The talk surrounding the Gophers men’s basketball team the last few weeks hasn’t been about whether they’ll make the NCAA Tournament in March – it’s about where they’ll be seeded.
Sitting at 22-7 and in third place in the Big Ten at 10-6 will do that for you.
So where will coach Richard Pitino’s Gophers find themselves when March Madness begins?
One thought is that they might end up in the same bracket as Pitino’s father’s team, Louisville – meaning an opening weekend matchup between father and son might be in the cards.
How does Richard Pitino feel about that?
“That will be the lamest thing ever if they do that,” said Pitino on his radio show on 1500 ESPN this week. “I don’t think they’ll do that.”
CBS Sports Bracketologist Jerry Palm had Minnesota as a No. 5 seed and Louisville as a No. 2 seed. While that kind of pairing wouldn’t match them up early, it’s not far from a No. 6 seed and a No. 3 seed where they could have a second round meeting if they were in the same region.
“I know that they want storylines, but they shouldn’t do that,” said Pitino.
Where exactly the Gophers will fit in is still a mystery, and likely will stay that way right up until selection Sunday. Pitino said there is a lot that goes into figuring out how and where teams get seeded.
For those who like their storylines though, a March matchup between the Pitinos might be too good to pass up.
During his time in Minnesota, Pitino is 0-1 against his father’s squad in his coaching career. But he doesn’t appear to be looking for a chance to even the score – at least not during the tournament.
Still, we can’t rule out that there might be another reason Rick Pitino has been making trips to Minnesota to watch his son’s team play.
