Gov. Dayton Picks Gophers To Win National Title
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The University of Minnesota men's basketball team faces Middle Tennessee State Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Millions are filling out their brackets, including Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton. He released his bracket Wednesday afternoon, and it will have Gophers fans very excited if it holds true. Dayton has picked Minnesota not only to get to the Final Four, he has them winning the national championship.
Click here to see Dayton's bracket.
The Gophers enter the Big Dance a No. 5 seed in the South Region. They'll face the No. 12 seed Blue Raiders at about 3 p.m. Thursday. The winner advances to play the Winthrop/Butler winner on Saturday. Dayton picked the Gophers to beat Butler to get to the Sweet 16.
Then things get fun. Dayton picks the Gophers to upset North Carolina, the No. 1 seed in the South Region, to get to the Elite 8. If they can beat the Tar Heels, why not UCLA. Dayton chose Minnesota to beat the Bruins, which would put them in the Final Four.
This year's Final Four is in Arizona, and Dayton has the Gophers beating Kansas, the top seed in the Midwest Region, to get to the national title game. He has Minnesota beating Duke for the national title.
The Gophers have never won a national championship in basketball. Their only Final Four appearance was vacated due to an academic scandal.