Tomorrow, the country's No. 6 team and the Big Ten's likely title winner, Wisconsin, comes to the Barn.
Also showing up? A potential model, at least in the eyes of some fans, for Minnesota's potential rise to relevancy.
The obvious comparisons are there. Wisconsin, like Minnesota, is located in a frigid tundra. Wisconsin, like Minnesota, often recruits pedestrian classes.
But what's made the Badgers consistently good -- and now great -- over the years is coaching and player development.
Just take a peek at Wisconsin 7-footer Frank Kaminsky. Just two years ago, as a sophomore, Kaminsky was averaging 4.2 points and 1.8 rebounds a game. Now, he's blossomed (perhaps a better word is morphed) into the favorite to win national Player of the Year this month.
"We've got [Minnesota centers] Elliott Eliason and Mo [Walker] trying to spin dribble, shot fake, shoot threes in practice -- it doesn't quite look the same," coach Richard Pitino said of preparing for the Badgers' versatile big man. "Because there aren't a lot of Kaminskys out there."
No. That much is obvious. There are, however, a lot more guys in the recruiting pool who represent what Kaminsky once was: a raw, gangly guy with lots of size and lots of passion.
The good news? The Gophers seem to be heavy on those. This season, we've gotten our first glimpses of 6-11 Bakary Konate and 6-9 Gaston Diedhiou. Both are inexperienced and still uncomfortable with the American game, having last played in Europe and Africa. But both also have great frames and strength and, seemingly, a lot of upside. Add to that mix 6-foot-10 incoming freshman Jonathan Nwankwo, and the Gophers' frontcourt certainly has room to grow (a nice way of saying its rawer than steak tartare).