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.
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