File this under, "So you're saying there's a chance" ... or "What the [redacted] is he thinking" ... or somewhere in between. But we have just seen numbers -- very real numbers that very much impact what really happens -- that say right now, as we speak, with all games accounted for, the Gophers are STILL considered to be one of the 68 teams who will make the NCAA men's basketball tournament field. They come via RPI/bracketology guru Jerry Palm, though they do come with this disclaimer:

Bracket projections are always based on "as if the tournament started today." I am not predicting how teams will finish the season.

Palm also says this in his related blog post about the fact that the projections show nine Big Ten teams in the field of 68:

Nine teams would be ridiculous come March. Minnesota in particular is in trouble. It doesn't seem likely the Gophers will be able to withstand the grind without Trevor Mbakwe, who is lost for the season with a knee injury.

But the numbers are there, regardless. See for yourself. If the tournament started today, per Palm's field, the Gophers would be a No. 13 seed and would play in one of those four new-fangled tentacle games. (And they would earn Tubby Smith, per his contract, a $100,000 bonus).

Much of this, of course, has to do with RPI (56), strength of schedule (32) and other such things that will eventually change. The Gophers are living off their 12-1 non-conference season, not dying (yet) via their 0-4 Big Ten start. If anything, this is a testament to the absurdity of early projections, fun as they might be. But we'll have to keep an eye on things. If the Gophers lose at Indiana and Penn State in the next four days, they just might get knocked onto the bubble.