Davis ready for last home game

Practice was long over. Interim head coach Mike Davis let the players out after only 35 minutes of basketball Tuesday. \n"They deserve it," he said. "I think, right now, we're playing the way I envisioned us to play."\nDavis sat on a couch in the coach's lounge with the television remote control next to his thigh Tuesday afternoon. He wasn't watching tape of Minnesota, IU's next opponent. He was relaxing. But don't think Davis is taking today's 8 p.m. matchup with the Gophers lightly. \nAlthough he thinks IU has earned a berth in the NCAA tournament, he's not convinced. But the Hoosiers own a 17-11 record, 8-6 in the Big Ten, which has been good enough in the past for Big Ten teams to be invited.\n"I think it's a very important game for us to get into the NCAA tournament," Davis said. "I would hope that we're in. I think 18 wins should be more than enough to get us in."\nMinnesota coach Dan Monson said he is keeping a sense of humor about the game.\n"We're coming off a bye weekend so nobody got hurt and we didn't lose a game," Monson said. "So we're feeling pretty good about our weekend."\nThe injury bug bit a pair of key Gophers earlier in the season. Minnesota forward John-Blair Bickerstaff broke his right leg Feb. 6 in the Gophers' 66-59 victory against Northwestern. It's the same leg he broke last year and the break appeared to be in almost the same place, just below his right kneecap. The Gophers also lost forward Michael Bauer. He broke his arm in Minnesota's loss at Purdue Jan. 27.\nBauer scored 19 points in Minnesota's 78-74 overtime victory against IU Jan. 20, while Bickerstaff added 10.\n"Hopefully the healthy guys are healthier, and we can come into this last week and play the best basketball since these injuries have changed the makeup of our team," Monson said. \nMonson said he realizes Minnesota's (17-10, 5-9) chances of making the NCAA tournament are slim, but he's proud of what the Gophers have accomplished, considering the sanctions levied against the program for academic fraud.\n"That's college basketball and the postseason is the hopes and dreams of college basketball players," Monson said. "Our players are still dreaming that dream. This team deserves to have some sort of postseason in its future.\n"Coming out of sanctions and probation, the postseason marks a beginning of the end and chance to say that this program is headed in the right direction. It's a validation of their hard work and dreams."\nDavis knows that today's game could be his last as IU's head coach in Assembly Hall, should the new athletics director choose to replace him. He said he appreciates the opportunity to coach at a program with a history like IU's. \n"It's been a roller coaster, up and down all season," Davis said. "I knew it was going to be like that because I put in everything new, both offensively and defensively. I just appreciate the opportunity.\n"If they keep me, it's more than a dream come true"