According to TeamRankings.com, the Gophers are 96.3% locks to make the NCAA Tournament.
As long as Minnesota doesn’t crap the bed over the final four regular season games, the only thing they’ll be waiting for on Selection Sunday is which seed they get. Most likely, a 7-seed, according to TeamRankings.com, with a 14.4% chance at a 6-seed or an 8-seed.
CBS Sports bracketology: 6-seed
Minnesota beat Michigan on Sunday night and CBS Sports rewarded them by boosting them from a seven to a 6-seed. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi actually dropped the Gophers down from a seven to an 8-seed in his Monday update.
It’s not a huge deal other than a 7-seed’s likely Round of 32 opponent is a 2-seed while an 8-seed would likely move on to play a 1-seed.
A 6-seed’s Round of 32 opponent is the winner of a 3 vs. 14 game.
It’s hard to figure out what inspired Lunardi to drop Minnesota (and Northwestern) from a seven to an eight.
Xavier and Dayton stayed in their spots as seven seeds while Minnesota and Northwestern were jumped by Iowa State and Oklahoma State. Iowa State went from a nine to a seven; Oklahoma State went from an eight to a seven.
Apparently Lunardi thinks Iowa State’s two wins last week over RPI top 100 teams Kansas State and TCU were more impressive than Minnesota’s victories over Indiana and Michigan. Oklahoma State went 2-0 last week with wins over a bad Oklahoma team and TCU, so them jumping Minnesota is a bit more confusing.
For the record, Oklahoma State is still a 9-seed in the CBS Sports bracket.
