Gophers men's hoops picked to finish last by Big Ten writers

Ben Johnson's first year with the Gophers men's basketball team won't be met with high optimism from the Big Ten's media.

Following a 14-15 finish that cost Richard Pitino his job last season, Johnson's newcomer-laden Minnesota team is picked to finish 14th in the conference for the 2021-22 season.

With Big Ten hoops media day scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Indianapolis, the league's unofficial media poll was released Wednesday. The poll consists of 28 beat writers (two from each program), who cover all 14 teams.

Johnson inherited little to no help having to replace 10 scholarship players. And the result could be another rebuilding year for the Gophers basketball program.

A year ago the Gophers were picked to finish 11th in the preseason media poll. They were the early surprise of the Big Ten, upsetting five ranked opponents and earning a place in the top 25. But Pitino's squad ended the season with injuries and collapsed, losing 11 of the last 14 games. Minnesota finished 13^th with a 6-13 league record.

The biggest player departure for the Gophers was All-Big Ten first team guard Marcus Carr, who transferred to Texas. Michigan, Purdue, Illinois, and Ohio State all return all-league players to put themselves in early contention for the Big Ten title.

The defending champion Wolverines and head coach Juwan Howard were picked as preseason favorites. Illinois 7-footer Kofi Cockburn was the near-unanimous choice for preseason Big Ten player of the year.

Below are the unofficial Big Ten media poll, preseason awards, and all-league results (compiled by Adam Jardy and Brendan Quinn).

Unofficial 2021 Big Ten media preseason poll (first-place votes in parenthesis):

1. Michigan (13)

2. Purdue (12)

3. Illinois (3)

4. Ohio State

5. Maryland

6. Michigan State

7. Indiana

8. Rutgers

9. Iowa

10. Wisconsin

11. Nebraska

(t) 12. Northwestern

(t) 12. Penn State

14. Minnesota

Player of the year (votes)

Freshman of the year (votes)

First-team All-Big Ten (votes)

Also receiving votes: Trevion Williams, Purdue (10); Eric Ayala, Maryland (4); Andre Curbelo, Illinois (2); DeVante Jones, Michigan (2); Geo Baker, Rutgers (1); Ron Harper Jr., Rutgers (1); Caleb Houstan, Michigan (1).