Red-Hot Gophers Somehow Left Out of AP Top 25 Despite 6 Straight Wins

Minnesota is still unranked after picking up its biggest win of the season.

Feb 8, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Dawn Plitzuweit looks on during the second half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Head coach Dawn Plitzuweit picked up the biggest win of her Gophers' tenure on Thursday when Minnesota knocked off 10th-ranked rival Iowa on the road. They're somehow unranked in this week's AP Top 25 poll, despite carrying a six-game win streak.

Snubbed AP Top 25 poll

The Gophers are one of the hottest teams in the country with six straight wins, but their 44 votes were two behind Washington for the 25th spot in this week's AP Top 25, which means they are the top team in the others receiving votes category. A big reason for the snub is likely head-to-head success. Minnesota has losses to No. 25 Washington, No. 23 Alabama and No. 20 Maryland, so it could be hard to justify a higher ranking than those teams. Ultimately, they will get a chance to prove themselves again with a home game on Thursday against Nebraska and a road trip to Wisconsin before next week's poll.

Now a 7-seed on latest ESPN Bracketology

Minnesota has jumped a seed line for the third straight week in ESPN's Bracketology. They're still 1 of 12 Big Ten teams projected to make the field, according to Charlie Creme, who released a new bracket on Friday. The projection was before the win at Rutgers. With just five regular-season games remaining, the Gophers' resume looks ironclad after the win at No. 10 Iowa, as they look to go dancing for the first time since 2017-18.

NET ranking holding steady

The Gophers' win at Iowa solidified their place at No. 10 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings. The Hawkeyes are 15th in the rankings, so it was their third Quad 1 win of the season, as of Monday, joining the win at Oregon and the win over USC at home. Minnesota's NCAA Tournament resume will be very interesting if it stays high in the NET when Selection Sunday rolls around.

Big Ten tournament outlook

Minnesota is currently 18-6 on the season and 9-4 in conference play. With less than a month away from the Big Ten tournament on March 4 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Gophers would currently be the five-seed in the 15-team field.

Big Ten tournament projections as of Feb. 9. | Picture via: bball.notnothing.net

The Gophers would get a bye into the second round on Thursday and face the winner of Nebraska and Wisconsin. They're only 0.5 games behind Iowa in the conference standings for the fourth seed, which would give them a bye into the quarterfinals on Friday. With five Big Ten games remaining, they have plenty of opportunities to make up ground.