Gophers' NCAA Tournament Outlook Improves After Back-To-Back Wins

Minnesota is trending in the right direction after an impressive week.

Oregon’s Avary Cain, left, battles Minnesota’s Brylee Glenn for the ball during the fourth quarter at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene Jan. 21, 2026. | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After suffering back-to-back losses for the first time this season against UCLA and Washington, Gophers women's basketball responded with two impressive wins against Oregon and Wisconsin, which significantly improved their postseason outlook. Here's why.

NCAA Tournament outlook improves

This season feels like NCAA Tournament or bust for the Gophers, and their chances of going to the Big Dance for the first time since 2017-18 continue to look promising. They were among the "last four byes" section of ESPN's Bracketology before earning the third true road win of the season against projected tournament team Oregon, which has since bumped them up from a 10 seed to a 9 seed.

After taking care of business against Wisconsin on Sunday, Minnesota will play at Penn State and then welcome Purdue to the Barn. It will mark three straight games against teams projected to miss the tournament for the first time since nonconference play.

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NET ranking continues to climb

The NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings are the main tool used to choose at-large teams for the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota climbed from No. 17 to No. 13 after beating Wisconsin by 35 points on Sunday. The Badgers are ranked No. 75, so it was a Quad 3 win for the Gophers, but winning margin matters, and it was their 11th by 20 or more points this season. Their placement at No. 13 is very encouraging, as they continue to build their postseason resume.

Big Ten tournament outlook

We're just under 40 days away from this year's Big Ten tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The men's tournament is expanding to include all 18 teams this season, but the women's tournament decided to remain at 15 teams. If the regular season ended today, Minnesota would be the No. 9 seed and face No. 8 seed Maryland in the second round on Thursday. A pair of wins over Penn State and Purdue would go a long way in climbing up those standings.

Big Ten women's basketball tournament projections as of Jan. 26. | Picture via: bball.notnothing.net

Receiving votes in AP Top 25 poll

The Gophers received six votes in Monday's AP Top 25 poll in the "others receiving votes" section. That essentially ranks them as the 29th-best team in the country. Once again, taking care of business against Penn State and Purdue would go a long way in their chances of being ranked in the top 25 by this time next week.