Earlier this week, the Minnesota Golden Gophers strengthened their postseason resume by picking up a 59-56 win over the Michigan State Spartans, their first Quad 1 victory of the 2023-2024 season in four tries.
Below, Gophers Nation takes a look at the Gophers' postseason resume with the latest win.
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Minnesota continues to rise up the rankings across the board. At the beginning of the season, the Gophers ranked 158 in the NET rankings before peaking at No. 81 following their win over Michigan State, they've dropped two spots over the last few days but are still in a very strong position to make a push for an NIT bid or even an NCAA Tournament bid over the last month of the season.
QUADRANT 1
After failing to win one of their first three games against Quad 1 opponents this season, the Golden Gophers picked up their first win over a Q1 team this week against Michigan State. They'll have plenty of more opportunities to improve that record with five Q1 games remaining on the schedule.
QUADRANT 1 GAMES REMAINING: at Iowa, at Purdue, at Nebraska, at Illinois, at Northwestern
QUADRANT 2
The Gophers have done well against Quadrant 2 teams this season across seven games with a 4-3 record. The Gophers have picked up back-to-back Quad 2 wins with wins over Penn State and Northwestern. They also beat Nebraska earlier this season as well as Michigan, who at the time was a Quad 2 opponent.
QUADRANT 2 GAMES REMAINING: vs Ohio State
QUADRANT 3
The Gophers have only had a pair of Quadrant 3 games this season in Missouri and Maryland. After losing their matchup to Missouri 70-68 in November, they defeated Maryland in January 65-62.
QUADRANT 3 GAMES REMAINING: vs Rutgers, vs Penn State, vs Indiana
QUADRANT 4
The Golden Gophers are undefeated against Quadrant 4 teams this season, as they should be with a 9-0 record. They have no Quadrant 4 games remaining this season.
REMAINING SCHEDULE
WILL THE GOPHERS MAKE A POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT?
While the NCAA Tournament is still a long shot for the Gophers as things stand right now, Ben Johnson's program is sitting in a good spot when it comes to making a potential run at a NIT tournament appearance this postseason. The Gophers have appeared in the NIT 12 times over the course of the history of the men's basketball program with their last coming in 2014 when they defeated High Point, Saint Mary's, Southern Miss, Florida State, and SMU en route to a NIT title.
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