Dawn Plitzuweit is leaning on Minnesota's 'toughness' in final regular-season stretch

The Gophers women's basketball team has only five regular-season games left on its schedule as of Tuesday. ESPN's latest Bracketology projects the Gophers among the "Last Four Byes" in the NCAA Tournament field, so every game will be meaningful as they look for their first appearance in the Big Dance since 2017-18.

Minnesota just came out of its first losing streak of the entire season with a 10-point win over Indiana on Sunday. Life in the Big Ten doesn't get any easier, as they will now travel to Columbus, Ohio, to take on No. 9 Ohio State Thursday night.

"What we try to do after each game is evaluate what we did in that game, what we learned in that game, what we have to continue to grow in (from) that game, and then work to apply that lesson into the next game," head coach Dawn Plitzuweit told the media on Tuesday. "Whether that's ball screen defense, whether that's how we attack offensively ... what we try to do is carry those lessons forward into the next matchup."

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Junior forward Mallory Heyer had 10 points and 12 rebounds against the Hoosiers for her second straight double-double for the first time in her Gophers career. Minnesota outrebounded Indiana 33-22, and the U learned how physical it needs to be to win in the Big Ten.

"They have a very high desire to do well. Who wouldn't? All of us want to do well in whatever it is we're doing, but then there's an absolute toughness component that has to accompany that in order for you to take steps forward and continue to move along in the process to get to where you're trying to get to," Plitzuweit said. "This group — there's a toughness component to it."

The Gophers' three-game losing streak against Southern Cal, UCLA and Iowa was the biggest adversity they've faced all season. The latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings have them as the No. 31-ranked team in the country, but they're still looking for a "Quad 1," or marquee win, to solidify their NCAA Tournament resume.

Feb. 11 edition of Bracketology | Via: ESPN's Charlie Creme

A win on the road against the Buckeyes on Thursday night would undoubtedly be the biggest of Plitzuweit's Minnesota tenure, and it would almost guarantee the Gophers would hear their name called on Selection Sunday. As of Tuesday afternoon, ESPN's matchup predictor gives the Gophers a 21.6% chance to pull off the upset.

Ohio State is coming off its first losing streak of the season against UCLA and Southern Cal on the road, so the Gophers will look to lean on their toughness as they continue to build an NCAA Tournament-worthy resume.