How high, low can the Gophers be seeded in Big Ten Tournament?

With two games left in the regular season the term "March Madness" fits the possible outcomes the Minnesota Golden Gophers could have when it comes to seeding for next week's Big Ten Tournament. 

A home matchup with Indiana and a road game against Northwestern represent a last chance to move up the standings and put them in a position for a run in the conference tournament, which is being held in Minneapolis March 13-17. 

After Saturday's win over Penn State, the Gophers (18-11, 9-9 Big Ten) are tied with Michigan State for seventh place in the Big Ten. There are a still a bunch of moving parts, but let's take a look at the conference from top to bottom to get an idea of where teams could be seeded. 

Purdue has a chance to clinch the Big Ten regular season title and No. 1 seed in the conference tournament by winning one of its final two games. They play at Illinois on Tuesday and host Wisconsin on Sunday. They're still a heavy favorite to get the No. 1 seed. 

Illinois is probably a lock to be the No. 2 seed. 

The third through ninth seeds look to be some order of Northwestern, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan State and Indiana, while the bottom five seeds (10-14) will probably go to Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, Maryland and Michigan. 

The Gophers' biggest competition for the seventh seed comes from the Michigan State, who play Northwestern on Tuesday and Indiana on Sunday. Northwestern is looking to chase down Illinois for the second seed, sitting two games back of the Illini but would also need Illinois to lose both of its games to jump up to the second seed.

Who gets the second seed is important as the Gophers and Spartans split their regular season matchups this season, and the second tiebreaker comes down to the record against the top team in the standings and then works in descending order until one team has an advantage. With the Spartans' loss at Purdue on Saturday night, both the Gophers and Michigan State lost their only meeting with the Boilermakers. But while Minnesota lost to Illinois, the Spartans would own the tiebreaker after splitting their two meetings with the Illini this season.

If you're still with us, the Gophers likely have to win both games this week to have a shot at the No. 7 seed. 

Can Minnesota go higher? 

The No. 5 and 6 seeds in the conference tourney are obtainable if the Gophers win out to finish 11-9, though it would also require Wisconsin or Iowa losing out – and Minnesota finishing ahead of Michigan State. 

Wisconsin hosts Rutgers Wednesday and finishes at Purdue. Odds favor them beating Rutgers, so the Gophers probably won't catch Wisconsin. 

Iowa's last game is Sunday at home against Illinois, so a loss is very possible and would open the door to the No. 6 seed if Minnesota takes down Indiana Wednesday night and then wins at Northwestern on Saturday. 

A tie with Iowa would favor the Hawkeyes as they swept Minnesota in the regular season. 

Best-case scenario for Minnesota: Probably the No. 6 seed

How far can the Gophers fall?

If the Gophers lose the final two games, they'd finish 9-11 in the Big Ten. Penn State can tie Minnesota but the Gophers own the tiebreaker so they don't matter. Indiana could tie or pass Minnesota, and Ohio State could tie if the Gophers lose out and the Buckeyes win at Rutgers on Sunday. 

Indiana and Ohio State only matter if Indiana beats Minnesota on Wednesday. If Ohio State, Indiana and Minnesota all finish 9-11 in conference play, Minnesota will lose the tiebreaker to both. 

Worst-case scenario for Minnesota: Probably No. 10 seed

Long story short, the only thing certain about the Gophers' Big Ten Tournament draw is that it will be played in Minneapolis. Although the games will be played on a neutral court at Target Center, the Gophers are 16-3 at home this season compared to 2-7 on the road.