University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers No. 2 Seed in NCAA Tourney
11/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
NCAA Tickets on Sale Tuesday
The University of Minnesota secured the overall No. 2 seed and will begin NCAA competition, Dec. 2, when it hosts North Dakota, Southern California and Hawaii in the First and Second Rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Match times are 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., Dec. 2, held at the Sports Pavilion. Winners of the First Round advance to the Second Round, also held at the Sports Pavilion, Dec. 3, at 6 p.m. The Golden Gophers earned a No. 2 overall seed for the second-straight season, following up 2015. The No. 2 seed is the highest in program history.
Winners of each Second Round advance to the Regional Semifinals, which is hosted by the highest remaining seed in each region. If the Gophers advance, Minnesota Has the potential to host through the regional.
Minnesota is making its 21st NCAA tournament appearance, coming off a Final Four berth in 2015. In all, Minnesota has been to four Final Four appearances, seven Sweet 16 berths and two Elite 8 appearances. In its 20 previous appearances, Minnesota is 19-1 in the First Round, including a 3-0 mark against head coach Hugh McCutcheon.
Of the 64 teams to make it to the NCAA Tournament, Minnesota played 12 this season. The Big Ten Conference alone had eight (including the Gophers) make it into the tournament, while the Gophers also played No. 7 seed North Carolina, No. 6 seed Stanford, San Diego, Florida State and Texas A&M during the non-conference season. In all, Minnesota had top 25 RPI wins against 10 teams, six wins against top 50 RPI teams and two against top 100 RPI teams.
All-session tickets will go on sale for the NCAA First and Second Rounds Tuesday. All-session chairback seating is available for $30, while all-session bench seating is available for $20. For more information, visit mygophersports.com or call the Gopher Ticket Office at 612-624-8080 or 1-800 U-GOPHER.
Minnesota finished the Big Ten season tied for second in the league standings at 17-3. Entering the tournament with a 25-4 overall record, all four losses came against top 20 nationally ranked teams in five sets and on the road (Stanford, Penn State, Michigan State, Nebraska). The Gophers closed out the regular season facing four ranked conference foes, all of which made the tournament. Michigan State (an overall No. 9 seed), Michigan (No. 12 seed), Nebraska (No. 1 seed) and Wisconsin (No. 3 seed). All four went five sets and were wins at home.
