With late push for NCAA tournament, Gophers get in
Two weeks ago, it looked like Minnesota was bound to be left out of the NCAA tournament.
But using the program's first appearance in the Big Ten championship game to cap a late-season surge - emphasis on late - the Gophers got in the field of 65 on Sunday as an at-large team.
They're the No. 11 seed in the West Region, with a first-round game against No. 6 seed Xavier set for Friday in Milwaukee, just a five-hour drive from campus.
The Gophers (21-13) got in by winning seven of their last 10 games, including their first three this weekend at the Big Ten tournament. They beat 11th-ranked Michigan State and blew out sixth-ranked Purdue before fading in a lopsided loss to fifth-ranked Ohio State in Sunday's title game.
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About a half-hour later, players and coaches anxiously watched the selection show. The CBS camera in the room showed the players jumping up and down and piling on each other in carefree celebration.
"I was very nervous," point guard Devoe Joseph said afterward. "It's been my dream since I was young to play in the NCAA tournament. Once I seen our name come up, I was super happy. Same feeling as last year, but maybe better this time."
Joseph added: "We're excited to play anybody. If we were a 16 seed, we'd be happy."
This is the first time in 15 years that the Gophers have made the NCAA tournament for two straight seasons. They lost in the first round last year to Texas, coach Tubby Smith's second season in charge.
Since Minnesota made the Final Four in 1997, an appearance later vacated due to NCAA violations from an academic fraud scandal, the Gophers are 0-3 in three NCAA tournament appearances - 1999, 2005 and 2009.
The success this weekend should serve them well in Milwaukee.
"I think people are going to respect us more after this tournament," Joseph said, adding: "We didn't have anything to lose. It was a whole new season. Just having that freedom to play and knowing that we couldn't play ourselves out of the tournament, but we could play our way into the tournament, was a great feeling."
The Minnesota-Xavier winner will play either No. 3 seed Pittsburgh or No. 14 seed Oakland in the second round.
Despite losing three key players for off-the-court issues, including starting point guard Al Nolen in January due to academics, the Gophers would have only had themselves to blame for missing the tournament.
They lost three-point overtime decisions on the road to Indiana and Northwestern and lost three one-point games this season, including home games against Michigan State and Purdue.
But then came the Big Ten tournament, and a final chance to make their case. Not to be overlooked was a Feb. 27 road victory over Illinois, which finished ahead of the Gophers in the regular season but was left out of the tournament.
"We got hot at the right time, these last few games," Smith said. "I think it's a great story line, guys that have had to overcome some adversity this year. But I think the most important thing is I do think we're one of the best 65 teams in the country."
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
