Resilient Gophers Earn #7 Seed in NCAA Tournament

The Gophers (23-5, 17-3) tied for second in the Big Ten this season with Nebraska and Penn State. A patched-together lineup kept pace with the class of the Big Ten after knocking off Stanford early in the season. This year’s selection is Minnesota’s 24th berth in the NCAA Tournament and 7th under head coach Hugh McCutcheon.

Minnesota is looking to get back to the Final Four for the first time since 2016. In the first round they’ll face Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament champions Fairfield. The other matchup at the Pav will be Iowa State vs Creighton. The Gophers are in #2 seed Texas’ region.

Coming into the week Minnesota was 10th in the RPI and 8th in the AVCA poll. Minnesota went 5-4 against the RPI top 25 including their marquee win over RPI No. 4 Stanford. The Gophers were 4-1 against 26-50 in the RPI rankings; they were 45th in strength of schedule.

The Final Four will be played at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on December 19 with the National Championship on December 21.

Top Four Seeds for NCAA Tournament

1. Baylor
2. Texas
3. Stanford
4. Wisconsin

Other Big Ten teams that made the tournament include No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 5 Nebraska, No. 11 Penn State, No. 16 Purdue, Michigan, and Illinois.

Full Bracket

Check back later in the week for a full tournament and weekend preview.