Gophers Basketball NET Ranking and Postseason Outlook After SoCal Sweep

Ben Johnson and the Minnesota Gophers just wrapped up a West Coast road trip vs new Big Ten rivals USC and UCLA. Just like the football team, they welcomed the conference newcomers with a sweep of both SoCal schools. Even more impressive, they had to overcome double-digit second half deficits in each of the two contests.

The Gophers found themselves trailing by as many as 17 points in the first half Tuesday night vs UCLA. That was before Dawson Garcia took over in the second half, pouring in 27 points of his 32 total points to lead the comeback. With the win, Minnesota moves to 6-9 in the Big Ten and 14-12 overall, inching closer to securing a spot in the conference tournament.

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Minnesota Gophers trying to keep March Madness hopes alive

After stumbling to an 0-6 start in conference play, many had already written off head coach Ben Johnson as a fired coach walking, including this website’s founder, Eric Strack. But that all changed back on January 16, when the Minnesota Gophers shocked the No. 20 ranked Michigan Wolverines at the Barn to earn their first conference victory.

Including that win over Michigan, Ben’s club has gone 6-3 in their last nine games. Those six victories include two ranked wins, four road wins and four quad one wins. It’s inarguably the best stretch of basketball played by the Golden Gophers since Ben Johnson took the job four years ago.

After last night’s win, the Minnesota Gophers climbed up in the NET rankings, the key rank used by the NCAA Tournament committee for March Madness seedings. Before the win over UCLA, the Golden Gophers were sitting at 95th in the NET. After the victory, they jumped to 89th, improving to 4-8 in Quad 1 games this season.

Unfortunately, some of Minnesota’s losses this season have completely cratered their NET ranking, which is why — even though they sit above teams like Iowa, Rutgers, Nebraska and Northwestern in the Big Ten standings –they still rank as the second-worst team in the conference, according to the NET Rankings, just ahead of Washington.

However, the Gophers have now nearly secured a spot in the Big Ten Tournament, which now includes the top 15 of the 18 teams, the Gophers can shift their focus to something bigger: a potential trip to the Big Dance. And believe it or not, their path might be easier than you’d expect.

In their final five games, the Gophers have a pretty manageable schedule. They’ll face three of the weaker teams in the conference, Penn State, Northwestern, and Rutgers, while also taking on a solid Nebraska squad. On top of that, they’ll have another shot at a Quad 1 win when they go up against Wisconsin.

If the Gophers can finish the season strong, either winning out to go 11-9 in the Big Ten (19-12) or even going 4-1 to end up 10-10 (18-13), they’d have a real shot at making the NCAA Tournament, as they enter the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, where they’ll have more opportunities for Quad 1 and 2 wins to pad their resume.

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It’s a bummer that the Gophers took so long to find their rhythm this season, especially given some of the brutal teams they have lost to. Their uglies L’s came vs Quad 3 Wichita State (No. 137 NET), Quad 3 Washington (94), Quad 2 North Texas (56), and Quad 2 Wake Forest (58). Turn their Quad 3 losses into wins and Minnesota’s outlook would be completely different.

If they fall short of the Big Dance, the NIT Tournament is still very much on the table. Last year, the Gophers found themselves in a similar position, finishing with a 19-15 record and 9-11 in conference play, which was good enough to qualify for the NIT, as a Wild Card seed.