This morning in Indianapolis began with a less-than-stellar forecast — cold, cloudy, even snow flurries making their way across the city. It's turned out to be a relatively nice day, temperatures around 40, some sun peaking out from behind the clouds.

There's still a chance of rain this evening, but as I made my way to Bankers Life Fieldhouse for the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament on Thursday, the forecast was better than previously imagined. Seems as if there's a high chance of good basketball, too.

The first game of the day, Iowa vs. Michigan, was fast-paced and close until Iowa pulled away at the end. Unfortunately, the crowd there to witness it left something to be desired.

The turnout was small, understandable for two out-of-state teams not expected to survive tomorrow's game against top-seeded Maryland. But people missed a great game, no doubt. Don't be surprised if there is more drama on the way this week, particularly for the Minnesota Gophers.

As our Rachel Blount wrote about in detail for Thursday's paper, the Gophers enter this tournament with a ton on the line. Currently, Minnesota is projected to be among the first four teams left out of the NCAA Tournament field. A miraculous run to winning the Big Ten tourney would get them an automatic bid.

Gophers guard Rachel Banham said last week that's not impossible by any means. But even if the Gophers can't pull off that type of feat, it seems they could get in the dance with a couple of quality wins. First up is Northwestern, tipping at approximately 1:15 (you can watch on Big Ten Network).

The fifth-seeded Gophers are facing the No. 12 seed Wildcats, but we've seen these teams play thrillers before. On Feb. 7, Minnesota beat Northwestern in double overtime, 112-106, as Rachel Banham's 60-point spectacular paced the Gophers to a victory. The Gophers also beat the Wildcats at Williams Arena on Jan. 20, only winning 95-92. So another close contest would not at all come as a surprise.

This time, the two schools will meet in Bankers Life Fieldhouse, which truly is a cool arena. There's the exposed brick exterior, a great video board above the court and a certainly quirky charm that reminds you are watching a game in the heart of basketball country.

And if Minnesota wins Thursday, it will face Indiana in a 4-5 game Friday afternoon. That one could be a toss up, and it could determine the Gophers' tournament fate. Stay tuned.