The Gophers haven't been ranked in the men's basketball top 25 polls in four seasons.
On Feb. 4, 2013, Minnesota was ranked No. 18 in both the Associated Press poll and USA Today Coaches poll. Ranked as high as No. 8 in the country after a 15-1 start that year, Tubby Smith's team opened Big Ten play 3-0, but it lost four straight games. The Gophers were never ranked again after suffering back-to-back losses to Michigan State and Illinois in early February.
In Richard Pitino's second season, the Gophers started 11-2 with losses only to Louisville and St. John's. They took an eight-game win streak into Big Ten play. Pitino's team picked up 12 points in the coaches poll and two points in the AP poll on Dec. 29, 2014.
That was as close as the Gophers have been to being ranked under Pitino until a 10-1 start this year. On Monday, they received six points in the AP poll and one point in the coaches poll.
Many fans are confused about the voting procedure. The rules are that one vote for 25th in the poll equals a point. And that goes all the way up to 25 points for being picked No. 1 in the country.
Four AP voters (see them below) picked Minnesota in the top 25 this week -- and I wasn't among them. I believe the Gophers should be ranked if they can beat an NCAA tournament team from a major conference. That hasn't happened yet.
The best wins for Pitino this year have been against Texas-Arlington, St. John's, Vanderbilt and Arkansas, but only a couple of those victories are considered quality victories right now.
St. John's (5-6) has losses to Old Dominion, Delaware State and LIU-Brooklyn. Vanderbilt (5-5) lost to Middle Tennessee State (actually a borderline top 25 team). But Arkansas (8-1) hasn't lost again. UT-Arlington (8-3) lost twice after falling at Minnesota. But the Mavericks upset Texas and No. 12 Saint Mary's.
