Unlike St. Thomas, Plitzuweit’s Gophers (13-1) are NCAA tournament eligible and projected as one of the last teams in the field on ESPN analyst Charlie Creme’s recent mock bracket. That’s likely based on Minnesota’s top 30 NET, the seventh best among Big Ten teams entering Tuesday’s game at Wisconsin. In comparison, the 8-5 St. Thomas women are 187th in the NET.

The U women didn’t look the part of an NCAA tourney caliber team in a 19-point loss at Nebraska in early December. That game seemed to knock the Gophers’ soft schedule that ranks 294th nationally. But they learned lessons in Lincoln, Neb.

“I thought Nebraska out-toughed us in a lot of different ways,” Plitzuweit said. “When you go on the road, you have to have it at another level on top of that. We didn’t have that.”

Aside from their NET ranking, it was hard to determine if the Gophers were legit before the blowout over the Nittany Lions. They won 12 nonconference games by an average of nearly 32 points against mostly smaller conference foes. They also won by 40 points or more three times.

Some might call that manipulating the NET. But not so fast. The NCAA no longer uses scoring margin in that formula. It does use offensive and defensive efficiency, though.

Plitzuweit started out 10-0 this season with leading scorer Mara Braun limited to just five games with injury. The coach said the Gophers were strategic to schedule opponents to prepare for certain styles in the Big Ten.