Dawn Plitzuweit 'absolutely' believes Gophers deserve a NCAA Tournament invite

Minnesota will open the 2025 Big Ten women's basketball tournament on Wednesday afternoon against Washington at 2:30 p.m. CT. The winner will advance to face Michigan on Thursday afternoon, but it's also a massive game for both teams' NCAA Tournament chances, something Minnesota hasn't qualified for since 2017-18.

The Gophers missed out on the big dance last season, but they made a deep run in the WNIT all the way to the championship game before losing 69-50 to St. Louis. They compiled a 15-14 record in last year's regular season, but they now sit at 20-10 this season before postseason play.

"I look at our confidence from last year to this year, and I can give our kids the confidence to know that we are improving," Plitzuweit said. "When you look at right now the depth of the Big Ten conference, you're looking at I think it's 13 teams in the top 43 or so of the NET, that's unbelievable."

One major thing missing from Minnesota's NCAA Tournament resume is a Quad 1 win. Based on the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, that is, a win over a team ranked 1-75 on the road, 1-50 on a neutral court or 1-30 at home.

ESPN's Charlie Creme released an updated Bracketology projection on Monday, and the Gophers were among the 'Last Four In' alongside Washington. That would mean they would play in a play-in game on the Wednesday or Thursday before the rest of the tournament officially begins.

March 4 version of ESPN's Bracketology | Picture via: ESPN.com

"We can't control what everything else is at this point and time. Do I think our kids deserve a chance? Absolutely, I do. This is unprecedented. The Big Ten women's basketball is the deepest conference ever in the history of NCAA women's basketball. It has never been like this before." Plitzuweit continued. "Would it help us to get to work and do some work in the Big Ten Tournament? Absolutely."

The good thing for the Gophers is that every game they play in this year's Big Ten Tournament will be a Quad 1 opportunity, but they will have to continue doing it without Mara Braun, who, Plitzuweit said, will officially be out for the rest of the year on Monday.

Minnesota has lost eight of its last 11 games, so at least one win or maybe more at this week's Big Ten Tournament in Indianpolis would go a long way in solidifying its at-large resume for an invitation to this year's NCAA Tournament.

Stay up to date on all things Gophers by bookmarking Minnesota Gophers On SI, subscribing to our YouTube channel, and signing up to receive our free Gophers newsletter.