February 12, 2015

Virginia squeaked out a close one last night over NC State, and VCU lost a double OT thriller against La Salle.

Last night, four of six games went the Gophers' way, improving their post-season projections by a narrow margin. Tonight the Gophers have their greatest opportunity in a couple weeks to improve their own position for a late-season run. They had the Hawkeyes on the ropes when they played at the Barn a month ago, but a couple of clutch shots by Uthoff, a last second shot-clock malfunction, and a layup that was 0.2 seconds too late tiped the game in Iowa's favor. Aside from their own game, here are some other games tonight which have an impact on the Gophers.
-Purdue @ Rutgers - Although Minnesota is chasing Purdue in the standings, their win/loss total counts double due to an extra matchup against the Boilermakers.
-Western Carolina @ Mercer
-Montana @ North Dakota
-Seattle University @ New Mexico State
- @ VMI
-The Michigan @ illinois game will be a wash as Minnesota plays both teams once.

Of the five games, only one is favored in Minnesota's favor (Purdue). If we get one of the other four, I'd be a happy camper. It looks like it will be on the Gophers own shoulders to propel themselves towards the bubble tonight.

1's: Kentucky, Virginia, Duke, Wisconsin
2's: Kansas, Villanova, Arizona, Gonzaga
3's: Louisville, Maryland, North Carolina, Notre Dame
4's: Oklahoma, Butler, Baylor, Utah
5's: Northern Iowa, Iowa State, VCU, Oklahoma State
6's: Arkansas, Indiana, Georgetown, Wichita State
7's: Ohio State, West Virginia, Iowa, SMU
8's: Colorado State, Cincinnati, Texas, Dayton
9's: Providence, San Diego State, Illinois, Temple
10's: Xavier, Ole Miss, Saint John's, Stanford
11's: LSU, Georgie, Oregon, Michigan State, Tulsa
12's: Old Dominion, Wofford, Texas A&M, UCLA, Green Bay
13's: Stephen F. Austin, Bowling Green, Murray State, Harvard
14's: Eastern Washington, Iona, William & Mary, Long Beach State
15's: Georgia State, High Point, North Carolina Central, South Dakota State
16's: Stony Brook, Florida Gulf Coast, American, New Mexico State, Saint Francis (PA), Texas Southern

FFO: Boise State, George Washington, Seton Hall, Wyoming
NFO: Alabama, Miami (FL), Massachusetts, North Carolina State