What Would Success Look Like for Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament?

Niko Medved will begin his first Big Ten tournament as head coach of the Gophers this week in Chicago, Illinois. Minnesota is the 11 seed, and it will play its first game on Wednesday night against 14 seed Rutgers around 8 p.m. CT. Here's what you need to know.

Realistic expectations

ESPN's matchup predictor already gives the Gophers a 70.2% chance of beating Rutgers on Wednesday night, and the sportsbooks will likely have a similar outlook. The Scarlet Knights have been a major disappointment this season with a 13-18 overall record, and a 6-14 mark in conference play. All six of their wins came against teams ranked below them; 16 seed Oregon, 15 seed Northwestern, 17 seed Maryland twice and 18 seed Penn State twice.

Minnesota beat Rutgers 80-61 at the Barn on Feb. 21 in their lone regular-season matchup. Expectations should be that the Gophers will take care of business on Wednesday night and advance to the next round. An early exit against a team like Rutgers would objectively feel like a disappointment.

Potential outlook

If the Gophers go on a surprise run this week in Chicago, they would have to play the late game around 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday night as well. Optimistic fans see UCLA and Michigan State as potential matchups in the next two rounds, and remember that Minnesota has wins from the regular season against both teams, but those were played at the Barn.

The Gophers are a completely different team than they were earlier this season, but they're 0-3 in neutral site games, and just 2-12 overall away from the Barn this season. Playing back-to-back nights with a six-man rotation feels like a ginormous task. Anything more than a Wednesday night win at Rutgers would feel like Medved and his team punching well above their weight once again.

What is Minnesota playing for?

The Gophers do not have a chance at an at-large invitation for this year's NCAA Tournament, but they're firmly in the mix for a bid to the College Basketball Crown (CBC). There is still so much to shake out on the bubble for the big dance, and predicting a field for the Crown is a fun exercise rather than an exact science.

Medved has mentioned potential interest in a postseason tournament already, despite Minnesota's multitude of injuries. One win in Chicago would likely leave their outlook unchanged, and two wins might make them too intriguing to leave out of the CBC field in Las Vegas.

Predictions

Tony Liebert's Big Ten tournament predictions. | Picture via: @tonyliebert (X)

All 18 teams qualified for the tournament this year, which makes it a six-day event in Chicago. It's hard to see anyone beating Michigan in a single elimination format. Two teams that could make a surprise run include Purdue and Wisconsin. It should be a fun week of competitive basketball at the United Center.