The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 75 is Minnesota basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Minnesota basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 1
- Elite Eights: 2
- Sweet 16s: 5
- NCAA wins: 14
- Bids: 14
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 13.3
- Bids per season: 0.11
- AP Polls: 236
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 15
- NBA players drafted & played: 33
- Conference Players of the Year: 1
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 9
- Conference tournament titles: 0
- NIT titles: 3
- Other tournament titles: 22
Overall scoop on Minnesota basketball
Minnesota may not be a heavyweight in the Big Ten, but its history stems deep and is on par with most of the programs in the conference.
The Golden Gophers have been around for 131 years at the Division I level, so of course, they had quite a few of the early Consensus All-Americans. They claimed the pre-tournament National Championship in both 1902 and 1919, and after quite a few bad seasons after that, rose to national prominence again in the 1950s. From 1948-58, they appeared in the AP Poll at points during every season but the 1950-51 campaign.
Surprisingly, Minnesota basketball wouldn’t make an NCAA Tournament until the 1971-72 season, reaching the Sweet 16. But the 70s and into the 80s would be another big era, as they remained one of the top programs in the nation. In 1976-77, as freshman Kevin McHale, big man Mychal Thompson, and an overall star-studded roster went 24-3, but had postseason sanctions. However, McHale would go on to have a great career and later prove it in the NBA, joining Lou Hudson as the second Golden Gopher to make the Basketball Hall of Fame.
But the best seasons in terms of postseason success would be in the 1990s under Clem Haskins. He would take Minnesota to the Sweet 16 in 1989, the Elite 8 in 1990, and the Final Four in 1997, plus three other tournament bids. Of course, it remains the only Final Four run in school history, with the 1-seed Golden Gophers falling to 1-seed Kentucky in the national semifinals. Five players from that Minnesota team would go on to be drafted at one point or another.
However, an academic fraud scandal would make headlines a couple of seasons later, and Haskins would leave in 1999. Dan Monson inherited a tough situation, and honestly didn’t do too badly, leading them back to the big dance in 2005. His tenure fizzled out, and since then, Tubby Smith and Richard Pitino tried to get the program going again, with five tourney bids from 2009 to 2010. However, things just haven’t been able to stay consistent, and the program took a further tumble under Ben Johnson, with Niko Medved now at the helm, trying to resurrect the program.
Through the years, Minnesota has shown the potential to be one of the best programs in the Big Ten or in the country. Over 200 appearances in the AP Poll prove that. Unfortunately, some early exits in March Madness and multiple scandals have hurt their chances of being ranked higher here. But with Medved leading the way, the expectation is that good things will come soon!