Fans React To Gophers Landing Spot In NCAA Tournament
ROSEVILLE, Minn. (WCCO) – Many customers at Buffalo Wild Wings in Roseville focused on the big screen Sunday evening as CBS announced the field of 68 college basketball teams playing in the NCAA Tournament, including the University of Minnesota.
"All right, Gophers baby," Reagan Hogan said excitedly when it was announced that the Gophers landed as a No. 10 seed, facing off against 7-seed University of Louisville.
Minnesota is an underdog based on the seeding, but Hogan is confident they will sneak by with a win.
"Ten-7 is a popular upset, so I'm going with it. I think it's a good first-round upset for them," he said.
He also feels the Gophers are golden based on the fact that the game will be played in nearby Iowa.
"Des Moines is not too far from Minneapolis. So who knows, maybe they'll get a lot of fans down there," he said.
Not long after the bracket was revealed, a 3D version of it was being built outside the IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis. It's only a short walk or light rail ride from U.S. Bank Stadium, where the final four teams in the tournament will play for a national title.
Making it that far is a long shot for a No. 10 seed team, but crazier things have happened during the madness that is March.
"Winners win. They overcome obstacles. They don't blame the obstacles that get in their way," Gopher fan Andrew Germain said.
And if there was one Cinderella team that actually made it to the Final Four, Germain hopes they're wearing maroon and gold.
"Everyone who says they're a Gopher has to watch this tournament now," he said.
To buy tickets for Minnesota's matchup against Louisville in Des Moines, click here.
If the Gophers win their first two games, they'd then travel to Washington, DC, for the East Regional. If they win two more, they'd simply have to travel across the Mississippi River to U.S. Bank Stadium.