I'm going to keep this short.

At the end of the day, Portland could be an NCAA tournament team. The Pilots have certainly made their case for top 25 status after a blowout over UCLA and a win over No. 22 Minnesota.

They're a good team. And they proved it against Minnesota.

They countered everything the Gophers tried to do on offense. They defended the three-point line. Forced the Gophers to take horrible, horrible shots.

Give them credit.

I can't call this a bad loss because Portand's underrated.

But it certainly takes some of the steam out of that win over No. 12 Butler Thursday.

Still, Texas A&M is a tough team. The Gophers don't have to leave Anaheim with their heads down if they can get a victory over the Aggies.

But they'll have to play better on the perimeter, upgrade their shot selection and rebound to make that happen.