The Gophers’ 2025–26 Identity Has Emerged. Is It Too Late to Rewrite It?

Minnesota has had a true roller coaster season in year one under Niko Medved.

Feb 8, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Isaac Asuma (1) works around Maryland Terrapins guard George Turkson Jr. (11) during the first half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

After Sunday's surprise loss to Maryland, the Gophers are 11-13 this season and 4-9 in conference play. Their three ranked wins show that they can play with just about anyone in the country, but losses to Maryland, San Francisco and Penn State show they lose to just about anyone. Is there enough time to rewrite the narrative?

Big Ten tournament outlook

If the regular season ended today, Minnesota would be the 12-seed in the Big Ten tournament. With all 18 teams qualifying for this year's field, the Gophers would get a bye into the second round and face 13-seed Washington on Wednesday afternoon. The winner would face five-seed Purdue on Thursday.

Big Ten tournament projected field as of Feb. 9. | Picture via: bball.notnothing.net

The Gophers are three whole games behind 11-seed Ohio State and 10-seed Indiana, so with seven regular-season games remaining, it will be tough to climb the standings. They still have games remaining against 17th-place Oregon, 16th-place Northwestern and 15th-place Rutgers, so playing on Wednesday seems like the most likely outcome.

Analytical rankings

Minnesota climbed all the way to No. 72 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings after knocking off Michigan State on Wednesday night, but it fell all the way to No. 86 after picking up a Quad 4 loss against Maryland on Sunday. The Gophers have two Quad 1 wins against the Spartans and Iowa, but five losses in Quads 2, 3 and 4.

The Gophers remain rated at No. 80 on https://t.co/oMVCJgmMWO.

They dropped from No. 72 to No. 86 in the NET after Sunday's loss to Maryland.

West Coast road trip this week at Washington and Oregon. https://t.co/b5Vs72cLjI pic.twitter.com/ggYzAqRDYJ

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) February 9, 2026

Their KenPom rating remained at No. 80 after both games, and it seems like it might plateau around that number. They began the season at No. 73 in the preseason ratings, so it will be interesting to see if they can get past that number before things are all over.

Postseason tournament outlook

This year will be the second edition of the College Basketball Crown, but the field is being shrunk from 16 to 8 teams. There were zero Big Ten teams in last year's NIT, so it's essentially Crown or bust for the teams in the conference who don't make the NCAA Tournament. The programs will obviously have to accept the invitation, but the Crown will likely include the top two Big Ten teams that miss the field.

According to ESPN's latest Bracketology, an appearence in the Crown might be a realistic possibility for Minnesota. 11 Big Ten teams are projected to make the NCAA Tournament, which would make Washington and Minnesota the top two teams on the wrong side of the bubble, according to standings. Northwestern would be an interesting conversation because they rank higher than the Gophers in the NET and KenPom.

Closing thoughts

Minnesota's injuries have been talked about ad nauseam, but Niko Medved being able to pick up three ranked wins in the Big Ten with a severely depleted roster deserves praise. He has shown proof of concept, and if the Gophers are able to finish the season strong, they could still have a fun March in the Big Ten tournament and possibly the College Basketball Crown.