THE HARD WAY, MINN. — We’ve all heard the saying, “Take the road less traveled.” For the University of Minnesota men’s basketball program, the road less traveled is the one it refuses to take.
For the Gophers that road would mean winning a game early in the Big Ten season that would ease some of the pressure in their pursuit of a NCAA Tournament bid. If they had opened the Big Ten season with a road win over eminently beatable Purdue, immediately the Gophers would have forged some margin for error for their Big Ten season.
Last season it was the same thing. The Gophers opened Big Ten play at home vs. a Michigan team that at the time was struggling mightily. Instead of pouncing on the opportunity, the Gophers fizzled away a comfortable lead (remember the barrage of Zak Irvin 3’s?), lost to the Wolverines, and thus were climbing up hill the rest of the season.
So again in 2014-15, this time with an 0-2 road start (no shame in losing to Maryland), the Gophers must crawl their way out of an early hole (pun intended). It won’t be easy — not with Ohio State coming to town Tuesday night — but unlike 2013-14 the climb doesn’t appear as daunting. The Big Ten is nowhere near what it was last season. If the Gophers can get to 6-4 by the end of January — even 7-3 seems possible — perhaps they’ll create some margin for error heading into February, a cruel month that in recent seasons has given the Gophers fits.
With only one decent win (Georgia) on their resume, the Gophers are nowhere near being a a NCAA-worthy team, but that can change in a New York minute with back-to-back wins this week vs. the Buckeyes and Wolverines (Saturday in Ann Arbor).
The Big Ten, as a whole, has its work cut out to get its customary 6 (or so) NCAA bids. Only Wisconsin and Maryland appear to be in excellent shape, barring epic collapses. Both did significant work in their non-conference schedules, unlike the other 12 conference schools.
With that in mind, here’s the latest Road to Selection Sunday “Field of 68” projection. We’ll reconvene with another one on MLK weekend. By then we should know a lot more about the Gophers’ NCAA Tournament legitimacy, and the road on which they are choosing to travel.
An * denotes the current leader of a multiple-bid conference. RPIs are noted in parentheses.
Field of 68 (through games played Jan. 3)
America East (1): Stony Brook (69)
American (4): Cincinnati (31), Temple (35), SMU (40), *Tulane (99)
ACC (6): Virginia (3), Duke (5), North Carolina (18), Georgia Tech (28), Louisville (32), *Notre Dame (56)
Atlantic Sun (1): Florida Gulf Coast (136)
Atlantic 10 (3): VCU (4), *Dayton (19), George Washington (22)
Big East (6): Villanova (7), *Seton Hall (10), Butler (23), Saint John’s (25), Providence (27), Georgetown (41)
Big Sky (1): Eastern Washington (77)
Big South (1): Coastal Carolina (111)
Big Ten (4): Wisconsin (8), *Maryland (16), Iowa (67), Indiana (83)
Big XII (6): Kansas (2), *West Virginia (12), Texas (21), Baylor (24), Oklahoma (26), Iowa State (43)
Big West (1): Long Beach State (79)
CAA (1): Northeastern (78)
Conference USA (2): Old Dominion (17), *UTEP (66)
Horizon (1): Wright State (94)
Ivy (1): Harvard (38)
MAAC (1): Monmouth (212)
MAC (1): Eastern Michigan (88)
MEAC (1): NCCU (74)
Missouri Valley (3): Wichita State (9), Northern Iowa (13), *Missouri State (164)
Mountain West (4): Colorado State (15), San Diego State (44), UNLV (45), *Wyoming (112)
Northeast (1): Saint Francis-Pa. (102)
Ohio Valley (1): Eastern Illinois (153)
Pac 12 (5): *Utah (11), Arizona (14), Washington (37), Stanford (39), Cal (71)
Patriot (1): Boston U (171)
SEC (3): *Kentucky (1), Arkansas (33), LSU (36)
Southern (1): Chattanooga (186)
Southland (1): Stephen F. Austin (80)
SWAC (1): Texas Southern (124)
Summit (1): Denver (187)
Sun Belt (1): Georgia State (57)
West Coast (2): Gonzaga (6), *Saint Mary’s (63)
WAC (1): New Mexico State (172)
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Last 4 In: Baylor (24), Georgia Tech (28), UNLV (45), Indiana (83)
First 4 Out: Georgia (20), BYU (29), Rhode Island (46), Green Bay (49)
Others Considered: Buffalo (34), Oklahoma State (42), Davidson (51), Xavier (54), NC State (58), Ohio State (61), Evansville (64), Syracuse (68), South Carolina (86), Miami-Florida (91)
Gophers’ Current RPI = 62