There are seven Big Ten conference games left and Minnesota is clearly in decent position to get in the big dance. There are a couple different projections out right now that have Minnesota in the tournament if the season were to end today. They are listed anywhere between a 7 and a 10 seed.
Jerry Palm-CBS: Updated Friday, February 10th: Minnesota is a 7 seed playing TCU in Salt Lake City. If they were to win they would play Arizona or NDSU.
Joe Lunardi-ESPN: Updated Friday, February 10th: Minnesota is a 9 seed playing Oklahoma State in Buffalo. If they were to win they would play the number one seed Villanova. Would be a tough draw there.
USA Today: Updated Friday, February 10th: Minnesota is a 9 seed playing TCU in Salt Lake City. If they were to win, they would play an extremely talented Gonzaga team.
Analysis: Anything can happen if you get to the NCAA Tournament. If the Gophers close out strong and get in the big dance, their most favorable draw would most likely be as a 6 or 7 seed. To get a 6 seed, they would need to win 5 of their last 7 and make a run in the Big Ten Tournament. If they get a 7 seed, they could have a winnable first round matchup but would then have to most likely take on a 2 seed if they won, which would be a top 8 team in the country, and that would be difficult. Where they don't want to be is a 8/9 seed because if they were to win a first round game then they would have to take on one of the experienced and super talented "blue blood" teams such as Nova, Gonzaga, Kansas, or UNC. That would be an awfully tough matchup.
Bottom Line: Of course it would be big to get in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. But once you are there, it pays off to have a decent seed so you can have the best chance at advancing. This is purely speculation, of course. But it's fun to be having these conversations this time of year as opposed to last year when the Gophers had six wins at this point in the season.
Jerry Palm-CBS: Updated Friday, February 10th: Minnesota is a 7 seed playing TCU in Salt Lake City. If they were to win they would play Arizona or NDSU.
Joe Lunardi-ESPN: Updated Friday, February 10th: Minnesota is a 9 seed playing Oklahoma State in Buffalo. If they were to win they would play the number one seed Villanova. Would be a tough draw there.
USA Today: Updated Friday, February 10th: Minnesota is a 9 seed playing TCU in Salt Lake City. If they were to win, they would play an extremely talented Gonzaga team.
Analysis: Anything can happen if you get to the NCAA Tournament. If the Gophers close out strong and get in the big dance, their most favorable draw would most likely be as a 6 or 7 seed. To get a 6 seed, they would need to win 5 of their last 7 and make a run in the Big Ten Tournament. If they get a 7 seed, they could have a winnable first round matchup but would then have to most likely take on a 2 seed if they won, which would be a top 8 team in the country, and that would be difficult. Where they don't want to be is a 8/9 seed because if they were to win a first round game then they would have to take on one of the experienced and super talented "blue blood" teams such as Nova, Gonzaga, Kansas, or UNC. That would be an awfully tough matchup.
Bottom Line: Of course it would be big to get in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. But once you are there, it pays off to have a decent seed so you can have the best chance at advancing. This is purely speculation, of course. But it's fun to be having these conversations this time of year as opposed to last year when the Gophers had six wins at this point in the season.
