Minnesota is in a sort of hoops no man's land where little is certain, despite the calendar reading late February.

The Gophers are in the unusual position of fighting for a conference title, while also still fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Usually a Big Ten team will be doing one or the other, but certainly not both.

With four games remaining in the regular season, the Gophers could emerge from the mess at the top of the Big Ten and grab at least a share of the conference title. But Dan Monson's team could also end up missing the NCAA Tournament and wind up in the NIT for the third consecutive season.

	Minnesota took two on the road last week, but it only gets tougher over the next 10 days for Maurice Hargrow and the Gophers.

The Gophers (16-7, 8-4 Big Ten) enter Wednesday's game at Michigan State as one of the Big Ten's hottest teams, having won seven of eight games. They're one game behind league-leading Michigan. But the home stretch is far from easy, as Minnesota also has a home game against Wisconsin on Sunday and road games next week at Indiana and Illinois.

"I really like our position," forward Michael Bauer said. "We have to go earn it and search for a Big Ten title or an NCAA berth. It's going to be tough, but I'm willing to go do it, and my teammates are, too.

"Michigan State is not playing well, and we're looking to get a win. None of the next four are easy, but they're games we can win."

But as much as the Gophers players want to talk Big Ten title, they still have work to do to reach the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota's RPI is currently in the mid-40s and the Gophers appear close to being in. But in the words of Purdue coach Gene Keady, "they have to finish the job."

Two victories, whether in the regular season or the Big Ten tournament, should be enough for the Gophers, who have already guaranteed at least a .500 finish in Big Ten play.

Several other Big Ten teams believe the Gophers are a legitimate NCAA Tournament team.

"No question," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "Minnesota is a very, very good basketball team. I think they're getting better and better."

Said Illinois coach Bill Self: "I can't imagine 34 at-large teams better."

Finishing with an above-.500 league record has been pretty close to a magic number. Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, 92 of 95 Big Ten teams that have finished above .500 in league play have been selected. The rub is two of the three teams wore "Minnesota" across their chests.

The Gophers have twice finished above .500 and not received a tournament berth, including last season when they finished 9-7 in the league. One thing that should help the Gophers is that the Big Ten's league RPI is currently No. 4, up two spots from last season. Monson acknowledges the final stretch will be difficult.

"If you look at all four games, I will give you this: It's very overwhelming," Monson said. "It's a daunting task."

Monson, who took Gonzaga within a game of the 1999 Final Four, won't talk about what his team needs to do to garner an invitation. However, he's been pretty open in saying that the Gophers need to finish ahead of either Michigan State or Indiana in the Big Ten standings.

"I'm not on the committee, I'm not in the media, I don't have to predict, it's not my job," Monson said. "I just know we have eight (Big Ten) wins right now and on Wednesday we have a chance to get nine."

After not getting in last season with a 9-7 record, the Gophers players are a little gun shy when it come to talking about the tournament.

"I don't know how the NCAA decides who gets in," Gophers guard Moe Hargrow said. "I just know we have to win ballgames."

The Gophers, who opened league play 1-3, have gotten back into the league race with a combination of better defense and more production from sophomore forward Rick Rickert.

Since losing at Ohio State -- a game in which the Gophers attempted a school-record 36 three-pointers despite holding a huge height advantage -- Minnesota has begun the transformation from a team that wants to outscore opponents to one that actually plays defense.

In victories over Purdue, Iowa, Northwestern and Penn State, the Gophers have given up only 63.7 points while holding opponents to 39.8-percent shooting and 22.6 percent on 3-pointers. The Gophers are 11-1 when holding opponents to fewer than 70 points, but only 5-6 when giving up 70 or more.

"We're a great offensive team, but when our shots aren't falling, we've got to have something else other than just relying on our threes and our jumpers," Rickert said. "We've got to get the ball to the hole, and we've got to 'D' some people up."

Two tactical changes made early in the Big Ten season also have contributed to better defense.

First was Monson's move to the big lineup and the decision to have 6-foot-10 Jerry Holman defend on the perimeter and 6-8 Michael Bauer guard inside. The other was to play more fullcourt defense, a move Monson made before last month's game against Northwestern. Not coincidentally, that was the beginning of the team's current stretch of seven victories in eight games.

"Ninety percent of success in the press is effort and so much of it revolves, like anything, in having success," Monson said. "If you have success, you put out the effort. One of the things is that we've had some success in our press so it elevates our effort. "So many Big Ten basketball games, I think, are won by team that gets the tempo they want. Our team is not a toe-to-toe boxing team. We need the tempo up, we need more space, we need the court spread out for our finesse players, and I think the press has allowed us to do that."

Now the Gophers have to try to do it against some of the Big Ten's best teams. And a team that's 2-5 on the road will have to try to do it away from Williams Arena. But after recent road victories at Penn State and Northwester, the Gophers have more confidence (despite the victories coming against teams that are a combined 3-22 in league play).

"We can't just say we're going to win at home and we don't have to try on the road," Rickert said. "We need to work hard and go on the road and play the best ball we can."

Games of the Week

Michigan at Wisconsin Wednesday The winner will be alone atop the Big Ten standings. The Badgers haven't lost at the Kohl Center this season, while the Wolverines have had a week to prepare for this game. The last time the teams met, Michigan rallied for a come-from-behind victory. Creighton at Southern Illinois Saturday The Salukis reached the Sweet 16 of last season's NCAA Tournament while the Bluejays have been ranked most of this season. In addition, the game will likely determine the Missouri Valley's regular season champion. Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Butler, Saturday Another regular season mid-major game that has the feel of a heavyweight fight. Like the Creighton-Southern Illinois game, this game will likely provide the Horizon League with its regular season champion. Purdue at Michigan State Saturday While the Boilermakers are probably a NCAA Tournament lock at this point, Purdue certainly lacks the momentum it had earlier this month. For Michigan State, this is another game crucial to its tournament chances. Texas at Texas Tech Saturday Kansas at Texas Tech Monday Bob Knight's Red Raiders went a long ways toward earning a NCAA Tournament berth with Monday's victory at Oklahoma State. A victory in either of these games, though, would erase any lingering doubts about whether Texas Tech is worthy.

Buffalo Roadkill
Colorado is putting itself in position for a long and stress-filled Selection Sunday, one filled with one big question ...

Which is more important to the selection committee: Big wins at home? Or futility on the road?

With the possible exception of Alabama, there isn't a team that changes personalities on the road more than the Buffaloes. At home, Ricardo Patton's team is fabulous. At the Coors Events Conference Center the Buffs have won 10 consecutive games, equaling a streak that dates to the 1979-80 season. They've defeated both Kansas and Texas in the streak, not to mention Missouri on Saturday.

But the road is an entirely different thing. After Tuesday's 81-55 loss at Iowa State, the Buffs remained winless on the road in Big 12 play. It was a loss that dropped Colorado's RPI according to CollegeRPI.com from 43 to 52. Now, Colorado's game Saturday at Baylor becomes crucial.

"I don't even want to hear about the NCAA Tournament, I really don't," Patton said after the game. "I just want to focus on Baylor."

Even if the Buffs lose at Baylor, Colorado can still finish with a .500 record in league play if they defeat Oklahoma State and Nebraska in the season's final week. But is that enough to get into the NCAA Tournament? It also doesn't help Colorado's cause that Texas Tech -- which won at Oklahoma State on Monday -- has gotten back to .500 in league play after a slow start.

Before the loss to the Cyclones, Patton was upbeat about his team's chances.

"Quality wins shouldn't be viewed where they are," said Patton, whose team does have two neutral-site victories and a non-conference win at Charlotte. "I don't know how many teams (across the country) are winning road games, very few in the Big 12 are."

After the loss in Ames, Patton acknowledged the road woes have gotten in the heads of his players.

"It's like an average golfer," he told the Rocky Mountain News. "If a course has more trees and more water, it frightens them to death. It's no different than players going on the road. Some guys can't take their show on the road, and if you look at the stat sheet, you can easily point out our guys who can't take it on the road."

Mid-Major Saturday
Alas, last Saturday's Bracket Buster was merely an opening act, a hoops hors d'oeuvre for this week. For the college hoops fan who thinks that schools outside the power conferences can play as well, this Saturday two potentially great games in the Missouri Valley Conference and the Horizon League.

In the Horizon, Wisconsin-Milwaukee plays at Butler on Saturday afternoon in what has turned into a rivalry game. If the Bulldogs defeat Wisconsin-Green Bay and the Panthers defeat Wright State on Thursday night both teams will enter the game -- the last of the regular season -- with 13-2 league records and the winner will take the title.

If recent history is an indicator, the game should be a good one. Wisconsin-Milwaukee won the first meeting between the two teams, 69-65. Last season's games were each decided by a single point.

Seven hours later and 263 miles to the southwest (you'd probably have to drive pretty fast to make both games), the fans in Carbondale, Ill., will probably be going crazy. After all, the Saluki fans have been waiting more than a month for a rematch with the Bluejays. And this time Creighton will be playing at the SIU Arena, where the Salukis have won 25 consecutive games. Considering that this is a night game and Southern Illinois students are known to appreciate adult beverages, the atmosphere will probably be pretty good.

While the Salukis haven't attracted the same attention this season as Creighton, Southern Illinois impresses Bluejays coach Dana Altman.

"For people who don't think Southern is as good as a year ago, they're mistaken," Altman said. "I think they're pretty good and deserve consideration.

"Their guards being a year older are better and (guard) Kent (Williams) has always been a great competitor."

Working Overtime
Here's the problem with the idea of paying college athletes. What do you do with the Ohio Bobcats? You'd have pay them overtime.

Basketball for Tim O'Shea's team isn't a 40-minute exercise. It's much more than that. This season, the Bobcats have gone to overtime on six different occasions and they've played 11 five-minute overtime periods. That's nearly an extra game and a half.

"I've already lost most of my hair," O'Shea says with a laugh. "The hair I have left is turning gray."

Ohio's most recent streak, however, is ludicrous. Entering Wednesday's game against Virginia, the Bobcats have gone to overtime in three consecutive games. First was an overtime loss to Eastern Michigan on Feb. 19. Then was Ohio's double overtime victory over Western Michigan on Saturday. One day later, the Bobcats traveled to Akron to make up a game that was postponed because of snow the previously weekend.

Guess what? Another overtime game. Two days, two overtime games. It was also the second overtime game between Ohio and Akron this season.

"It's almost gotten to the point where it's comical," O'Shea said. "We were down 18 in the first half at Akron and somehow we find a way to tie. There's no doubt we'll be in overtime again. We've got games left."

In the six OT games, Ohio is 3-3. The interesting fact: The Bobcats are 0-3 in single OT games, but 3-0 in games that last even longer. That includes a four OT victory over Akron in the teams' first meeting.

"If we can get you into double or triple overtime, watch out," O'Shea said.

O'Shea said there has been no pattern to the overtime games. The Bobcats have hit freak shots, they've had the same thing happen to them. Ohio has missed a game-winning shot, but also made a key defensive stop.

"It's very stressful as a head coach," O'Shea said. "But I've gotten conditioned to it. I'm not as frantic, but I'm a little worn out."

With six overtime games, Ohio is two OT games away from tying the NCAA record held by Western Kentucky in 1978, Portland in 1984 and Valparaiso in 1993. The Bobcats need three more overtime sessions to tie the record of 14 set by Bradley.

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