I think Minny is probably fine, given the criteria the committee uses. The Gophers' 5-11 stretch coincided with their toughest part of the schedule (imagine that). Of the 11 losses, 3 were not good - at Northwestern, at Nebraska and at Purdue. Purdue was/is a decent team, so one could argue the merits of how bad that actual loss was. Gophers weren't particularly competitive at Purdue, getting way behind early, coming back to 7 in the second half and then losing by double digits. They also had non-competitive losses at Iowa and at Ohio State.
As much as the Gophers have wheezed down the stretch, their quantity of what are considered good wins remains. Richmond, Florida State, Iowa, Memphis, Stanford, Michigan State, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin are all Top 100 RPI wins. And MSU, Indiana and Memphis are Top 20 RPI wins. Those numbers just can't be ignored.
I wouldn't give a nickel for Minnesota winning a first-round NCAA game against anyone. But they sit in the Top 30 of the RPI at this time and have the quality wins in their back pocket. That will be too much to ignore.
