The new SB Nation Bracketology is out, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers still aren't included on it, as expected. However, you might want to keep an eye on their game against the Michigan Wolverines. Minnesota was dumped from the brackets due to a terrible end of the season where they collapsed under the pressure of taking on several ranked teams.
A big performance in the Big Ten tournament could change things for the Gophers, and they wouldn't necessarily have to win the entire thing, just make a big statement win over a team like the Wolverines.
The South Dakota St. Jackrabbits held pat, and probably will continue to hold the same seed, since winning the Summit tournament. The Jackrabbits are projected to be a No. 13 seed in SB Nation's bracket, slated to face the Temple Owls in the first round.
SB Nation's latest bracketology post was released on Tuesday morning. If the South Dakota State Jackrabbits can win Tuesday night's Summit League championship, it seems they're looking at being seeded lucky number 13 in in the March Madness tournament.
The latest bracketology updates, not surprisingly, have the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball program not earning an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. However, the a NIT bid is very possible.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers lost quite a bit on Sunday. The loss to the Indiana Hoosiers meant they likely also lost any chance at a berth in the NCAA Tournament and eventually spiraled into Tubby Smith losing his composure during his post-game comments.
The NCAA Tournament is just around the corner and, unless the Minnesota Golden Gophers pick up a win this weekend or go on a remarkable run in the Big Ten Tournament, they might be on the outside looking in. So, once the Indiana Hoosiers make it to Minnesota, the Gophers will be looking to leave Williams Arena with a win.
The Gophers have lost six of their last eight contests and, while they can take solace in the fact that four of those losses were to ranked opponents, that isn't going to help them get off the Bubble Watch section when it comes to March Madness Bracketology. In fact, if they lose against the Hoosiers on Sunday, they might be taken off the bubble completely.
The Gophers are currently sitting eight spots out of the tournament, according to SB Nation's Chris Dobbertean, and could fall even further with a loss to Indiana.
Wednesday's home defeat at the hands of Michigan State pushed Minnesota's (17-11, 5-10 Big Ten, RPI: 76, SOS: 59, non-conf. SOS: 6) losing streak to four, and there's a good chance an upcoming three-day stretch, a visit from Indiana Sunday followed by Tuesday's trip to Wisconsin, could completely burst the Golden Gophers' bubble. Single wins over Indiana and Northwestern won't be enough, especially since Iowa swept Tubby Smith's team.
As Dobbertean notes, the Gophers won't be able to hang their tournament hopes on splitting the season series with the Hoosiers. If the team's able to sweep Cody Zeller and Co., however, they still have a shot. If not? Yikes.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers probably didn't impress any of those practicing bracketology with their loss to the Michigan State Spartans on Wednesday night, but they should still be on the NCAA Tournament bubble with upcoming games against a pair of Top 25 teams.
March Madness 2012 is on it's way sooner rather than later as February starts to tick away, and the seeding is starting to solidify as the games go along on their way to the Conference tournaments. The new SB Nation Bracketology update is out and it isn't incredibly kind to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, though the Gophers certainly haven't had a season to talk kindly about recently.
The Gophers began the season quite well with their non conference schedule, but since Big Ten play has started they've been inconsistent to say the least. The SB Nation bracket gives the Gophers an 11 seed in the South bracket, pitting them against Gonzaga.
The Gophers are going to need to improve on that 5-7 Big Ten record or they're going to continue dropping and might even find themselves out of the tournament talk by the end of the season, despite their current 17-8 overall record.
With an 0-4 start to Big Ten play, the Minnesota Golden Gophers find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. SB Nation's Chris Dobbertean published his most recent bracketology on Monday morning, and the news was not good for the Gophers.
Eight Big Ten teams were in this week's bracketology, but Minnesota was one of the four teams, along with Iowa, Penn State, and Nebraska, on the outside looking in. That is not a surprise, considering that Minnesota's best victories have come over teams among the last eight out in Indiana State and Virginia Tech.
The Golden Gophers have missed on several chances to gain a quality win as well. Of their five losses, four of them (Dayton, Purdue, Michigan, and Illinois) are to teams that are solidly in the NCAA Tournament field so far. Minnesota has an excellent chance to add to its resume this week when it travels to Indiana on Thursday.
