After a terrible ending to a disappointing Big 1o season (8-10), things are still relatively sunny-side-up for Tubby Smith’s Golden Gophers.
Entering the Big 10 tournament this week, Minnesota is projected at 9th seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament by both ESPN.com and CBS.com.
While those projected seedings could certainly move up with a win over Illinois in the first round of the conference tournament, there are some who say Minnesota won’t be damaged that much with a first round loss to the Illini.
According to Star Tribune beat writer Amelia Rayno, losing to Illinois “wouldn’t be a ‘bad’ loss in the eyes of the NCAA selection committee because Illinois has a strong RPI (40).”
