If you’re looking for a team that could make your day or night rough, look no further than the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Wow, what a difference a month makes. Minnesota basketball certainly looked dead in the water. Sure they aren’t quite going to make the NCAA tournament given they have too many bad losses, but the Gophers have certainly rebuilt some hope around the program.
This team has never given up, even through all the tough games they have been in all season. They certainly have some heart. This is just one of the reasons they have quickly become a scary team in the Big Ten.
Minnesota Basketball Has Quickly Become the Big Ten’s Scariest Team
Not a whole lot was expected of this Minnesota team, given they were picked to finish last in the Big Ten coming into the 2024-25 season. Head coach Ben Johnson made sure the team wouldn’t forget that. The Gophers are far from the worst team in the league. They might have the juice to make a deep run once the Big Ten Tournament begins.
They have avoided the bottom three in the league, as those three teams won’t get to partake in the conference tournament. Heading into their January 16 meeting with Michigan, the Gophers hadn’t won a Big Ten game. They were 0-6, but that all changed that night as they handed the Wolverines a loss in overtime.
That victory started Minnesota basketball on a path of destruction in the Big Ten. They have since won five more Big Ten games and could pick up their seventh if they can continue to follow their coaches’ message of “don’t forget, you were picked to finish last”, and they have certainly bought his message.
Gophers Keep Defying the Odds
Dawson Garcia has been one of the biggest reasons for this miraculous run that the Gophers have been on. Not only is he among the Big Ten’s leading scorers, but he might arguably be the best player in the league. No offense to Purdue’s Braden Smith or Wisconsin’s John Tonje. Garcia’s had plenty of help down the stretch as Lu’Cye Patterson has turned into an automatic weapon as well.
Patterson was huge in the Gophers sweep of USC and UCLA out in California. They were only the second team in the Big Ten to win both games out west joining current Big Ten leader Michigan in doing so. Where does the road end for Minnesota? Nobody knows for sure, but they are certainly not an easy out.
Headed back to The Barn with a pair of wins
We have 3⃣ home games left and we need you there
: https://t.co/8Y8nhrvo3b pic.twitter.com/I5JcsdFq3y
— Minnesota Men’s Basketball (@GopherMBB) February 19, 2025
Unpredictability is Scary
This team has been fairly unpredictable, especially when they have beaten teams in the conference that are in the middle or near the top of the league. Michigan has only two Big Ten losses to this point and one was at Minnesota. The Gophers have three more home games on their schedule which could only help them climb up the standings more. Who’s to say they can’t find a way to go on the road a win too?
They have to keep up the intensity because what they have already accomplished cannot be lost. Who knows if what Minnesota has been able to do down the stretch of this season has saved Coach Johnson’s job? One thing is for certain, this team is scary, and they aren’t a team you want to draw come the Big Ten tournament.
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