Busting Brackets
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Big Ten Basketball: 2021 power rankings heading into conference tournament

By Ryan Kay

Ohio State Buckeyes guard Duane Washington Jr. (4) is guarded by Michigan Wolverines forward Isaiah Livers (2) during Sunday's NCAA Division I Big Ten conference basketball game at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on February 21, 2021.Ceb Osu Mbk Mich Bjp 17
Ohio State Buckeyes guard Duane Washington Jr. (4) is guarded by Michigan Wolverines forward Isaiah Livers (2) during Sunday's NCAA Division I Big Ten conference basketball game at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on February 21, 2021.Ceb Osu Mbk Mich Bjp 17 /
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Big Ten Basketball Minnesota Gophers Marcus Carr Gabe Kalscheur Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports
Big Ten Basketball Minnesota Gophers Marcus Carr Gabe Kalscheur Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports /

487. . 13-12. . Golden Gophers . 11. team

Wins

*Green Bay
*Loyola Marymount (Twice)
*North Dakota
*Boston College
*UM Kansas City
*Saint Louis
*Iowa
*Michigan State
*Ohio State
*Michigan
*Nebraska
*Purdue

Losses

*@Illinois (twice)
*@Wisconsin
*@Michigan
*@Iowa
*Maryland (twice)
*Northwestern
*@Purdue
*@Rutgers
*@Indiana
*@Nebraska

Net ranking: 69

KenPom ranking: 55

AP ranking: N/A

Reasons for Hope: The Gophers began off the season 10-2 and they have some very impressive quality wins as they have defeated Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio State. Minnesota’s defense has been very solid this season overall and the Golden Gophers have proven that they can beat the best teams in the Big Ten. They have only lost three times on their home court which is very difficult to do and having eight of your eleven losses on the road, is not bad.

Reasons to be Pessimistic: Minnesota is not 100% healthy with their co-captain Gabe Kalscheur having a broken finger and Liam Robbins having a bad ankle sprain. Two other Golden Gophers one being Brandon Johnson who has suffered injuries this season and Both Gach had a foot injury as well.

In order for Minnesota to make a run and possibly qualify for the NCAA tournament, they need their bench to step up as it was evident in their recent home loss to Northwestern that the multiple injuries are affecting their overall play. Their offense has struggled in their last four games that they have played thus far and they need to be able to score 70 or more points to win some games down the stretch.

Brief Overview of the Season

The Gophers lost some key players from last season but it appeared early on in the season that they had overcome the losses of those valuable players.  Minnesota had lower expectations entering this season with having lost their leading scorer from last year in Daniel Oturu. However, the Golden Gophers brought back key returning players in Marcus Carr and Gabe Kalscheur. Both Carr the Gophers leading scorer this season and Kalscheur have played well this season. However, Kalscheur is scheduled to be out for three weeks due to injury.

Minnesota is overall a fairly young team and they can beat a good team especially at home as they are currently the only team to have defeated Michigan but they need to get some wins down the stretch in order to make it into the NCAA tournament. They can be a dangerous team come this March and if all goes well they have a shot at making the NCAA tournament again this season. The Gophers next play on the road against Penn State on Mar. 3rd.

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