Ranked second in the country and riding a 25-game winning streak, the Gophers softball team took a sucker punch to the gut Sunday night when the NCAA Selection Committee didn’t give them one of the top 16 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
Instead, the Big Ten regular season and tournament champs open play in the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, region Friday against Louisiana Tech.
The Gophers have more wins (54-3) than any team in the country and it’s pretty shocking to see their record compared to the 16 teams picked ahead of them.
- Florida: 50-4
- Arizona: 48-7
- Oregon: 47-6
- Florida State: 51-6-1
- UCLA: 42-13
- Washington: 43-11
- Auburn: 46-10
- Tennessee: 44-10
- Texas A&M: 42-10
- Oklahoma: 50-8
- Utah: 33-14
- Ole Miss: 40-18
- LSU: 41-18
- Kentucky: 36-17
- Baylor: 43-12
- Alabama: 42-16
Minnesota’s dream season is now in the precarious position of likely facing No. 1 Florida if they advance out of Alabama and into the Super Regionals.
The only teams in the top 16 the Gophers played this season were LSU and Washington. Minnesoa defeated LSU 3-0 in Baton Rouge while two of their three losses were to Washington.
“Obviously they’ve had a hell of a year,” said Alabama coach Patrick Murphy, via SEC Country. “”Three losses? That’s unbelievable.”
Each of the top 16 seeds play host to a four-team regional.
Minnesota-Louisiana Tech is set for Friday at 1:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
