February 9, 2014

 The Gophers finally pulled out of their nose dive with a win over Indiana, likely saving their tournament chances...for now.  They have three must-win games left (Northwestern, Illinois, Penn State), and four against the RPI top-25 (Wisconsin, Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan).  Assuming the Gophers go 3-4 in these games, they'll enter the Big Ten tourney as the #6 or #7 seed, which would result in a favorable opening round game against Purdue or Penn State.  If they go 1-1 in the Big Ten tourney, they'd enter selection Sunday with a record of 19-13, RPI of ~45, and SOS of ~5. Thirteen losses is a really big number for an at-large bid.  The SOS and a couple quality wins may help, but 20-12 looks a hell of a lot better than 19-13.  And, that 20th win would have to be a quality one, further strengthening the resume.

Other news-worthy games from the weekend: Iowa crushed Michigan, SMU upset Cincinncati, Texas was blown out at K-State and OK-State lost a not-so-Smart game to #128 Texas Tech.

1 seeds: Arizona, Syracuse, Wichita State, Villanova

2 seeds: Florida, Kansas, San Diego State, Michigan State

3 seeds: Saint Louis, Creighton, Cincinnati, Iowa State

4 seeds: Massachusetts, Duke, Wisconsin, Kentucky

5 seeds: Ohio State, Gonzaga, Pittsburgh, Virginia

6 seeds: UCLA, New Mexico, George Washington, Louisville

7 seeds: Texas, Michigan, VCU, Oklahoma

8 seeds: Memphis, Connecticut, Iowa, SMU

9 seeds: Colorado, Toledo, Arizona State, Oklahoma State

10 seeds: Kansas State, North Carolina, Xavier, Saint Joseph's

11 seeds: Stanford, North Dakota State, Saint Mary's, Missouri

12 seeds: Minnesota, Mississippi, Indiana State, Oregon, Providence, Southern Miss

13 seeds: Belmont, New Mexico State, Stephen F Austin, Harvard

14 seeds: Green Bay, Delaware, Mercer, Manhattan

15 seeds: Georgia State, UC Santa Barbara, North Carolina Central, Boston University

16 seeds: Bryant, Vermont, Weber State, Elon, Alabama State, Radford

First Four Out: Richmond, Clemson, California, LSU
Next Four Out: BYU, Dayton, Tennessee, North Carolina State