Friday, May 22, 2009

Gophers Survive, Eliminate Boilers

Minnesota eliminated Purdue from the Big Ten Tournament, 12-3. Only four teams remain, the top four seeds heading into the tournament -- Ohio State, Minnesota, Indiana and Illinois.

Gophers' starter Tom Buske tossed his first complete game.

The Gophers will now play in today's second game against Illinois. Not only is it an elimination game for both teams, but one does wonder if it's a potential do-or-die situation for the Illini in regards to their at-large NCAA Tournament hopes?

According the this morning pseudo-RPI at Boyd's World, Illinois is sitting at number 63. A win over Minnesota (who is 25 in pseudo-RPI) would certainly help the Illini. Staying alive in the conference tournament also gives them the opportunity to add wins and RPI points. Conversely, a loss this afternoon might bounce Illinois from both the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments.

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