Gophers Basketball Hanging on to Tourney Hopes by a Thread

When the Minnesota Gophers started 0-5 in Big Ten Conference play, it seemed like an early dagger to their NCAA tournament hopes.

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But rather than getting down and out, they decided to turn things around. Since that fifth conference loss, the Gophers have a record of 5-2 and have positioned themselves to control their own destiny. With six games left including two against Wisconsin, it’s going to take a magical run to grab a seed in the NCAA tournament. But you’ve got to give this team credit for fighting themselves back into relevance.

Most recently, the Gophers took down the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City by a final of 64-59. This was a big victory for a Gophers team that was 0-5 in Big Ten road games and had lost seven straight conference road games overall dating to last year.

Much of the improvement has been thanks to Andre Hollins, who has been on fire since a troubling start to his senior season. Over Minnesota’s stretch of 5-2, Hollins is averaging 21 points per game. Although for Andre, defense is the real reason for the recent success.

“We played tremendous defense today,” Hollins said. “Just looking at it, we were fighting over screens. We were getting the pressure, we got steals. It didn’t come (just) in the backcourt like it did with Purdue. We played defense in the halfcourt. We grabbed the rebounds, and we made some tough plays.”

Second-year head coach Richard Pitino almost echoed his star guard’s comments, saying, “I thought our guys stepped up when they needed to, making big free throws, making big plays. But more than anything, we got stops when we needed to.”

It doesn’t get any easier for the Gophers, as they look to continue their push to the NCAA tourney bubble on Sunday night at Assembly Hall. A road victory at Indiana would likely officially put the Gophers on the bubble, with a home game against Northwestern coming three days after. Then, Minnesota will face its toughest test but greatest opportunity of the season when they head to Madison on the 21st for a matchup with the 5th ranked Badgers. They’ll stay on the road five days later against the Spartans, before closing the season with two-straight home games against the Badgers and Nittany Lions.

But first-things-first, you can catch the action against the Hoosiers at 6:30 P.M. central on BTN.

Next: Andre Hollins is the Straw that Stirs the Gopher's Drink

Feb 12, 2015; Iowa City, IA, USA; The Minnesota Golden Gophers team huddles on court against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Minnesota defeated Iowa 64-59. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

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