Despite being eligible for the Women’s NIT, the Minnesota Golden Gophers have accepted an invite to play in the 16-team Women’s Basketball Invitational.
The 15-17 Gophers are the No. 2 seed in the East. They will host Charleston Southern, 17-14, at 7 p.m. on Friday.
According to a Pioneer Press article, the Gophers, who haven’t played in the postseason in two years, didn’t want to gamble on a possible NIT bid.
“We wanted to make sure we were playing in the postseason,” coach Pam Borton said. “We were (initially) not guaranteed a spot in the NIT with a below-.500 record. We weren’t going to roll the dice, take chances or gamble if they were going to take us or not. With this, we knew we had a chance to play more basketball, play four games and possibly win a championship.”
Should Minnesota win its first-round game, it will host the winner of Bradley and Tennessee Tech.
For more on the Golden Gophers, check out The Daily Gopher. You can also learn more about women’s basketball in general at SB Nation’s Swish Appeal.