The Wild has put itself in a rare position among local teams of recent vintage: There doesn't figure to be any guesswork as to whether it will make the postseason. It's all about seeding now, and even that looks quite promising.

The Gophers men's basketball team, thanks to a four-game winning streak that included two dramatic victories at Williams Arena — the most recent a 75-74 win over Indiana on Wednesday — now has a chance to do the same.

Minnesota is 7-6 in the Big Ten (19-7 overall). The Gophers are in great shape in the RPI and deemed worthy of a No. 7 seed in ESPN's latest "bracketology" report.

They are firmly in the tournament as of now. Two more wins in their last five regular-season games should be plenty to keep them off the bubble.

But three or more? Ah, that would create some more of that breathing room Minnesota teams rarely seem to find.

Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. mrand@startribune.com