Related: Everything Changes for Ben Johnson’s Gophers with Win Over Michigan State Tonight

From the opening tip, Ben Johnson’s Gophers went toe-to-toe with Sparty, taking a 27-27 tie into halftime. But when Michigan State held a nine point lead with 12 minutes remaining, the Golden Gophers’ March Madness hopes were feeling bleak.

True Freshman Cam Christie leads Minnesota Gophers to win over Michigan State

Until true freshman Cam Christie said, ‘bet’. At the 11:13 mark in the 2nd half, a Cam Christie three pointer and-1 opportunity cut the Spartans’ lead to five. Another Christie three, 50 seconds later, cut it to two. And from then on out, there was a dog fight at the Barn.

I’ve written about it before and I hope to do it again early and often. Cam Christie is a future superstar. You can just see it in his shot and the way he finds openings and takes advantage of leverage and space both in the paint and on the perimeter.

Looks like Cam Christie wants to repeat as @bigten freshman of the week. 🤩

Enjoy each of his career-high 5️⃣ 3-pointers in Minnesota's win over Michigan State. ⤵️@24CameronC x @GopherMBB pic.twitter.com/6rspugn5Ah

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 7, 2024

When you watch a lot of basketball, you know when someone sticks out as better than what you’re used to seeing and Cam is that dude. I don’t know what Dinkytown Athletes will have to pay Christie to get him to stay in Minnesota but I hope they’re able to back up the BRINKS truck because they’ll likely need it.

Christie is Ben Johnson’s miracle

Fun fact: Cam Christie chose the Gophers over the Spartans, even though his older brother Max Christie (currently in the NBA) was a star at Michigan State. How Ben got Cam to turn his shoulder on Tom Izzo and the Spartans may never fully come to light… but it may have saved Johnson’s job and that’s not an exaggeration.

Ben Johnson convincing Cam Christie to choose Minnesota over Michigan State, despite his brother going there AND making it to the NBA from there, is not talked about enough. #gophers

— Kendal Shell 🏁 (@KendalShell) February 7, 2024

When the dust settled on Tuesday night’s festivities in Dinkytown, the Gophers walked away with a postseason-saving 59-56 victory, their first quad-one win of the season and a dub that should launch them up the NET rankings on Wednesday morning (#91 on Tuesday).

Related: Minnesota Gophers Cam Christie Earns Big Ten Freshman of the Week Honors

Cam finished with 19 points and 6 rebounds, shooting 5-of-7 from deep (5/8 from the field). Dawson Garcia hit a big time shot late too and Sophomore Pharrel Payne yet again looked like the most imposing force on the court for much of the contest.

There’s no doubt Ben Johnson’s 2023-24 team has the talent to compete with any squad in the Big Ten and they proved that vs Sparty. Next up, Minnesota has Iowa on Sunday in Iowa City. Much like tonight, it’s feel like a must-win, if they want to stay on pace to climb back into the March Madness conversation.

Related: Minnesota Gophers Cam Christie Earns Big Ten Freshman of the Week Honors

With 10 games still remaining, the Gophers have already collected more conference wins (5) and total wins (14) in 2023-24 than either of Johnson’s first two seasons as head coach.

No NCAA Tournament love (yet) for Minnesota Gophers

Yet… you still won’t find much, if any, Minnesota Gophers discourse surrounding the 68-team 2024 NCAA Tournament field. As of Tuesday, they stand 91st in the NET rankings and good luck finding them listed anywhere as a possible bubble team.

For example, ESPN released a new version of their ‘Bubble Watch’ feature on their subscription site (ESPN+) Tuesday morning. In it, college basketball insider John Gasaway lists teams from each conference who are considered ‘locks‘ to get in to the tourney, along with teams that ‘should be in‘ and those with ‘work to do‘.

For the Big Ten, Gasaway lists Purdue and Wisconsin as NCAA Tournament ‘locks’; Illinois and Northwestern as ‘should be in’ teams. Schools with ‘work to do’ include Michigan State and Nebraska. One team you won’t find in the Big Ten section, however, is the Minnesota Gophers.

Even though they’re ahead of Nebraska in the standings and their results on the season include wins over both the Huskers and Northwestern, both of which are named in ESPN’s feature as bubble teams that are likely in, as of today.

So, what gives? Well, Ben Johnson’s 2023-24 squad ranks all they way down at No. 91 in the NET ratings, which is widely used to determine who dances in March and who stays home or heads to the NIT Tournament instead.

Related: Minnesota Gophers Keep March Madness Hopes Alive with Huge Win at the Barn vs Northwestern

Their low NET rating is due to a rather weak 2023-24 schedule. Ben Johnson packed it early with confidence boosting non-conference matchups and his team took advantage… but home wins vs cupcake opponents don’t move the NET needle.

Not only that, but the Gophers are playing in a down Big Ten conference this season. Sometimes, the Big Ten has five to seven teams scattered throughout the AP top-25 and 10-12 teams worthy of a March Madness birth. This week, they have three (Purdue #2, Illinois #10, Wisconsin #11) in the top-25 and they’re looking like a conference that’ll be lucky to get six teams into the dance.

Huge opportunity for Ben Johnson’s Gophers vs Michigan State

But on Tuesday, the Gophers can change everything about conversations currently being had around the NCAA Tournament and which Big Ten teams belong in. Following two-straight wins over Penn State and Northwestern, Minnesota welcomes another bubble team, the Michigan State Spartans, to Williams Arena tonight.

What’s on the line? Everything that Ben Johnson and his team have been working toward all season. A win over Sparty on Tuesday would give the Gophers their first quad-1 win of the season, which would launch them up the NET rankings, and their 6th conference dub of the season, which would be good for 4th place in the Big Ten standings.

Related: Adrian Peterson’s Daughter; 8th-Grader Ari Peterson Offered by Minnesota Gophers WBB

Not only would a rosier NET picture help the way bracketologists see Minnesota this season, but they’d be impossible to ignore if they are sitting ahead of Nebraska, Northwestern and Michigan State in the conference standings, and they hold wins over all three perceived tournament teams.

So, if Ben Johnson and the 2023-24 Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team wants more respect on its name, when national talking heads start March Madness conversations; if they want more run in the local papers and on local sports sites (like MSF) then they need to take care of business tonight at the Barn. They win tonight, and everybody will start paying attention.

Yet, Minnesota still hasn’t cracked the top-75 (not a typo) in either the NET (85) or KenPom (78) rankings. We’ve already discussed why they rank as low as they do and how, in theory, they can climb. But looking at the schedule, it’s nearly time to make theory into reality.

Related: Despite All the Winning, Gophers MBB Struggling in Rankings

The Gophers play their first of a four-game Big Ten stretch on Friday night vs the Indiana Hoosiers. By the time it ends on January 23, we (and the rankings systems) will have a much better idea of how good Ben Johnson’s 2023-24 squad really is.

Make that 7️⃣ wins in a row for @GopherMBB. 😤

Relive the best moments from the Gophers’ 65-62 win over Maryland! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/qZZWWkQKtY

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 10, 2024

Friday, Jan. 12: Gophers @ Indiana Hoosiers (11-5)

The Minnesota Gophers are set to visit Bloomington, Indiana, marking only their third road game of the season. Much like the Gophers, the Hoosiers have had a solid start to their season but remain mostly unproven. They have an 11-5 overall record (3-2 in the Big Ten).

Indiana currently ranks No. 100 in the NET Rankings, 15 spots behind Minnesota. A victory on the road in Bloomington alone wouldn’t significantly impact the Gophers’ standing in the NET, but there are ways for them to help themselves.

First, it’s a true Big Ten road game, which the NET likes. But beyond that, the Gophers can play efficient basketball on both ends of the floor, which is also NET friendly. If they do that, there’s a good possibility they secure victory by 10 points or more, a margin the NET also holds as valuable.

Related: Gophers MBB Grabs Another Early Season Big Ten Win vs Maryland

But most importantly, they’d stack another win, which would give them a 4-1 record and their best start to conference play since 2008-’09, under Tubby Smith.

Monday, Jan. 15: Minnesota vs Iowa Hawkeyes (9-6)

Staying in the spotlight and securing strong NET and KenPom rankings involves winning the games you’re expected to, particularly when playing at home. The Gophers will face a very middling Iowa Hawkeyes squad at The Barn on Monday.

This is a should-win game for the Gophers, if they want to maintain their momentum early in conference play and, especially, if they want to climb the NET rankings Tuesday morning. The 9-6 (1-3) Hawkeyes currently rank 67th in the NET, giving the Gophers yet another opportunity to stack conference wins before the schedule really starts to test Ben’s inexperienced team.

Thursday, Jan. 18: Minnesota vs Michigan State Spartans (9-7)

The Michigan State Spartans may not have had the ideal start they hoped for, but there’s a reason why, at 9-6, they rank in the top-25 of the NET. They’ve had one of the toughest schedules in this year’s college basketball season, a slate that has included losses to Duke (#13 NET), Arizona (#2), Wisconsin (#12) and Illinois (#11). Even James Madison (#59), who beat the Spartans in their season opener, is now 15-1.

Related: Buy the Right Brand of Bacon in January and 100% Goes to Gophers NIL Fund

Michigan State has one victory against top-tier competition, beating Baylor (#14) back on December 16. Under the leadership of Tom Izzo, the Spartans currently hold a 1-3 record in the Big Ten and an overall record of 9-6. A win next week in East Lansing would see Minnesota start to skyrocket up the NET rankings.

Keep winning and March Madness will come calling

If the Gophers can sweep these next three games or at least win two of three, they will set themselves up for a massive border rivalry game on Jan 23 vs the #12 Wisconsin Badgers. Ben Johnson and the Gophers have a huge opportunity at the Barn on Jan 23.

They have some tremendous opportunities coming up and have chance to give themselves some more national attention. Winning conference is the key to boosting there ranking and March Madness resume.

But on Sunday, PJ couldn’t retain arguably his most talented coach, Gophers’ defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, who is on his way to Michigan State where he will fill the same position for the Spartans in East Lansing.

Minnesota Gophers defensive coordinator Joe Rossi leaving for Michigan State

Sources: Minnesota defensive coordinator Joe Rossi is expected to become the next defensive coordinator at Michigan State.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 10, 2023

Joe Rossi took over as Minnesota’s defensive coordinator midway through the 2018 season and I have credited him with a big part of Fleck’s turnaround here. Before Rossi was promoted, Fleck was well on his way to starting his Gophers head coaching tenure with two-straight losing seasons.

The Gophers 2018 defense gave up over 43 points per game in its first 6 Big Ten games that season, leaving PJ helpless, given the run-first style he wanted to implement. But then, Fleck fired then DC Rob Smith and promoted Rossi.

The defense immediately improved, the Gophers went on a winning streak to end that season and Fleck got his first victory over Wisconsin. Then, 11-2 happened in 2019.

Read More: The Rise of Minnesota’s Defensive Guru, Joe Rossi

Minnesota’s defense slumped a bit in 2023 but Rossi was dealing with a lot of young talent. We’ll find out more about why Joe Rossi is leaving soon, I’m sure. But if I had one guess… it’s money.

For much of Saturday’s contest, I wasn’t sure this postgame blog would hold a lot of positivity. The Gophers offense made its fair share of mistakes, especially early on, and could have easily been down two touchdowns in the first quarter.

Related: Gophers Moved Practice Indoors Last Week Over Concerns that Iowa was Spying on Outdoor Fields

But, that’s not how reality unfolded. Instead, Minnesota recovered from their slow start and managed to beat the Spartans in pretty convincing 27-12 fashion and moved to 5-3 (3-2) on the season.

And that'll do it for a @GopherFootball victory. 🤩

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/n3cycrmbbr

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) October 28, 2023

4 Takeaways from Minnesota win vs Michigan State

Even when put in really difficult spots, the defense held strong and played their most impressive game of the month. Offensively, the shorthanded Gophers found a rhythm in both the run and pass game, that they haven’t displayed in weeks.

Yes, the victory was far from perfect. Hell, they started the game off with two lost fumbles within their own 30-yard line, the first of which happened on the 2nd play of the game. And yes, lost fumbles were only two of three Golden Gopher turnovers on the day.

Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis, who was guilty of losing the second fumble in the first quarter, threw an ugly interception in the 3rd quarter that stunted what was an effective drive, to that point.

1. Early turnovers damper otherwise effective Gopher offense

But that was kind of the story much of the game on offense, for PJ Fleck & Co., who continually shot themselves in the foot with untimely mistakes and turnovers, early on. But, as the afternoon went on, Minnesota’s offense seemed to figure something out. Saturday was far from perfect, but the Minnesota offense definitely took a stride forward.

The golden gophers have answered with the lead. 🤩@25DanielJackson x @GopherFootball

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/QhiDtR7MgD

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) October 28, 2023

Athan made mistakes but, overall, had one of his more impressive showings of the season, throwing for 200 yards and a touchdown. But really, this game came down to yet another surprise performance from a no-name Minnesota running back (keep reading). In total, the Gophers racked up over 35 minutes with the ball and 400 yards of offense.

2. Another Minnesota Gophers running back, Jordan Nubin, goes off

After senior transfer, Sean Tyler, coughed up that first fumble early in the contest, he was benched, in favor of redshirt freshman, Jordan Nubin (Tyler’s brother), who took the opportunity and (pun intended) ran with it, racking up over 200 yards on 40 carries (yes 40), with two touchdowns to go on top.

Related: PJ Fleck Pleads Gophers Fans and Boosters for More NIL Money

At this point, one has to question whether or not the Minnesota coaching staff identifies and develops running backs better than any other staff in the country or, if more credit should fall on the offensive line and its coaches.

Either way (probably some of both), the Gophers have proven they can run the ball all over just about any defense and with just about any running back. As long as they can hold onto the football.

First career TD for @jnubin27. 🤗

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/tj6iUbf9Dw

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) October 28, 2023

3. Joe Rossi’s Defense is back?

The improvement we’ve seen from the Minnesota Gophers defense over the past few weeks, between today and last Saturday in Kinnick, is night and day vs the three weeks prior. Seven days after holding Iowa to 10 total points, Joe Rossi’s defense surrendered just 12 points to the mess of an offense that is Michigan State.

Still, turning an opponent over 3 times while holding them under two touchdowns is impressive, even if that team’s offense isn’t. I wouldn’t expect those results in a few weeks, when the Gophers travel to the Horseshoe to play Ohio State.

But with that being said, Minnesota has games the next two weeks vs Illinois and Purdue that could continue to build their confidence. Given how they surrendered over 100 points total in their last three matchups vs Michigan, Louisiana and Northwestern to start October.

It's @GopherFootball's ball. 😤

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/Qr005yqlE7

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) October 28, 2023

4. Zebras weren’t friends of Gophers today

After referees made the correct ruling late last week vs Iowa, when they called Cooper DeJean’s invalid fair catch back, they had no interest in making calls that favored Minnesota this weekend.

Related: PJ Fleck Very Passionate About How Noncontroversial an Invalid Fair Catch Ruling is

Whether it was a phony defensive pass interference call, that really should’ve been a penalty against the Michigan State wide receiver, or QB Athan Kaliakmanis getting thrown to the turf long after whistles blew… the zebras at Huntington Banks Stadium on Saturday kept their flags pocketed, when it may have helped the home team.

But, striped discrimination could not stop the Minnesota Gophers from finding a way to victory this weekend, moving them to 5-3 (3-2) on a season that still has hope of a Big Ten West championship.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Darius Taylor, Zach Evans out vs Michigan State

Related: Tyreek Hill Weighs in on Cooper DeJean Invalid Fair Catch vs Minnesota

But, the task Saturday got a lot more difficult early this afternoon, when Minnesota’s pregame injury report came out and both Minnesota B1G Freshman of the Week running backs, Darius Taylor (3x) and Zach Evans (1x). Cody Lindenberg is listed as questionable for what seems like the 47th week in a row.

Here is the #Gophers availability report ahead of today's game vs. Michigan State. Darius Taylor, Zach Evans and Tyler Cooper are out. Cody Lindenberg is listed as questionable. pic.twitter.com/Yv7R5syHro

— Daniel House (@DanielHouseMN) October 28, 2023

Minnesota B1G Freshman of the Week backs will be missed

That’s bad news for the run-loving PJ Fleck, given Taylor (true freshman) and Evans (redshirt freshman) account for 2/3 of Minnesota’s ground game production on the season. I’d imagine the Gopher offense will lean on upperclassmen transfer, Sean Tyler, to get them by vs the underwhelming Spartans.

We’ll see if they can get the job done because we know one thing, Fleck isn’t going to use this as an opportunity to flex the arm of Athan Kaliakmanis and the pass game. Kickoff is at 2:30 PM.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

It’s a swing game in the Gophers season. If they win, Minnesota will go into its final non-conference game vs Louisiana as a 3-1 team, with all of its 2023 goals still ripe for the taking. A loss vs a crumbling Northwestern program would send the fanbase and local media into full-panic mode.

Read More: Minnesota vs Northwestern Preview, Prediction and Keys to Victory

Michigan State interested in PJ Fleck as their next head coach?

But the more important Dinkytown development, this week, involves the long-term future of the Minnesota Gophers football program and arises from the ashes created on the eastern side of the Big Ten, in East Lansing, where Michigan State head football coach, Mel Tucker, was just fired.

According to insider reports, both nationally and locally, Michigan State interested in PJ Fleck as their new head coach. Not only did The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman include Fleck in his list of Spartans’ potential replacement candidates earlier this week, PJ was the only one his sources indicated real interest in, from the Spartans side.

Word is the Spartans have some interest in Fleck, who has done a nice job bringing a lot of stability to a program that was reeling when he left Western Michigan. The 42-year-old is 46-28 at Minnesota, and that includes an 11-2 season and a top-10 finish in 2019. He has a good job in the Big Ten, but it’s worth noting that MSU is a program that has reached the College Football Playoff before so it wouldn’t shock us if he’d consider it.

Bruce Feldman – The Athletic

On Thursday, local insider Darren “Doogie” Wolfson (SKOR North, KSTP) told the Mackey & Judd podcast that Michigan State is expected to come for PJ Fleck as their next head coach. It may not lead to anything more than another pay raise for Fleck at Minnesota, but they’re interested over in East Lansing, nonetheless.

Related: Gophers’ Darius Taylor Wins Big Ten Freshman of the Week Again

“Michigan State will need to hire a head football coach after [Mel Tucker’s firing]. I’m just telling you, connecting some dots, that there is Spartan’s interest in PJ Fleck. Now, to me, what the end game can be here is Brian Harland, Fleck’s agent, can find a way to get the [University of Minnesota] to pay him more.”

Darren Wolfson – Mackey & Judd (SKOR North)

Michigan State interested in PJ Fleck: Should Gopher fans worry?

Of all the opportunities PJ Fleck could take, in order to leave the University of Minnesota, I’m not sure Michigan State would be his choice. In that sense, I agree with Doogie. Most likely, Fleck and his agent will use the Spartans interest to get a pay raise at the U of M.

With that being said, PJ started his head coaching career at Western Michigan so he has a strong in-state connection and an established recruiting pipeline that shouldn’t be overlooked. This is definitely something to monitor as the season moves forward.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Let’s be honest, there is a large contingent of Gopher football fans out there who have been burned by high early-season hopes too many times before. These fans won’t be fooled by easy non-conference schedules any longer. We all know fans like this. Hell, maybe you are one. The, ‘yeah, but who have they beaten?’ crowd.

These fans have spent the last couple Saturdays fall cleaning, maybe warm-weather bow hunting, or a family afternoon at the apple orchard. They might check box scores later on. Maybe, they have push notifications sent to their phones. Meanwhile, the Gophers ran up scores vs New Mexico State, Western Illinois and Colorado.

We love this game. #RTB // #SkiUMah // #Gophers pic.twitter.com/hs2BuQzrGh

— Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) September 21, 2022

Bandwagon Gopher Fans Are Paying Attention This Week

Call them what you want: “Bandwagon“, “Fairweather” or “Smart“. There’s nothing wrong with this type of fandom, a group that makes up about half of every fanbase (completely unscientific estimate). And on Saturday (2:30 PM), when the Minnesota Gophers kickoff as (-3) favorites in East Lansing vs the Michigan State Spartans, many of these “prove it to me” fans will sit down and flip their maroon and gold on for the first time this season.

Others are even more stubborn and need to see a victory over the Spartans this weekend, before devoting a rare fall afternoon to their favorite college football team. Either way, their attention is on the line Saturday. The Gophers need to beat the Spartans or these fans will be out of the boat until convinced to come back.

For those of us who continue to watch weekend in and weekend out, Saturday afternoon is a barometer check and a game that we know would vault Minnesota into the AP Top-25 poll. But win or lose, we’ll be watching again next week vs Purdue. And we’ll continue to cling to hopes of a Big Ten West title, too. Because we love the punishment.

But if PJ Fleck and Co. want to fill Huntington Bank Stadium at home next weekend vs the Boilermakers, and get the entire fanbase excited about what 2022 might hold, winning vs Michigan State is a necessity. So, here’s what it will take:

Three Keys:

Tanner Morgan Gut Check — So far this season, Tanner Morgan has looked much more like his 2019 self, than he has either of the last two years. We think that is the Kirk Ciarrocca effect. That might be true, but looking competent vs New Mexico State, Western Illinois and a bad Colorado team, doesn’t tell us for sure. Michigan State is a big step up, but they still rank near the bottom of power five football in passing defense.

The Wright Time? — With Chris Autman-Bell out for the season, somebody needs to step up and prove themselves as a reliant option in the pass game for Tanner Morgan. Dylan Wright, a former 5-star college recruit who began his career at Texas A&M, is BY FAR the most talented of the bunch. Now, in his second season with the Gophers, this feels like the perfect time for Wright to come out of his shell.

Some more angles because this Dylan Wright TD deserve it pic.twitter.com/uJsO77pzIk https://t.co/6lUl4nD8X6

— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) September 17, 2022

Test Time for Defense — The Minnesota Gophers defense was a top-20 unit last season, according to Football Outsiders, and they could be even better this season. Against the sub-par competition they’ve seen so far, Joe Rossi’s unit has been dominant, allowing just 17 total points and 511 total yards of offense, through three games. The Spartans have one of the best passing offenses in the Big Ten and could give the Gophers secondary their biggest test of the entire regular season.

Prediction

Of course, I’m picking the Minnesota Gophers to beat the Michigan State Spartans. Why? Because I believe in Tanner Morgan, with Kirk Ciarrocca beside him, and I trust that this Gophers defense will be just as legitimate as next season. That means, the Minnesota defense finds a way to keep a high-powered Michigan State offense off the scoreboard more often than the Sparty defense can do to the Gopher offense.

Minnesota wins: 27-20

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

That left Johnson with nothing but the transfer portal to fill his new maroon and gold roster. But without any expectations or resume to sell prospective transfers, the Gophers were left with small school veterans who overachieved at their first stop.

So fans were ready to give Ben a rookie pass, like most fanbases, even if individual games and/or the final record were awful. Oh, and this was all before two of their best players, Parker Fox and (Pitino’s only holdover) Isaiah Ihnen, suffered season-ending injuries in the offseason.

It’s gonna be ugly this year for Gopher MBB fans. Be ready. If you know it’s coming, the actual results should be easier to stomach. https://t.co/GfHRzxBf9y

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) September 8, 2021

Fast Forward to Undefeated

But then, the season started. And guess what? All the Minnesota Gophers do is continue to win games. Both at The Barn and away from it. Early on, they beat Princeton and Western Kentucky, two teams picked to finish high in their respective non-power-5 conferences.

After cleaning up on a couple of less than lesser non-conference opponents following that Asheville Championship run, the Gophers were confronted with the ACC/B1G Challenge. Their opponent was Pittsburgh, a team expected to finish near the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference come season’s end. Still, they squeaked out another victory.

Next up was their stiffest competition yet, a middle of the road SEC team, Mississippi State. Another win. Sure, they took it down to the wire but overall, it was probably their best performance yet. Minnesota lead wire-to-wire and had control of that entire game. The final score does not project reality to someone who didn’t watch.

But no matter, the victory meant that Ben Johnson’s first-year Minnesota Gophers were 7-0 entering early Big Ten play, a feat not even the biggest optimist foresaw.

#Gophers receive 7 Top 25 votes in this week's Coaches Poll. Unreal start to this season for Ben Johnson. The team looked like they were legit having fun yesterday.

— Zips (@zipsofakron) December 6, 2021

Pack the Barn

And that brings us to Wednesday evening (8 PM CT), when the Gophers will welcome the Michigan State Spartans to Williams Arena for the first of two early Big Ten games. And by the end of the week, we will know a lot more about what kind of team Ben Johnson really has for this stretch run of 2021-22.

Because after their matchup vs the Spartans, they’ll follow them back to Michigan to face their in-state rival, the Michigan Wolverines, who entered the season ranked in the top-10 nationwide, but have since fallen out of the top-25 after losses to Seton Hall, Arizona and North Carolina.

In other words, we cannot discount how successful this early season has been for the Golden Gophers men’s basketball team. And while we still aren’t sure what will come of Ben Johnson’s rookie campaign, we should celebrate that early success later this week.

Gopher basketball fans should pack The Barn and show support for their new coach. Make a difference. Show these new Minnesota basketball players what playing in a full William’s Arena is really like. Help make life difficult for the Spartans.

Let's pack The Barn this Wednesday when your 7-0 #Gophers open up Big Ten play vs. Michigan State!

???? Get your tickets now: https://t.co/4ci2UBA0oV pic.twitter.com/jrg80oI0hr

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) December 6, 2021

And who knows, maybe you’ll leave cheering for an 8-0 basketball team… I promise, nobody at the University of Minnesota contacted me before writing this blog.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Gophers entered Monday night’s game at The Barn vs Michigan State, coming off of their best two performances of 2020. The Spartans, on the other hand, were coming off of two of their worst.

The polls reflected last week’s trends. The Gophers debuted at #21 in the AP Top-25 poll Monday and the Spartans fell to #17. Those trends stayed on course tonight. Richard Pitino’s squad took control early and never let up on the green and white.

The result was tying the biggest margin of victory Minnesota has ever had over Michigan State in men’s basketball (25 points).

Final Stats from Win #9 ????

Carr | 19pts, 4reb, 5ast
Robbins | 18pts, 9reb, 3blk
Johnson | 9pts, 7reb
Kalscheur | 8pts, 5reb
Gach | 6pts, 9reb, 3ast
Williams | 6pts, 3reb, 4ast https://t.co/5WJkk9UEOa

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) December 29, 2020

The Gophers gave up just 16 first half points to Michigan State and were leading by 20 entering halftime (36-16). It was complete domination. Minnesota wasn’t playing noticeably well. Instead, Michigan State was just playing that poorly.

I’m not sure what is going on with Tom Izzo’s 2020-21 team. For the Gophers, the first half belonged to Liam Robbins, who the Spartans had no answer for down low, and the usual performance from Marcus Carr.

The 3s, they're still falling.@liamrobbins_ // @GopherMBB

????: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/ShIUVB1DFG

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) December 29, 2020

Marcus Carr's journey to 30 has begun.

????: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/9YcWt3t724

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) December 29, 2020

Everyone knew Marcus Carr was taking the final shot of the first half.

He drained the buzzer-beater, and No. 21 @GopherMBB leads No. 17 Michigan State, 36-16, at the half. ???? pic.twitter.com/XulAnEAdIl

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 29, 2020

2nd Half

Things didn’t get better for MSU in the 2nd half. Whatever Tom Izzo team walked into Williams Arena tonight, wasn’t #17 in the country. They did not bring it on any level.

In half number two, Richard Pitino fed the Spartans more of what had been working for him in the 1st half. Marcus Carr + Liam Robbins — and it worked to perfection. If you find me a better college point guard in this country than Marcus Carr, then you will be exposing yourself as a fraud.

There is no better point guard in this country than #5 on the Minnesota Gophers. He showed it again tonight, racking up his 19 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Oh, and Carr has yet to turn the ball over more than 4 times in a game so far this season.

Marcus Carr with the tough finish ????

He's at 16 points on the night for @GopherMBB pic.twitter.com/QpwnotD5vL

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 29, 2020

How do you think the opponents' ankles feel after a night of guarding @GopherMBB star Marcus Carr? ????

????: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/Z6nh1ZcsOm

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) December 29, 2020

Liam Robbins

Liam Robbins continues to improve every time he steps on the floor and you can see his confidence grow each night out. He stayed out of foul trouble in this game and the Spartans smaller interior defenders had absolutely no answer for Robbins in the paint.

No matter what angle or side Liam was shooting from tonight, the ball was going in the basket. He finished with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. He shot 7/11 from the floor and two of those misses were from deep.

Robbins will be a force all season and he’s a massive pickup for Pitino.

Gophers shouldn’t get too high on themselves

The Minnesota Gophers didn’t play poorly Monday night, by any means, but they didn’t play all that well either. Michigan State is now 0-3 in the Big Ten and, according to the game broadcast, tonight is the first time they’ve lost at Williams Arena since 2012.

Wing shooting continued to be a problem for Pitino’s team vs MSU. Gabe Kalscheur and Both Gach combined 1/8 from behind the arc and totalled just 15 points. Both players are crucial to the defense Pitino wants to play so getting them back in rhythm offensively is a big deal.

Next up

The 9-1 Gophers will head to the Kohl Center on Thursday to play against the #6 Wisconsin Badgers, who just lost their first game of conference play tonight vs Maryland.

We’ve discussed Minnesota’s current 7-game gauntlet of a stretch at length recently. They’ve now started that stretch 2-0.

Full Highlights

Marcus Carr scored 19 points to help lead @GopherMBB to an 81-56 upset win over Michigan State.

Highlights from the win: pic.twitter.com/2tYygLLwad

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) December 29, 2020

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan