Kevin Burleson has certainly rested better. But it comes as no surprise, considering his childhood dream of playing in the NCAA tournament is in danger of playing out only in his slumber.
“I could hardly sleep last night,” Burleson said. “It was tough. This is the biggest week of my life.”
Since Minnesota’s men’s basketball team was embarrassed 84-60 Sunday at Illinois, all Burleson and fellow senior Jerry Holman have thought about is what the Gophers must accomplish to earn their first trip to the NCAA tournament in their last opportunity.
The answer? Well, nothing is for certain, but two victories in the Big Ten tournament in Chicago would likely put Minnesota in the field of 65.
The seventh-seeded Gophers (16-11, 8-8 Big Ten) take on 10th-seed Northwestern (11-16, 3-13 Big Ten) today at 1:30 p.m. in their first contest. A victory gives Minnesota a rematch with the Illini in the quarterfinals. A loss would be the Gophers fifth straight and likely put them in their third consecutive National Invitation Tournament.
“I don’t want my season to end like this,” Holman said. “I want to go to the Big Dance. I want to play as many games as possible in the Big Dance. But we’ve got to win this Big Ten tournament.
“It’s real important to me, and I hope the team understands that.”
Minnesota’s current losing streak has shaken the psyche of the Gophers players. In the last 10 minutes of the Illinois blowout, Minnesota showed no fire, no enthusiasm and no team chemistry.
Perhaps the Wildcats, who the Gophers have beaten twice this season, are the perfect medicine for Minnesota’s ailment.
“How do you get your confidence back?” Monson asked rhetorically. “You go play well in your next game. You beat somebody up and get feeling good about yourself.”
Monson spoke to his squad Monday about focusing on Northwestern. But the Gophers are itching for another shot at the Illini team that humiliated them on national television – Holman so much so that he misspoke in an interview Tuesday, twice saying Illinois when meaning Northwestern.
And while focusing on the task at hand, both Burleson and Holman have been paying attention to other bubble teams around the nation.
When Georgia announced its withdrawal from the NCAA tournament, Joe Lunardi of ESPN.com put the Gophers back in his bracket predictions.
But losses by Gonzaga (23-7) and Butler (25-4) in their respective conference finals has given San Diego State and UW-Milwaukee automatic bids, and made space on the bubble a lot more crowded.
As more teams earn automatic bids to the NCAA tournament, Burleson and Holman hope they can make enough noise in the conference tournament to cash in on their final chance to reach the promised land of college basketball.
“That’s all I’ve been doing, watching all these other teams that are winning their conference championships,” Holman said. “Other teams on the bubble are making the Big Dance. I just wonder where we stand in this situation. How good are we going to be?
“It all comes down to the Big Ten tournament now.”
Anthony Maggio covers men’s basketball and welcomes comments at [email protected]