Gophers pregame: Minnesota needs to win to actively avoid (another) ninth place finish

Read my advance in today's Star Tribune here.

In December, it would have seemed next to impossible that the Gophers would end up at this point.

This was supposed to be the season that the Gophers escaped the bitter routine, the year that they elevated to the top half of the Big Ten.

Heck, in December, there was talk both locally and nationally about the Gophers contending for the league title.

And yet, here they are: with the last game of the regular season before them, the Gophers have to notch a win in order to potentially avoid ninth place – the same place they've ended up for the previous two seasons.

(In the standings, it might look likey they are tied for seventh or eighth. But if Iowa wins vs. Nebraska today, and the Gophers lose, it doesn't matter what Illinois does, the Gophers will end up as the No. 9 seed in the Big Ten tournament).

Which Gophers team will show up? The one that played with energy and intention against Indiana? Or the one that flopped at Nebraska?

Today is another senior day and should be another packed house and good atmosphere in Mackey Arena – allowing the crowd to get loud and happy early really hurt the Gophers on Wednesday, Andre Hollins acknowledged.

"We didn't match their intensity I don't think and we let their crowd get into it, that was a big key," he said.

Other notes on today's matchup:

Extra points: