Minnesota Basketball: Gopher Women With B1G Upset Win Over Ohio State

Jessie Edwards set one of the nastiest picks I have seen since Trevor Winter and Carly Wagner made the game winning shot in overtime as the Gopher women notched a huge win to help boost their resume for the NCAA Tournament.  It was an overtime win over #5 Ohio State.

Seems strange that Rachel Banham isn't headlining a huge Gopher win, but it was only because she didn't hit the game-winning shot this time.  Banham still lead all scorers with 35 points hitting 5/10 from three.  Wagner scored 26.

The win was a big one as the Gopher women have been among the top 4 or 5 teams in the Big Ten, but their weak strength of schedule...and therefor their RPI...is keeping them out of NCAA Tournament discussions.  For instance Iowa (prior to their loss last night and the Gopher's win) was considered in or on the bubble with a 7-9 Big Ten record, Minnesota on the other hand recently beat Iowa and held a 10-6 conference record and is not even really in bubble conversation.  But this win over the Big Ten leading Buckeyes is a signature and resume building win for the Golden Gophers.

This team is HOT and will likely need the Big Ten Tournament to earn themselves a spot in the NCAA Tournament.  They finish the regular season on Sunday at Maryland.  The Terps are 14-2 in conference, #6 in the country and fighting for the #1 seed in the Big Ten Tourney (thanks in large part to the Gophers knocking off Ohio State).

Important game for the Gophers this weekend.  A win would seemingly put them into the NCAAs, but a loss just means they may need a win or two in the B1G Tourney.  Either way this team is fun to watch and should be an exciting finish to the season.