Gophers' ugly start reflected in initial NET rankings

Minnesota's four wins were all Quad 4 games, while they've lost twice in Quad 3 games. And now the road gets really tough.

Nov 18, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Isaac Asuma (1) controls the ball as Chicago State Cougars guard Marcus Tankersley (4) defends during the first half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

There are 143 teams ahead of Minnesota in the initial NET rankings released by the NCAA on Monday, including crosstown neighbor St. Thomas.

So it goes for a Gophers team that is 4-4, having suffered three consecutive losses to San Francisco, Stanford, and Santa Clara. Heck, this Gophers team needed overtime to beat Green Bay and struggled for 35+ minutes before pulling away late to beat Chicago State.

It hasn't been pretty, and the NET rankings show just how bad it has been in Niko Medved's first year coaching at his alma mater. Of course, it hasn't helped that leading rebounder Robert Vaihola has missed the last three games with a knee injury, while starting point guard Chansey Willis Jr. has been a walking boot for the past game and a half.

What are the NET rankings? It's the NCAA Evaluation Tool, which replaced the RPI in 2019.

It is arguably the most significant metric to determine a team's standing for an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament. From now until March Madness, you will hear the terms Quad 1, Quad 2, Quad 3, and Quad 4. It is a way to place each team you face into a quadrant, which can determine the significance of each result.

• Quad 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75
• Quad 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135
• Quad 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240
• Quad 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353

Minnesota lost both of its Quad 1 games (Missouri, Santa Clara), while also losing both chances in Quad 3 games (San Francisco, Stanford). They're 4-0 in Quad 4 games and have yet to play in a Quad 2 game.

Here's where Minnesota's eight opponents so far rank among 365 qualified teams in the NET:

• Gardner-Webb: 357
• Alcorn State: 318
• Missouri: 51
• Green Bay: 199
• Chicago State: 333
• San Francisco: 121
• Stanford: 107
• Santa Clara: 32

Believe it or not, the Gophers aren't the lowest-ranked Big Ten team in the NET. That honor belongs to Maryland at No. 200. Minnesota is also ahead of Oregon (192) and Rutgers (186). Rutgers and Maryland each have one Quad 3 loss, while Oregon has two losses in Quad 3 games.

Now the Gophers are set to face Indiana in Minneapolis on Wednesday. The Hoosiers are ranked No. 25 in the AP poll and No. 11 in the NET. Then Minnesota plays at No. 1-ranked Purdue on Dec. 10. The Boilermakers are ranked third in the NET.

It could be worse. Last year, the Gophers were No. 155 in the initial NET rankings.

St. Thomas (St. Paul), by the way, is ranked No. 138 in the NET.