Women’s basketball: Gophers jump to No. 19 in Associated Press poll

The Gophers beat Illinois, 78-73, on Sunday in Champaign to finish their Big Ten regular season with nine wins in their last 10 games and a 13-5 conference record, tied for fourth place with No. 11 Ohio State. They earned the No. 4 seed in this week’s conference tournament in Indianapolis because they beat the Buckeyes on Feb. 18.

The Gophers (22-7) won’t play until Friday in the tournament quarterfinals against Ohio State or the winner of a first-round game between Nebraska and Wisconsin.

Minnesota earned 226 points in this week’s AP poll. Six other Big Ten teams were ranked this week, including No. 2 UCLA, No. 8 Michigan, No. 9 Iowa, No. 14 Maryland and No. 18 Michigan State. Washington and Illinois also received votes.