SelectionSunday
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Looking at the Gophers' 2024-25 schedule, I feel comfortable saying a 22-9 regular season record would earn the Gophers "lock" status into the NCAA Tournament, regardless what follows at the Big Ten Tournament.
Note that this season I broke it down more by home & road and non-conference & conference rather than trying to project exactly where each team will finish in the Big Ten standings. The 18-team conference makes that a mad science experiment!
I've broken the schedule down into 7 "buckets" (as Bleed likes to call 'em). This is one way to get to those 22 wins, but put in its simplest terms I'd just say go 10-1 in the non-conference & 12-8 in the Big Ten and there will be not a thing to worry about.
THE NON-CONFERENCE
Cupcake City (go 7-0; currently 5-0)
The Gophers are favored by double digits in Bart Torvik's preseason game-by-game projections.
Oral Roberts (Won by 23)
Bethune-Cookman (Won by 17)
Cleveland State (Won by 11)
Omaha (Won by 4)
Central Michigan (Won by 3)
Dec. 21: Fairleigh Dickinson
Dec. 29: Morgan State
Tricky-Dicky (go 2-0; finished 1-1)
Gophers will be favored, but be very careful here.
Yale (Won by 3)
North Texas (Lost by 3)
Meat & Potatoes Bracket (go 1-1; finished 0-2)
Winning the 4-team ESPN Events Invitational would pretty much assure the non-conference portion of the slate has been a success, but the Gophers must make sure they get out of Orlando with a win. Florida & Wake Forest are the headliners, but the Gophers' semifinal opponent (Wichita State) could pose some problems, as well.
vs. Wichita State (Lost by 2)
vs. Wake Forest (Lost by 6)
THE BIG TEN GRINDER
Take Care of Barn Business (go 3-0)
These are three teams the Gophers could be battling to get a spot in the 15-team Big Ten Tournament. Can't slip up here.
Feb. 1: Washington
Feb. 22: Penn State
Feb. 25: Northwestern
Top Half Home Cookin' (go 4-3; currently 0-1)
All your wins can't come vs. teams you're expected to beat. Do some damage at home.
Michigan State (Lost by 18)
Jan. 2: Purdue
Jan. 6: Ohio State
Jan. 16: Michigan
Jan. 25: Oregon
Feb. 8: Illinois
March 5: Wisconsin
Winnable Roadkill (go 3-3)
These are the Gophers' most winnable true road games. If you're any good at all, you need to get half of 'em.
Jan. 10: @ Wisconsin
Jan. 13: @ Maryland
Jan. 21: @ Iowa
Feb. 4: @ Penn State
Feb. 15: @ USC
March 1: @ Nebraska
"Big Boy Pants" Roadies (go 2-2)
Every resume has to have a couple "signature" wins. Here's where the Gophers must earn their big boy pants.
Dec. 9: @ Indiana
Jan. 28: @ Michigan State
Feb. 18: @ UCLA
March 9: @ Rutgers
Comments are always welcome.
Note that this season I broke it down more by home & road and non-conference & conference rather than trying to project exactly where each team will finish in the Big Ten standings. The 18-team conference makes that a mad science experiment!
I've broken the schedule down into 7 "buckets" (as Bleed likes to call 'em). This is one way to get to those 22 wins, but put in its simplest terms I'd just say go 10-1 in the non-conference & 12-8 in the Big Ten and there will be not a thing to worry about.
THE NON-CONFERENCE
Cupcake City (go 7-0; currently 5-0)
The Gophers are favored by double digits in Bart Torvik's preseason game-by-game projections.
Oral Roberts (Won by 23)
Bethune-Cookman (Won by 17)
Cleveland State (Won by 11)
Omaha (Won by 4)
Central Michigan (Won by 3)
Dec. 21: Fairleigh Dickinson
Dec. 29: Morgan State
Tricky-Dicky (go 2-0; finished 1-1)
Gophers will be favored, but be very careful here.
Yale (Won by 3)
North Texas (Lost by 3)
Meat & Potatoes Bracket (go 1-1; finished 0-2)
Winning the 4-team ESPN Events Invitational would pretty much assure the non-conference portion of the slate has been a success, but the Gophers must make sure they get out of Orlando with a win. Florida & Wake Forest are the headliners, but the Gophers' semifinal opponent (Wichita State) could pose some problems, as well.
vs. Wichita State (Lost by 2)
vs. Wake Forest (Lost by 6)
THE BIG TEN GRINDER
Take Care of Barn Business (go 3-0)
These are three teams the Gophers could be battling to get a spot in the 15-team Big Ten Tournament. Can't slip up here.
Feb. 1: Washington
Feb. 22: Penn State
Feb. 25: Northwestern
Top Half Home Cookin' (go 4-3; currently 0-1)
All your wins can't come vs. teams you're expected to beat. Do some damage at home.
Michigan State (Lost by 18)
Jan. 2: Purdue
Jan. 6: Ohio State
Jan. 16: Michigan
Jan. 25: Oregon
Feb. 8: Illinois
March 5: Wisconsin
Winnable Roadkill (go 3-3)
These are the Gophers' most winnable true road games. If you're any good at all, you need to get half of 'em.
Jan. 10: @ Wisconsin
Jan. 13: @ Maryland
Jan. 21: @ Iowa
Feb. 4: @ Penn State
Feb. 15: @ USC
March 1: @ Nebraska
"Big Boy Pants" Roadies (go 2-2)
Every resume has to have a couple "signature" wins. Here's where the Gophers must earn their big boy pants.
Dec. 9: @ Indiana
Jan. 28: @ Michigan State
Feb. 18: @ UCLA
March 9: @ Rutgers
Comments are always welcome.
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