Minnesota sneaks into NCAA Tournament
The Minnesota Golden Gophers fell short in their quest to earn the Big Ten’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, getting drubbed in the conference championship game by Ohio State. As a result, the Gophers were squarely on the bubble for an at-large bid.
The Selection Committee rewarded Minnesota’s entire body of work, though, awarding it an 11-seed and a matchup with the Xavier Musketeers out of the Atlantic 10.
Now that they’re in, though, the Gophers will have their hands full against Xavier. The Musketeers have a dynamic backcourt led by Indiana transfer Jordan Crawford, but also have horses inside who can score and defend at a high level. Minnesota is similarly talented, but Xavier has also enjoyed success in the tournament that Minnesota simply hasn’t recently. In fact, the Musketeers have gone dancing in eight of the past nine years, one of the most impressive runs in the nation.
