Minnesota was projected by most to finish 12th-or-worse in the Big Ten in this season that's been described by some as a make-or-break year for Richard Pitino. And the Gophers still could finish that way, I guess. But it sure doesn't look like that's how this is going to go down.
The Gophers won again Thursday night.
So now they're 14-2 overall, 2-1 in the Big Ten and in possession of five top-65 KenPom wins. Minnesota has beaten the UT-Arlington team that topped Saint Mary's, beaten the Arkansas team that's 12-2 and coming off of a win over Tennessee, and beaten the Vanderbilt team that's 2-0 in the SEC. Additionally, last Sunday, the Gophers recorded a road victory over the Purdue team that's nationally ranked with a win over Notre Dame. And then, Thursday night, they recorded another road victory over the Northwestern team that started 12-2 with wins over Dayton and Wake Forest.
In other words, there's some real quality to Minnesota's resume. And KenPom currently projects the Gophers to finish tied for third in the Big Ten - behind only Wisconsin and Purdue. So, at this point, it's reasonable to suggest Minnesota seems closer to making the NCAA Tournament than missing the NCAA Tournament, and this is turning into a super-interesting story.
The Gophers are now 25th in the Top 25 (and one).
The complete Top 25 (and one) is below.
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | The Bears are undefeated with six top-55 KenPom wins on their resume. No other team in the country has more than five top-55 KenPom wins. | -- | 7-3 |
| 2 |  | The Wildcats suffered their first loss since last March Wednesday at Butler. Their resume still features four top-55 KenPom wins - including victories at Purdue and at Creighton. | -- | 8-4 |
| 3 |  | Bryce Alford got 24 points on 13 shots in Thursday's win over California. Thirteen of UCLA's 15 victories have come by double-digits. | -- | 10-1 |
| 4 |  | The Jayhawks extended their home winning streak to 50 games via Tuesday's victory over Kansas State. Josh Jackson had 22 points and nine rebounds against the Wildcats. | -- | 8-2 |
| 5 |  | Malik Monk scored 26 points on 11 shots in Tuesday's blowout of Texas A&M. The Wildcats have scored at least 100 points in five different games. | -- | 10-1 |
| 6 |  | Five-star forward Harry Giles is only averaging 7.7 minutes per game since joining Duke three games ago. He's shooting 22.2 percent from the field. | -- | 9-2 |
| 7 |  | Nigel Williams-Goss finished with 36 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in Thursday's win at San Francisco. The Zags are now 33-4 vs. USF under Mark Few. | -- | 8-3 |
| 8 |  | FSU has won 10 consecutive games since losing to Temple. The Seminoles' resume features wins over Virginia and Florida. | -- | 9-3 |
| 9 |  | The Mountaineers only forced Texas Tech into 13 turnovers in Tuesday's loss that snapped West Virginia's eight-game winning streak. WVU's next two games are at home against TCU and Baylor. | -- | 8-2 |
| 10 |  | Wednesday's win over Villanova was Butler's fifth top-55 KenPom win of the season. The Bulldogs snapped the reigning national champions' 20-game winning streak. | -- | 7-5 |
| 11 |  | Justin Patton finished with 25 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's win at St. John's. The Bluejays' lone loss is last week's loss to Villanova. | -- | 7-5 |
| 12 |  | Joel Berry finished with a career-high 31 points in Tuesday's OT win at Clemson. KenPom projects the Tar Heels to be favorites in each of their next nine games. | -- | 6-5 |
| 13 |  | The Badgers have won nine straight games since losing to North Carolina in the Maui Invitational. Their only other loss is a November loss at Creighton. | -- | 9-3 |
| 14 |  | The Musketeers have won five straight games since losing at Baylor and Colorado. Three of their next four games are against Villanova, Butler and Creighton. | -- | 8-4 |
| 15 |  | The Wildcats are 3-0 in the Pac-12 for the first time since 2014. They'll take an eight-game winning streak into Saturday's game with Colorado. | -- | 5-5 |
| 16 |  | Canyon Barry got 20 points off the bench in Tuesday's win over Ole Miss. The Gators have won four straight since losing back-to-back games to Duke and Florida State. | -- | 11-0 |
| 17 |  | Dillon Brooks finished with 28 points on 10 shots in Friday's win over USC. He's averaging 14.8 points and 3.1 assists. | -- | 10-1 |
| 18 |  | Steve Vasturia finished with 24 points in Wednesday's win over Louisville. Notre Dame is 2-0 in the ACC for the second time in three years. | -- | 6-5 |
| 19 |  | The Cavaliers have lost two straight games - first at home to Florida State, then at Pitt in OT. They're 1-2 in the ACC for the second straight season. | -- | 6-5 |
| 20 |  | The Cardinals lost at Notre Dame on Wednesday and fell to 0-2 in the ACC. They're the lone ACC school that still doesn't have a league win. | -- | 6-5 |
| 21 |  | Caleb Swanigan finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds in Thursday's win at Ohio State. He's averaging 18.3 points and 12.9 rebounds in 31.2 minutes per games. | -- | 8-3 |
| 22 |  | Jock Landale finished with 26 points on 11 shots in Thursday's win over BYU. The Gaels have won seven straight since losing to UT-Arlington. | -- | 10-2 |
| 23 |  | Jarron Cumberland finished with 19 points off the bench in Sunday's win over Tulane. The Bearcats made 13 3-pointers in the victory. | -- | 8-1 |
| 24 |  | Thursday's victory over Stanford was Andy Enfield's 100th win at USC. The Trojans are 15-1 despite Bennie Boatwright playing in only five games. | -- | 8-4 |
| 25 |  | The Gophers' resume features five top-65 KenPom wins. They've won two straight road games - first at Purdue, then at Northwestern. | NR | 6-5 |
| 26 |  | Two of Clemson's three losses are to schools also ranked in the Top 25 (and one). The Tigers have four top-55 KenPom wins - most notably last month's victory at South Carolina. | 1 | 9-3 |
