Gophers picked to finish 16th in preseason Big Ten poll

Minnesota finds itself near the bottom of a preseason poll once again.

Jan 16, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Isaac Asuma (1) inbounds the ball as Michigan Wolverines guard Nimari Burnett (4) defends during the second half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Big Ten Media Days are underway this week in Rosemont, Illinois, which means it's preseason poll season. The Big Ten hasn't released an official preseason poll for several years, so an annual list from the Columbus Dispatch and Indianapolis Star has become widely regarded as the go-to source. Minnesota has been voted to finish 16th in this year's poll.

Preseason Big Ten poll, via Columbus Dispatch and Indianapolis Star (votes)

1. Purdue (501)

2. Michigan (472)

3. UCLA (417)

4. Illinois (411)

5. Oregon (338)

6. Michigan State (360)

7. Wisconsin (328)

8. Iowa (278)

9. Ohio State (272)

10. Indiana (245)

11. Washington (239)

12. USC (227)

13. Maryland (210)

14. Nebraska (149)

15. Northwestern (119)

16. Gophers (95)

17. Rutgers (54)

18. Penn State (43)

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With a first-year head coach and only two returning players, it's hard to argue that No. 16 isn't a fair predicted finish for Minnesota. The Gophers have the pieces to leap teams like Northwestern, Nebraska and Maryland, but the conference is loaded near the top with proven talent and proven coaches.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Minnesota did not have a player named to the 10-player preseason All-Big Ten team on Tuesday. With 10 incoming transfers from all different levels all across the country, the Gophers are one of the conference's wildcard teams in 2025-26.

With 95 votes, the Gophers were a clear notch above the bottom two teams, Rutgers and Penn State, and within striking distance of Northwestern and Nebraska. The middle tier of the conference seems to firmly be Iowa, Ohio State, Indiana, Washington, USC and Maryland. The second tier is Oregon, Michigan State and Wisconsin. The top tier is Purdue, Michigan, UCLA and Illinois.

The Big Ten has reverted to allowing all 18 teams in the postseason conference tournament, after experimenting with the bottom three teams missing the event last season. A 16th-place finish would be Minnesota's lowest place in the conference standings since 2022-23.

The Gophers are nearly one week away from their first exhibition of the season against North Dakota State at Williams Arena. They will have one more on Oct. 25 against North Dakota, and then they will open the regular season on Nov. 3 against Gardner-Webb.

Minnesota doesn't have significant preseason expectations heading into year one under Niko Medved, which is sometimes the best place to be.