Mo Walker News

The Gophers are still clinging to hopes of making the NCAA tournament after Friday's abysmal 83-57 loss to Wisconsin.

This is Amelia Rayno's third season on the Gophers men's basketball beat. She learned college basketball in North Carolina , where fanhood is not an option.

Gophers at a glance: Fresh off a victory against 10th-seeded Penn State, Minnesota heads into round two and a rematch against border-rival Wisconsin after splitting with the Badgers in the regular season.

When Minnesota heads into Bankers Life Fieldhouse for the opening round of the Big Ten men's basketball tournament Thursday, no one needs to tell Richard Pitino that Penn State will be hungry.

This is Amelia Rayno's third season on the Gophers men's basketball beat. She learned college basketball in North Carolina , where fanhood is not an option.

This is Amelia Rayno's third season on the Gophers men's basketball beat. She learned college basketball in North Carolina , where fanhood is not an option.

Center Mo Walker helped the Gophers score 26 points in the paint against Penn State on Sunday at Williams Arena.

DeAndre Mathieu led the Golden Gophers with 16 points and six assists, Mo Walker scored 16 points on a career-best 8-for-10 free-throw shooting performance, and Minnesota locked up seventh place in coach Richard Pitino's first season.

The Gophers probably had to win on Sunday to hold onto a shot to make the NCAA tournament.

This is Amelia Rayno's third season on the Gophers men's basketball beat. She learned college basketball in North Carolina , where fanhood is not an option.

Saturday, the Gophers threatened to push themselves to the Big Dance on sheer grit, but they instead set the stage for a much more difficult path, falling at Michigan 66-56.

This is Amelia Rayno's third season on the Gophers men's basketball beat. She learned college basketball in North Carolina , where fanhood is not an option.

Several teammates and friends applauded Charles Buggs as he finally walked out to greet them long after the Gophers' 95-89 victory over No.

Jesus Rodriguez runs KidoZen, which helps large companies build mobile applications more easily.

Austin Hollins scored a career-high 27 points on 8-for-10 shooting, DeAndre Mathieu had 19 points and seven assists and Minnesota bounced back from a monthlong slump with a 95-89 victory over No.

Gophers at a glance: The Gophers have a few big opportunities remaining to pull out of their extended slump, but they're running out of time.

The Gophers avoided talking about the NCAA tournament all season, but entering Saturday's game against Ohio State, they clearly knew they were close to falling off the bubble with another loss.

Minnesota guard Andre Hollins wipes his eye during the first half of a game against Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., on Sunday, February 16, 2014.

Freshman guard Kendrick Nunn hit five 3-pointers and led Illinois with 19 points as the last-place Illini beat Minnesota 62-49 on Wednesday night, putting a damper on the Gophers' hopes for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.

The Gophers suffered the biggest blow to their NCAA tournament hopes this season with an embarrassing 62-49 loss to Big Ten bottom feeder Illinois on Wednesday night at Williams Arena.