Why the Gophers are a longshot for NCAA tournament

[ad_1]

In a much-improved third season for coach Ben Johnson, his Gophers men’s basketball team has a chance with three regular-season games left to finish with a winning Big Ten record for the first time since 2017.

There was a time when Big Ten teams finishing .500 or better in one of the toughest conferences in college basketball would seemingly be a lock to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The Gophers have made the NCAAs seven times in the last 25 seasons, but only twice in those years did they finish above .500 in conference play.

History isn’t on their side this year, though.

Johnson’s Gophers (17-11, 8-9 Big Ten) enter Saturday’s home game against Penn State with quite the uphill climb to get on the NCAA tourney bubble. Reasons for that include a bad year for the Big Ten overall, the Gophers’ weak early schedule and the team’s 1-7 record in Quad 1 games, perhaps the top metric used by the NCAA tournament selection committee.

“It’s a lot to overcome,” CBSSports bracket analyst Jerry Palm said. “I like Ben. I think he’s done a good job with this group. Need more.”

More big wins would help – and fast. The problem is that won’t be possible in the next two home games. Penn State and next Wednesday’s foe Indiana made the NCAAs last season, but they aren’t projected to this year. They rank outside the top 90 of the NET, the NCAA’s evaluation tool in the selection process.

As of Friday, the Gophers were 76th in the NET. The worst NET ranking ever for a team receiving an NCAA at-large bid was Rutgers at 77 in 2022. The Scarlet Knights got in with six Quad 1 wins and a NET strength of schedule 35th nationally. Minnesota’s strength of schedule is 78th.

The Gophers’ fourth straight Quad 1 opportunity was missed in Wednesday’s 105-97 loss at No. 13 Illinois. That makes the regular-season finale March 9 at Northwestern basically a must-win for the Gophers going into the Big Ten tournament.

“They have been playing well,” Big Ten Network analyst and former coach Bruce Weber said…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-gophers-longshot-ncaa-tournament-214400962.html

Author : Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Publish date : 2024-03-01 21:44:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.