Andre Hollins has really hit his stride the last few weeks and is one of the main reasons why the Gophers have put a few wins together.
STILL LURKING, Minn. — The Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team could have thrust itself directly into the NCAA Tournament bubble discussion with a win in Bloomington, Ind., last night, but alas a 90-71 loss to Indiana means Gopher fans have to settle for being on the outskirts of that conversation, at least for another week.
If you can shake the image out of your head of the Hoosiers making it rain with 18 trifectas from anywhere and everywhere on the court, it’s important to remember the Gophers (#76 RPI) accomplished the minimum of what they had to last week, split the Iowa City/Bloomington road trip. There’s still major work to be done to be legitimately considered for the Big Dance, but at least now it seems a bit more plausible. That starts Wednesday night at The Barn vs. Northwestern who, ironically, snapped a 10-game losing streak by beating the enigmatic Hawkeyes three days after the Gophers did the same in Iowa City.
For the first time in a long time, the Gophers have cracked Road to Selection Sunday‘s “bubble board”. They’ll remain on it as long as they do what they’re supposed to this week (beat the Wildcats, lose to Wisconsin), but I suspect it’s next week when the rubber truly hits the road for the Gophers. A win in East Lansing — where the Gophers haven’t beaten Sparty since their 1997 Final Four season — likely will be mandatory. Unless, that is, the Gophers decided to win in Madison on Saturday. …
Here’s the latest RTSS Field of 68 projection. For now I’ve trimmed down the bubble list quite a bit (so long to struggling teams like George Washington & Seton Hall) and longshots like Oregon State & Tulsa), but teams can always re-enter the fray with a big week. One such team to watch the week is Pitt, currently not in the field. The Panthers (#52 RPI) play @ Virginia and @ Syracuse this week. Win both and I think there’s a good chance you’ll see the Panthers in our next projection.
Field of 68 Projection (through games played Feb. 16)
America East (1): Albany (120)
American (3): *SMU (24), Temple (31), Cincinnati (35)
ACC (7): *Virginia (3), Duke (5), North Carolina (11), Louisville (14), Notre Dame (27), NC State (49), Miami-Florida (64)
Atlantic Sun (1): Florida Gulf Coast (106)
Atlantic 10 (3): VCU (12), Dayton (30), *Massachusetts (39)
Big East (6): *Villanova (4), Georgetown (21), Butler (22), Providence (23), Xavier (40), Saint John’s (41)
Big Sky (1): Eastern Washington (71)
Big South (1): Radford (135)
Big Ten (7): *Wisconsin (6), Maryland (10), Indiana (29), Ohio State (34), Michigan State (36), Illinois (45), Iowa (56)
Big XII (7): *Kansas (1), Iowa State (13), Baylor (16), Oklahoma (17), Oklahoma State (25), West Virginia (28), Texas (33)
Big West (1): UC-Davis (89)
Colonial (1): William & Mary (109)
Conference USA (1): Louisiana Tech (72)
Horizon (1): Valparaiso (61)
Ivy (1): Harvard (51)
Metro Atlantic (1): Iona (46)
MAC (1): Bowling Green (58)
MEAC (1): NCCU (111)
Missouri Valley (2): Wichita State (15), *Northern Iowa (19)
Mountain West (2): *San Diego State (20), Colorado State (26)
Northeast (1): Saint Francis-NY (177)
Ohio Valley (1): Murray State (69)
Pac 12 (4): *Arizona (7), Utah (9), UCLA (38), Oregon (60)
Patriot (1): Bucknell (150)
SEC (5): *Kentucky (2), Arkansas (18), Georgia (32), Ole Miss (37), LSU (53)
Southern (1): Wofford (43)
Southland (1): Sam Houston State (90)
SWAC (1): Texas Southern (163)
Summit (1): South Dakota State (96)
Sun Belt (1): Louisiana-Monroe (115)
West Coast (1): Gonzaga (8)
WAC (1): New Mexico State (143)
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Last 4 In: Xavier (40), NC State (49), Oregon (60), Miami-Florida (64)
First 4 Out: Boise State (42), Texas A&M (44), Stanford (50), Purdue (66)
Non-Power 6 At-Larges (6): VCU (12), Wichita State (15), Colorado State (26), Dayton (30), Temple (31), Cincinnati (35)
Others Considered: Pitt (52), Old Dominion (54), BYU (57), GOPHERS (76), Wyoming (79)