigan State and No. 1 Oregon – who tied UCLA for the regular season conference title with a 22-8 record. NU first takes on the Spartans for a Tuesday night battle before facing off against the Ducks Friday night.

Here’s all you need to know as the Huskers make the short trip to Omaha looking to claim its second-straight Big Ten Tournament title.

How to Follow Along

Matchup: Nebraska (28-27, 15-15 B1G) vs. Michigan State (28-25, 13-17 B1G)
When: Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Where: Charles Schwab Field, Omaha, Neb.
Time: 6 p.m. CDT
Watch: Big Ten Network
Listen: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

Probable Pitchers

Nebraska: Ty Horn, RHP, So. (2-4, 5.66 ERA, 68.1 IP, 43 ER, 76 H, 62 SO, 25 BB) | MSU: Joseph Dzierwa, LHP, Jr. (8-3, 2.31 ERA, 85.2 IP, 22 ER, 61 H, 98 SO, 21 BB)

Series History

Nebraska leads the all-time series 18-10.
The two teams last met in the final conference series of the 2024 regular season where Nebraska took two of the three games in East Lansing. The Huskers and Spartans met in the 2023 B1G Tournament Quarterfinals as starter Will Walsh tossed a complete game shutout.

Michigan State Scout

2025 Season: 28-25 (13-17 B1G, 12th)

Head Coach: Jake Boss Jr. (468-406 at Michigan State, 17th Season; 493-440 as HC, 18th season)

All-Conference Returners: Joseph Dzierwa, LHP, Jr. (Second Team).

Key Transfers: Caleb Berry, C, Gr. (Milligan) | Parker Picot, OF, Soph. (Alabama) | Tyler Horvath, RHP, Gr. (Case Western Reserve) | JT Sokolove, OF, Sr. (Illinois State) | Zach Maxey, RHP, Gr. (Miami, OH).

* Indicates Team Leader

Michigan State's Joseph Dzierwa delivers a pitch — Michigan State lefthander Joseph Dzierwa. | Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

Key Players

Joseph Dzierwa, LHP, Jr. | 8-3 | 2.31* ERA | 85.2* IP | 98* SO | 21 BB | 22 ER | 61 H

B1G leader in ERA and second in WHIP, strikeouts and innings pitched.
One of only two starting pitchers in the conference with an ERA below three.

Sam Busch, INF, R-Sr. | .290 AVG | 15 HR* | 60* RBI | 10 2B | .590* SLG | .972 OPS*

The Spartans leader in most offensive categories.
One of two captains.

Ryan McKay, INF, Soph. | .322 AVG* | 19 2B* | 55 R* | 65 H* | 35 BB* | 11 SB

Lead-off batter for the Spartans. Has the second-most stolen bases on the team.
One of two hitters on MSU with an average above .300.

Caleb Berry, C/DH, Gr. | .310 AVG | 6 HR | 34 RBI | .874 OPS | .487 SLG

Played two seasons each at Milligan and Lincoln Memorial before transferring to MSU.

Tyler Horvath, RHP, Gr. | 3-2 | 5.40 ERA | 33.1 IP | 34 SO | 9 BB | 6 SV*

Second most appearances (19) with all coming from the bullpen.

Standout Stats

Hitting: Ranks second in the conference in fewest strikeouts, pointing towards an offense that puts the ball in play despite pedestrian numbers.

Pitching: First in fewest walks allowed with 200 in 452.2 IP. That means the Spartans also rank second in lowest BB/9 with a 4.0 mark.

Michigan State's head coach Jake Boss Jr. — Michigan State head coach Jake Boss Jr. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Program Outlook: Making the Big Ten Tournament for only the second time in the last six seasons, the Spartans will look to pull some upsets to continue its seasons. Under 17-year head coach Jake Boss Jr., MSU secured a record above .500 for the third time in the last four seasons.

Despite a solid non-conference schedule, the Spartans had no favors in the conference scheduling with six of their 10 series being against teams that finished within the top half of the league including No. 1 Oregon, No. 3 Iowa and No. 4 USC. That means a 13-17 conference mark probably doesn’t accurately portray the talent of this Spartan team. Offense has been the problem for MSU as they rank in the bottom five of most categories including second-to-last in home runs with only 51 on the season. Lead-off man Ryan McKay can be a spark plug – as shown by his team-leading 19 doubles and 65 hits – while Sam Busch (15 HR) and Caleb Berry (.310 AVG) provide some thump, but it’s pretty limited production outside that trio.

Bonafide ace Joseph Dzierwa leads a pitching staff that ranks near the middle of the pack in the Big Ten. The junior lefty leads the conference in ERA and sits with Oregon’s Grayson Grinsell as the two elite starters in the Big Ten – with a wide gap below them to the next crop. Although, outside of Dzierwa it gets pretty dicey with the Spartans. Nolan Higgins (6.94 ERA in 59.2 IP) and Tate Farquhar (6.65 ERA in 44.2 IP) make up the rest of the starting rotation, but they’ve clearly had ups and downs throughout the season. Dominic Pianto (3.72 ERA in 29 IP) and Tyler Horvath (5.40 ERA in 33.1 IP) are the two key relievers in the MSU bullpen, but Pianto represents the only reliever with an ERA below four to illustrate the lack of pitching depth.

Make this a three-game series and I think you see Nebraska as the heavy favorite, but with the new tournament format in place, the Huskers are going to be tested in what appears to be a likely showdown with Dzierwa. The 6-foot-8 junior was beat up in his final regular season start against Minnesota (4 ER in 5.0 IP), but before that he combined to throw 16 scoreless innings against Oregon (complete game shutout) and USC – who both have a top-four offense in the conference. Knowing this is a one-off game, I actually like the Spartans to rally behind Dzierwa and take down the Huskers.

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