Gophers' resume trending up after latest nonconference blowout win

Minnesota has two nonconference games left before restarting Big Ten play on Jan. 3.

Dec 14, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Niko Medved looks on during the second half against the Texas Southern Tigers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Gophers took care of business against Texas Southern on Sunday with a 36-point blowout win, their third Quad 4 win of 30 points or more this season. The analytics and metrics like big wins, so Minnesota's resume is trending in the right direction.

NET rankings

Minnesota debuted at No. 144 in the initial NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings on Dec. 1. After knocking off Indiana, that number jumped to No. 123, and it now sits at No. 122 after a blowout loss at Purdue and a blowout win at home over Texas Southern.

Dec 14, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Isaac Asuma (1) controls the ball as Texas Southern Tigers guard Bryce Roberts (3) defends during the first half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

For those who don't know, the NET is the main tool used by the NCAA to determine the vailidity of NCAA Tournament at-large resumes. Each team is placed into quadrants to determine the value of wins.

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Through 11 games, Minnesota has a 1-2 record in Quad 1, with its win coming over Indiana at home, and the two losses against Purdue and Missouri on the road. Its loss against Santa Clara lands in Quad 2, and the losses to San Francisco and Stanford land in Quad 3. The other five wins are all Quad 4.

What does this mean? The Gophers still have quite the hill to climb in order to even be in the discussion for an at-large invitation into the NCAA Tournament, but they're trending in the right direction. They will likely have at least 10 Quad 1 opportunities in Big Ten play, but they'll need to rack up wins there early and often.

KenPom ratings

Minnesota dropped as low as No. 114 in KenPom.com's ratings after losing to San Francisco, Stanford and Santa Clara in three consecutive games. They jumped to 112 after beating Indiana, and they're now at 108 as of Monday.

Gophers MBB's KenPom rating has flattened out after a blowout loss @ Purdue and a win over Texas Southern at home.

▫️Preseason: 73
▫️Nov. 10: 64
▫️Nov. 17: 86
▫️Nov. 24: 103
▫️Dec. 1: 114
▫️Dec. 8: *I forgot
▫️Dec. 15: 108

Next game is Campbell (218) at home on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/I3gfgyULcv

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) December 15, 2025

The Gophers are the second-worst Big Ten team on the site, ahead of Rutgers, which is currently rated 147th in the country. They're only one spot behind Penn State and eight spots behind Maryland.

Minnesota's final two nonconference games won't do much for its resume. Campbell is currently 218th on KenPom and Fairleigh Dickinson is 359th, out of 365 Division I teams. Though blowout wins in those games will likely help the NET rating, as it heavily values winning margin.

Ultimately, the Gophers were seemingly in a free-fall after their three-game losing streak, but they've found their footing. There's a long way back up to postseason tournament discussion.