Making NCAAs will help U in many ways

Yes, it wasn't pretty to have the Gophers trailing Ohio State 42-40 with 13 minutes, 41 seconds to play Sunday in the Big Ten men's basketball championship game, then getting outscored 48-21 the rest of the way and losing 90-61 to the Buckeyes.

But on the positive side, the Gophers did beat No. 11 Michigan State and No. 6 Purdue, two of the three teams that tied with the Buckeyes for the Big Ten regular-season championship, to reach the tournament final.

The Gophers earned an 11th seed in the West Region and made the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year, something the Gophers haven't done in 15 years.

The Gophers will play sixth-seeded Xavier in Milwaukee, a destination fairly close for a lot of their fans to follow them.

Xavier is 24-8 and lost to Butler, a team the Gophers beat 82-73 in November. If the Gophers are fortunate enough to beat Xavier on Friday, they would play the winner of third-seeded Pittsburgh and No. 14 seed Oakland (Mich.).

Xavier has done well in the first round of the tournament since 2002, winning six out of seven first-round NCAA game.

Regardless how the Gophers do in the NCAA tournament -- and I believe if they play like they did in the conference tournament against Michigan State and Purdue, they have a chance to advance -- the future for Gophers basketball is bright.

Smith is going to get the basketball practice facility he wants in the near future, something he believes is especially important when it comes to recruiting.

The Gophers lose three seniors -- Damian Johnson, Lawrence Westbrook and Devron Bostick.

There is a very good chance Trevor Mbakwe will have his legal problems cleared up before next year, and the presence of the 6-8, 240-pound forward will give the Gophers a rebounder like they haven't had this year. Then if former Minnesota Mr. Basketball Royce White gets his life straightened out and rejoins the team, his 6-8, 249-pound body will be another big plus for the team. Point guard Al Nolen, who had academic problems, is now doing better in the classroom and will be eligible again next year.

The Gophers' strong finish strong and Devoe Joseph's development into one of the better point guards in the Big Ten might help in the recruiting of Devoe's brother, Corey Joseph. Corey Joseph is a big-time recruit from Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) who also is being sought by Villanova, Connecticut, Texas and UNLV.

The chance to play four games in the Big Ten tournament and at least one in the NCAA tournament will be good experience for the returning Gophers players.

Edina's turning point Edina boys' hockey coach Curt Giles recalled playing Minnetonka four times this season, including the Class 2A championship game, won 4-2 by the Hornets at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday.

"They had a great season; we knew how good they were," Giles said. "They beat us very badly [7-1 on Jan. 23] one time during the season and we knew how explosive they could be, so we wanted to get off to a quick start and throw everything we had at them." (Edina scored its first goal 26 seconds into the game.)

In the three previous meetings this season, Minnetonka beat Edina 7-1 and 3-2 and Edina won 5-4.

Giles believes the 5-4 victory on Feb. 11 was a turning point in the Edina season. "We trailed 4-0 and came back to beat them 5-4," Giles said.

One surprising thing about the two teams is that Edina has nine seniors on the team, and none of them was recruited by a Division I team. Minnetonka has four players who have been offered Division I scholarships.

In the East Region are Cornell's Ryan Wittman (Eden Prairie) and Josh Figini, (Chisago Lakes); Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor (Bloomington), Jon Leuer (Orono), Mike Bruesewitz (St. Paul) and Jared Berggren (Princeton); Wofford's Cameron Rundles and Jamar Diggs (both Minneapolis) and Noah Dahlman (Braham).

In the Midwest Region, there are Kansas' Cole Aldrich (Bloomington); Northern Iowa's Kwadzo Ahelegbe (Oakdale) and Marc Sonnen (St. Paul); Michigan State's Isaiah Dahlman (Braham) and Ohio State's P.J. Hill (Minneapolis).

In the West Region, there are Gonzaga's Sam Dower (Osseo) and Murray State's A.J. Wilson (St. Paul).

In the South Region are Utah State's Anthony DiLoreto (Minnetonka); Notre Dame's Mike Broghammer (Orono) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff's Rickey Parks (Minneapolis).

Jottings The 2010-11 Gophers men's hockey schedule will include four WCHA games with Wisconsin, UMD and Michigan Tech and two games with the rest of the conference teams. The nonconference schedule will include Massachusetts-Amherst, Michigan and Michigan State. The Christmas tournament will include Ferris State and Bemidji State, with a possibility that Bemidji State might be replaced because it is entering the WCHA.

Former Gophers winger Kyle Okposo is the top scorer for the N.Y. Islanders with 14 goals and 28 assists in 68 games. Former Gophers winger Blake Wheeler is tied for the fifth-leading scorer for the Boston Bruins with 16 goals and 19 assists in 67 games.