The Big Ten at one point was projected to get as many as 11 teams into the NCAA tournament this season, which would be a record for the conference.
Now that the dog days of February are upon the league, though, the contenders and pretenders are starting to separate themselves.
The Gophers and Purdue were among the teams projected to be in the field entering Thursday's rematch, but one of them needed the victory a lot more.
After entering the week on a three-game losing streak, the Gophers picked up their second straight win Thursday in comeback fashion, 71-68, against the No. 25-ranked Boilermakers.
Marcus Carr scored eight of his 18 points in the final minute, including two three-pointers that helped the Gophers (13-7, 6-7 in the Big Ten) avenge in earlier loss to Purdue on the road.
Trevion Williams followed Carr's tying three with a powerful finish on a slam coming out of the timeout to put the Boilermakers 66-64 with 25 seconds to play. But Minnesota's All-Big Ten point guard wasn't finished.
The 6-foot-2 junior hit two free throws and drilled another clutch three-pointer with 14 seconds left to give Minnesota a 69-68 advantage.
It was obvious where Purdue would go again. Williams tried to get himself deep into the post for a layup, but the Gophers' defense forced a travel on a double team. Gabe Kalscheur's two free throws then extended it to a three-point lead. Those were his first two foul shots of the night.
Kalscheur finished with 16 points on 4-for-7 shooting from three-point range and eight rebounds.
Carr appeared to be returning to his top form since a disappointing six-point effort in a 19-point loss Jan. 30 at Purdue. Carr had 39 points in his previous two games combined, but he struggled with just 3-for-9 shooting in the first half.
The game plan for the Boilermakers (13-8, 8-6) was to make someone else beat them besides the Big Ten's third-leading scorer. They also wanted to set the tone physically like the first meeting.
Williams made sure Purdue controlled the paint with 15 of his 24 points in the first half for a 32-30 halftime advantage.
The Gophers pulled to within 49-48 after Kalscheur's three midway through the second half, but Williams again had an answer. The 6-10, 265-pound junior muscled in a layup plus the foul and converted a three-point play.
The next two possessions, Minnesota's 7-footer Liam Robbins showed why it was a tough day for him making an impact. Robbins had the ball stripped from him by Williams on one play. The next time down the floor, he had a pass inside to Brandon Johnson stolen away.
The high-low offense was an adjustment from Minnesota's blowout loss at Purdue. It took advantage of Johnson having a bigger impact offensively recently. The 6-8 senior reached double figures in scoring for the fourth straight game Thursday, finishing with 15 points.
Robbins, who fouled out in 14 minutes in Monday's 79-61 win against Nebraska, had his fifth consecutive game with four fouls. But Johnson's putback with Purdue's 7-4 Zac Edey looming pulled the Gophers within 56-52 at the six-minute mark.
The Boilermakers were a No. 5 seed in ESPN bracket expert Joe Lunardi's latest projections. The Gophers were not on the bubble as a predicted No. 9 seed, but they were getting dangerously close before Thursday's win.
Pitino's team is now 5-0 this season at home against ranked opponents, including wins over Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan.
