First time since ’78!
Sitting at the brink of becoming non-existent as a bubble team for the NCAA Tourney, the Minnesota Golden Gophers put on a stellar performance on the road against the Illinois Illini this weekend, posting a 19-point lead at the half and hanging on to win 62-60, the first time the Gophers have won at Illinois since 1978.
The quality of that win may keep their slim hopes alive of surpassing Illinois as the fifth tournament team from the Big 10 to make it into the Big Dance. However, with two games remaining, Minnesota can’t let up for a second. They will need to win on the road at Michigan, then close out strong in Minneapolis against Iowa.
At 17-11, with an 8-8 record in the Big 10, those two wins would place Minnesota at 19-11 and 10-8… close enough to maybe secure a Big Dance spot, so long as they don’t lose in the first round of the Big 10 Tourney following the season.
Such a finish would also keep hope alive that the 2009-10 Gophers won’t be the first team in over 20 years to finish their season with fewer than 20 wins under Coach Tubby Smith. While it’s not like finishing below 20 wins would put Smith in danger of perusing a list of car insurance companies for a sales job or anything, achieving 20 wins after such a rough middle of the season would certainly be a feather in the cap of Tubby!
