Can the Gophers make a run at the Big Ten Tournament?
Niko Medved previews Gophers in Big Ten Tournament
Gophers men's basketball coach Nike Medved spoke with reporters on Tuesday via Zoom ahead of the Big Ten Tournament. Minnesota is the No. 11 seed and faces No. 14 Rutgers Wednesday night in Chicago. The Gophers need a few wins to ensure they have a postseason after the conference tournament.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team finished the regular season 15-16, and 8-12 in Big Ten play in Niko Medved’s first season.
Gophers head to Big Ten Tournament
What we know:
Now, it’s March. The Gophers are the No. 11 seed for the Big Ten Tournament, and face Rutgers Wednesday night. The winner advances, the loser is done. Minnesota likely needs at least two wins to have a chance at a postseason. Or, they could do what most would deem impossible – Win five games over five days – to win the Big Ten title and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Can the Gophers make a run at the Big Ten Tournament?
The Gophers' men's basketball team is the No. 11 seed for the Big Ten Tournament. FOX 9's Pierre Noujaim is in Chicago and has an early look at Wednesday night's game against Rutgers.
"For us it’s let’s just try to win tomorrow night. When this is over, we’ll see where it lands and see if a postseason makes sense for us," Medved told reporters Tuesday on a virtual call.
Postseason chances?
The Big Ten Tournament champion earns the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
For the Gophers, that would require five wins over five days, and with a short-handed roster due to injuries. Medved’s starting five plays more than 35 minutes per game, Kai Shinholster is the only player to come off the bench and Grayson Grove is the only healthy post player.
What we don't know:
For Minnesota to get NIT consideration, it likely needs two Big Ten Tournament wins. Then there’s the Crown Tournament. The eight-team field takes the two-highest NET-rated teams from the Big Ten, Big East and Big 12 that don’t make the NCAA Tournament field. The Gophers are currently No. 74 in the NET rankings, behind Northwestern and Washington, who are unlikely to reach the Big Dance.
Medved’s big challenge
Dig deeper:
With such a short-handed roster due to injuries, Medved has had to change his philosophy as a coach. Chansey Willis Jr., Robert Vaihola and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson are all out, and B.J. Omot didn’t recover from offseason surgery in time to contribute this season.
With almost no bench to speak of, Medved utilizes a 2-3 zone on defense to avoid foul trouble, and they use most of the shot clock on offense. It’s challenge his team has embraced.
"I’ve never been a coach who’s had to play five guys almost the entire game and have one available post player. It definitely looks a lot different than what we anticipated," Medved said. "It’s been a really challenging, but really rewarding year."