Minnesota’s postseason outlook brightens as they climb out of deep hole

After starting the season 0-6 in Big Ten play, the Minnesota Gophers have completely turned things around and now sit at 5-9 in the conference. They dug themselves quite a hole in terms of making any postseason noise, but what does their improved play mean?

Final regular-season stretch (6 games)

Since picking up their first conference win over Michigan on Jan. 16, the Gophers have performed like the 68th-best team in the country, according to analytics site BartTorvik.com. Four Big Ten teams — Oregon, Washington, Iowa, and Penn State — rank lower over the same span.

Minnesota has six regular-season games remaining — three at home and three on the road. It’s fair to expect them to remain competitive, especially in winnable home games against Penn State and Northwestern. However, they’ll need to play their best to unseat UCLA, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Rutgers.

Big Ten tournament

If the regular season ended today, the Gophers would be the 13th seed in the Big Ten tournament, their highest standing all season. Saturday’s win over Southern Cal was pivotal for keeping them out of the conference’s bottom three and improving their chances of making the tournament.

If they take care of business at home against Northwestern and Penn State, they’ll likely lock up a spot. That would give them a real shot at adding a win on the tournament’s opening night in Indianapolis.

College Basketball Crown/NIT Invitation

For those unfamiliar, the traditional National Invitation Tournament (NIT) now has a new competitor: the College Basketball Crown, a FOX-sponsored event requiring two Big Ten automatic qualifiers. The top two Big Ten teams not invited to the NCAA Tournament will be required to participate, based on NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings.

Currently, the Gophers rank 94th in NET, the lowest in the Big Ten. They trail Washington (93), Rutgers (80), and Penn State (78). Adding Northwestern, Iowa, Southern Cal, and Indiana, the Gophers are the eighth-ranked non-NCAA Tournament team in the conference.

With six games left, Minnesota must win at home and steal a road victory over UCLA, Nebraska, or Rutgers to even be in the College Basketball Crown or NIT discussion. At 9-11 in the Big Ten and 17-14 overall heading into the tournament, another win could put them at 18-15, making a solid case for postseason play.

At that point, they would likely jump Washington, Penn State, and Northwestern in NET rankings. A Quad 1 win might push them ahead of Rutgers and potentially Iowa or USC, placing them firmly in the mix for the College Basketball Crown. Ten at-large spots will be available in addition to the two automatic qualifiers.

The traditional NIT will still exist this season, but the only Big Ten automatic qualifier will be the top KenPom-rated team not selected for the NCAA Tournament. That team may play in the College Basketball Crown, raising the question of whether the Big Ten will even participate in the NIT.

Neither the NIT nor the Big Ten have released explicit plans, and it’s unclear if the NIT will invite Big Ten teams after the conference essentially created a competing event.

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