Despite what the standings say, both Indiana and Minnesota have hope for a late-season surge that could propel them into NCAA Tournament consideration as they meet Wednesday in Minneapolis.
It’s been a frustrating season for the Hoosiers (16-13, 8-10 Big Ten), but the return of senior point guard Xavier Johnson has provided some spark and hope the last two games.
With Johnson back in the lineup after missing six games with an elbow injury, Indiana beat Wisconsin 74-70 at home and won 83-78 at Maryland on Sunday to move to ninth in the Big Ten standings.
If Johnson can remain on the court and be impactful, Indiana might not be quite dead yet.
“We’ve struggled to put the ball in the hole,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said. “(Sunday), it call came together a little bit. I think ‘X’ had a lot to do with it there and taking some of the pressure off of Gabe (Cupps). Gabe got off to a great start for us, but I just thought ‘X’ was Xavier Johnson. He did a lot of good things on the floor from a defensive standpoint and controlled the game out front with him and (Trey Galloway), our two seniors. I’ve missed that this season. I really have.”
On the other side, Minnesota (18-11, 9-9) might be the most improved team in the league this year. The Golden Gophers won just two league games a season ago.
The Golden Gophers are coming off a 75-70 home win over Penn State, a game that saw Minnesota rally from 23 points down in the second half.
Minnesota entered Tuesday No. 77 in the NET rankings largely because of a soft nonconference schedule, but a strong finish to the season could put the Golden Gophers back in the discussion for a tournament berth.
“The last week of the season, everybody is on edge,” Minnesota head coach Ben Johnson said. “Everybody is playing for something, and you have to respond to that. You have to be at that level or a little bit more.”
–Field Level Media