The NCAA tournament – for both men's and women's college basketball – gets the majority of the hype and analysis these days. Naturally.
But there are a few sites out there that take time to analyze the Women's National Invitational Tournament. And, with the Gophers women about to start their WNIT run with Friday's game against Northern Iowa at Williams Arena, fans should know that at least one site has the Gophers among the favorites to win that tournament's title.
Omnirankings.com took a look at pre-tournament ratings and at the bracket the WNIT revealed Monday night. The conclusion? The Gophers (20-10) have the second-best chance of winning the whole thing.
The site tabbed West Virginia with the team most likely to win the WNIT, giving the Mountaineers a 96.68 percent chance of winning in the first round, a 71.75 percent chance of reaching the final 16, a 50 percent chance of reaching the quarterfinals and, ultimately, a 15.89 percent chance of winning it all.
The Gophers have a 12.7 percent chance of winning the title, and have a 45 percent chance of reaching the quarterfinals, a 30.5 percent chance of getting to the semifinals and a 20.3 percent chance of reaching the final.
After the Gophers, the site has Arizina, Virginia Tech, Texas Christian and Saint Mary's as the teams with the best chance.
