If the Gophers men’s basketball team is given the option to continue playing beyond the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis this week, the U head coach said Minnesota will take it.

Last year, Johnson’s statement of intent to play in national tournaments paid off when other programs opted out of postseason play due to the affects of the NCAA transfer portal. That helped the Gophers get into the NIT field, where they beat Butler and lost to top-seed Indiana State in the second round.

Minnesota rallied from two double-digit deficits to force overtime, but did little right in the extra frame in a 75-67 loss Saturday to Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J.