Here's the Gophers' Road to the Title in the Big Ten Women's Basketball Bracket

A 22-7 regular season, including a 13-5 record in conference play, earned the Minnesota Gophers women's basketball team the No. 4 seed in this week's Big Ten Tournament.

Receiving a double bye into the quarterfinals is a huge advantage. But the scary part about Minnesota's seeding is that if they advance to the semifinals, they will have to play No. 1 UCLA for a chance to reach the tournament title game.

Either way, Minnesota has to look at the conference tourney as an opportunity to secure a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Big Ten Tournament, Minnesota Gophers — The 2026 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament bracket. | Big Ten

The Gophers will play Friday at 5:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network. Their opponent in the quarterfinals is yet to be determined, as it could be Ohio State, Indiana, or Nebraska.

Ohio State is the No. 5 seed, having finished tied with Minnesota at 13-5 in conference play. The Gophers won the tiebreaker thanks to their 74-61 win over the Buckeyes at Williams Arena on Feb. 18. Minnesota crushed Indiana at Assembly Hall by 23 points back on Dec. 29, and they thumped Nebraska 84-67 at Williams Arena on Feb. 12.

“We got some stops when we needed them and made some free throws,” Gophers coach Dawn Plitzuweit said on KFAN-FM 100.3 after Sunday's win. “Having a double bye is phenomenal. I’m really proud of this group. They put in a lot of hard work.”

If the Gophers advance, the UCLA Bruins will likely be waiting in the 1 p.m. CT Saturday semifinal. UCLA is a lock to receive one of the four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament after going 28-1 and 18-0 in the Big Ten during the regular season. They topped the Gophers 76-58 at Williams Arena on Jan. 14.

The Gophers are currently projected as a No. 4 seed in Charlie Creme's bracket for ESPN. That coincides with the NCAA selection committee ranking them No. 15 overall in its top 16 update on Sunday.

That's huge because the top-16 seeds host first- and second-round games in the tournament, so Minnesota could have a major advantage playing in front of a home crowd as they target a deep run in the big dance.

If the Gophers do get a No. 4 seed, it'll be the second-highest tourney seed in program history, which includes 10 previous trips to the NCAA Tournament.

1994: No. 10
2002: No. 5
2003: No. 6
2004: No. 7
2005: No. 3
2006: No. 8
2008: No. 9
2009: No. 10
2015: No. 8
2018: No. 10

The 2025-26 Gophers tied a program record with 13 Big Ten wins, equaling the mark set by the women's teams in 1982-83 and 1984-85.