Undermanned Gophers Still Have Plenty at Stake Entering March

After taking down Oregon and Rutgers last week, the Gophers have a winning streak for the first time since early January. Their KenPom rating has climbed above its preseason number for the first time since November. Will their late season sucess be enough to land in a postseason tournament? Let's break it down.

The Gophers have jumped to No. 72 in KenPom after a 2-0 week with wins over Oregon and Rutgers. 🤯

Minnesota is higher than its preseason rating for the first time since losing to Missouri. Incredibly impressive given the injuries that Niko Medved and his staff have dealt with. pic.twitter.com/fgJuYWrfUN
— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) February 23, 2026

Big Ten tournament outlook

Minnesota currently has a 13-14 overall record and a 6-10 mark in Big Ten play. Its chances of an NCAA at-large invitation are zero. The only path to the big dance then becomes an automatic bid, which is given to the winner of the Big Ten tournament. All 18 teams will make this year's field for the first time, after the bottom three were left out last season.

If the season ended today, the Gophers would be the 12 seed. They would face Washington in the second round on Wednesday afternoon, and the winner would face Purdue in the third round on Thursday.

Big Ten tournament projection as of Feb. 23. | Picture via: bball.notnothing.net

"One of our first goals is we want to avoid Tuesday in the Big Ten tournament... For where we're at, that's a good first goal. Obviously, we want to win as many games as we can. We knew that this one was massive in that regard. If we had lost today, Rutgers would've actually moved ahead of us in the standings. Now you take a two-game lead on them with a couple to go and win the head-to-head, so that was massive," Medved said after Saturday's win.

With just four regular-season games remaining, the Gophers are only three games behind eighth place, which is currently a tie between Iowa and Ohio State. That is likely their ceiling, but Saturday's win probably locked them into avoiding Tuesday's first round with teams seeded 15 to 18.

"We've talked about wanting to see if we can go to the Big Ten tournament and find a way to advance. And you know, there could probably be some postseason opportunities for us. We know those things are out there, but you've got to earn the right to do that. We've tried to frame that there's a lot to play for."

College Basketball Crown or NIT?

Fans of the Gophers and college basketball in general are still familiar with the NCAA Invitation Tournament (NIT), as the top postseason opportunity for teams who miss the big dance. It's now a little more complicated than that. Last year's field included just four Power Conference programs, and none from the Big Ten. Teams from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East opted for the new College Basketball Crown (CBC, mostly due to television contracts from FOX.

Last year's inaugural CBC included 16 teams, but this year's field will be shrunk down to just eight. The event will now include the top two teams from the Big Ten, Big 12, and Big East conferences that do not receive NCAA Tournament bids, and two wild-card teams, according to FOX.

As of the latest ESPN Bracketology, 11 Big Ten teams are projected to make this year's NCAA Tournament. USC is currently the last team projected to make the field, so that would leave Minnesota and Washington as the next two teams in the conference standings, and two obvious choices to be invited to the Crown.

The Gophers will likely be underdogs in their next three games at Michigan, vs. UCLA at home, and at Indiana. If they can win just one of those before taking care of business in their regular-season finale against Northwestern, their chances of playing in the Crown seem relatively stable.

We've seen the Gophers women's basketball team use a run to last year's WBIT title as a launch pad into a great season in 2025-26, and last year's winner of the Crown, Nebraska, is currently amid one of its best seasons ever. The Gophers still have plenty of play for, as March Madness nears.