Can the Gophers men’s basketball team make the NCAA tournament?

Halfway through the Big Ten season, Ben Johnson notices a different vibe surrounding his Gophers men’s basketball program. It’s a midseason vibe that didn’t exist in his first two years as head coach.

The Gophers are in position for a possible run at the postseason.

“It’s kind of cool to see people genuinely excited about the direction of the program,” Johnson said, coming off Saturday’s 75-66 overtime win vs. Northwestern.

The Gophers (14-7, 5-5 Big Ten) have more wins overall and in the Big Ten than in the past two seasons. But Johnson has started changing the perception of his program without an NCAA tournament-or-bust mindset.

“We never talk about it,” Johnson said about the NCAA tournament. “It’s more important to talk about things that you have to do to put yourself in position for that type of stuff.”

Entering Tuesday’s game against Michigan State, the Gophers need to keep winning to boost their NCAA tournament hopes — realistic or not. Johnson doesn’t feel pressure to get there because his boss has the same approach.

Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle said last month that the program should annually strive to be an NCAA tournament team, but he said Year 3 does not have an “NCAA or bust” requirement hanging over Johnson and his team.

“I know Ben’s extremely driven to get to the NCAA tournament,” Coyle told the Star Tribune. “It doesn’t flip in one day. It doesn’t flip in one season. … We have to have a blue-collar mentality, roll up our sleeves and work hard. Ben is the epitome of that. That’s how he carries himself. That’s the way he runs his program.”

The ultimate sign of progress will eventually have to be playing in the NCAA tournament, not the NIT. The Gophers haven’t been part of March Madness since making it twice under former coach Richard Pitino in 2017 and 2019. Having something to play for in February and March is the first big step.

“That’s all we talk about,” Johnson said. “We checked the box. So now it’s about can you be greedy and want more? You can’t do that by focusing down the road. It’s day by day.”

The first goal for the Gophers in the Big Ten was to be at least .500 after 10 games. No small feat considering, they were 4-16 in league play two years ago and 2-17 last season. Two of their five Big Ten wins this year were on the road at Michigan and Penn State. The Gophers haven’t had two league road wins in a season since 2020.

“It’s just about trying to have little goals here and there,” Johnson said. “And that was one of them. This league is obviously going to be decided in March. It’s going to be a grind. But you want to be in position.”

The only player on the Gophers’ roster with NCAA tournament experience is junior point guard Elijah Hawkins, who led Howard to a first-round matchup vs. Kansas last year. Hawkins missed a Jan. 18 loss at Michigan State because of an ankle injury, but he should be fine after tweaking it again Saturday.

Pharrel Payne, who had 14 points, nine rebounds and four blocks vs. Northwestern, returned Saturday after missing a game because of a back injury. Keeping Payne healthy in the final stretch of the season is critical to Minnesota finishing strong.

But there’s no use in the Gophers obsessing over NCAA projections right now. They aren’t in any of them, including mock brackets from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and CBSSports’ Jerry Palm. Six Big Ten teams are projected in the field as of last week, including Gophers victims Nebraska and Northwestern.

Latest bracketology: Joe Lunardi | Jerry Palm | Bracketville

A nonconference strength of schedule ranked last in Division I (per Kenpom.com) means the Gophers have to build up their résumé entirely from conference play. They’re 0-3 in Quad 1 games this season, the best wins possible. They’re 4-3 in Quad 2 games.

The Gophers’ NET ranking is 10th among Big Ten teams at No. 91 in the nation, but they have six Quad 1 opportunities left in the last 10 regular-season games, including three in a row vs. Michigan State at home and at Iowa and Purdue.

“We definitely understand that,” said Dawson Garcia, the Gophers’ leading scorer.

And the next chance to show it is Tuesday night vs. perennial NCAA tournament team Michigan State.

The Gophers have 10 games remaining before the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament comes to Target Center on March 13-17. Here is the remaining regular-season schedule for the Gophers:

Tue.: vs. Michigan State

Sun.: at Iowa

Feb. 15: at Purdue

Feb. 18: vs. Rutgers

Feb. 22: vs. Ohio State

Feb. 25: at Nebraska

Feb. 28: at Illinois

Mar. 2: vs. Penn State

Mar. 6: vs. Indiana

Mar. 9: at Northwestern

Here are the Big Ten teams with a .500 record or better in conference play (Big Ten record, overall record):

Purdue: 10-2, 21-2

Illinois: 8-3, 17-5

Wisconsin: 8-3, 16-6

Northwestern: 6-5, 15-7

Michigan State: 6-5, 14-8

Nebraska: 6-6, 16-7

Minnesota: 5-5, 14-7