The Gopher men’s basketball team picked up its seventh straight win Saturday over the Penn State Nittany Lions, 81-71.
After Saturday’s win, the Gophers have just two games remaining in the regular season and are sitting in fourth place in the Big Ten.
With the team red-hot, they could make a serious run at the conference tournament next month.
Most importantly, the team is expected to be a lock for the NCAA Tournament. USA Today and CBS Sports have the Gophers as a fifth seed.
If the tournament were to begin today, CBS has: North Carolina, Baylor, Florida and Butler as higher seeds than U of M in the South Regional.
USA Today also has the Gophers in the South Regional behind: North Carolina, Baylor, Butler and UCLA.
So if the higher seeds win their first two games, that would set up a showdown at the Sweet Sixteen between the Gophers and Tar Heels.
Among Big Ten schools, only Purdue is seen as a higher seed than the Gophers by USA Today and CBS Sports.
Even though they have wins over ranked teams inside their conference, the Gophers’ 13-1 non-conference record is a big reason why outlets are so high on them.
