Big Ten Basketball: Ranking all 18 programs after adding Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington

16. Minnesota

After vacating a Final Four run in 1997, the Golden Gophers made a series of high-profile head coaching moves that had varying levels of success. Dan Monson, Tubby Smith, and Richard Pitino weren’t great during their tenures, but they all made the Big Dance and had highlight moments in Minneapolis. The same has not yet happened for current coach Ben Johnson.

In his first two seasons, the Golden Gophers have won just 22 games and finished in the cellar in the Big Ten. They are only four years removed from a 22-win season and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, but the current program is almost unrecognizable, winning just a pair of Big Ten games and flailing to one of their worst seasons in recent memory at just 9-22.

Setting aside questions at the top of the program, things aren’t quite as dire as they seem for the Golden Gophers. We previously mentioned the successes (albeit fleeting) that Minnesota has had in recent years. This is a program that can make the Big Dance every few years and can pull a few upsets against their conference’s comrades. The additions of those west coast teams won’t do anything to stop that.

Year three will tell us a lot about Johnson’s qualifications to lead this program, and if he’s not the guy then Minnesota can certainly bounce back with a new hire. They’ve proven before that the right leader can be somewhat successful. Nobody is looking at Minnesota and expecting regular Tournament appearances or deep runs in the Big Dance, but it’s certainly a program with decent enough potential to not be the worst in the Big Ten.