Play starts in the 32-team tournament on Thursday
As expected the bubble officially popped for the Minnesota Golden Gophers women’s basketball team when the field of 68 was announced on Sunday night. Minnesota was not even one of the first four teams out of the NCAA Tournament, and will instead set their sights for the second year of the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament (WBIT). The Gophers are a #2 seed in the 32-team event and will face #7 Toledo on Thursday night.
The WBIT is the new second-rung tournament for women’s basketball with the WNIT falling to third. Minnesota ended up as the WNIT runner up last season falling to St. Louis in the Championship game. Illinois won the WBIT a season ago and turned that into an #8 seed in the NCAA Tournament this season.
The Gophers are the #2 seed in an 8-team pod. The Gophers will face #7 Toledo in the opening round, and should be hosting at Williams Arena. Unfortunately The Barn is booked this week with the Minnesota Boy’s State Basketball Tournament, so the Gophers will need to head on the road for their opening game. If Minnesota can defeat the Rockets on Thursday, they would return home to host a Round of 16 game on Sunday against the winner of #3 seed Missouri State and Oral Roberts. No game time has been announced for Thursday’s game as of Sunday night.
Colorado is the #1 seed in the Gophers bracket and would host a quarterfinal if they advance. The Final Four will take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The full WBIT schedule and streaming/ TV information is below:
First round: Thursday, March 20 on ESPN+ (campus sites)
Second round: Sunday, March 23 on ESPN+ (campus sites)
Quarterfinals: Thursday, March 27 on ESPN+ (campus sites)
Semifinals: 2:30 and 5 p.m. ET Monday, March 31 on ESPNU at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis
Championship: 6 p.m. ET Wednesday, April 2 on ESPNU at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis
The full WBIT bracket is below: