All Things Way to early 2017-18 top 25 (Gophers ranked as high as #10!!)


MSU top 5 in the country? Not a chance without Bridges. I'd put them in the 20-25 range.
 

Very pleased with the gophers ranking though. I'd also put Purdue in the top 25 assuming Edwards stays and Swannigan is the only guy they lose.
 

This is BS. We should be 12th.
 



Very pleased with the gophers ranking though. I'd also put Purdue in the top 25 assuming Edwards stays and Swannigan is the only guy they lose.

Agreed. Amazing the way Swannigan transformed his body from when he was a young kid. I suppose many on this board knew what he did a long time ago, but I didn't see or hear about what he did until just a month or so ago. Heck of a story.
 


NW should be higher. 13th seems right but I bet we are slated lower. Around 17
 

per the link:

13. Minnesota Golden Gophers
Why they’re here: Minnesota snuck up on pretty much everybody in 2016-17, but that won’t happen again next year. Know how many seniors were on the team that won 24 games this season? Just one, and Akeem Springs was fifth on the team in scoring. The rest of those rising stars are expected back, and the Gophers will push for the Big Ten championship. Sounds strange, right? It’s true. Very true.

Go Gophers!!
 










Sports Illustrated's "Way too early Top 25" has the Gophers ranked #10

Pretty nice, getting some respect! MSU is ranked 8 and Wichita State is 9.

Go Gophers!
 


Fox Sports: College basketball’s ‘Way Too Early’ Top 25 for the 2017-18 (#14. Minn)

per Fox Sports:

14. Minnesota Golden Gophers
While Minnesota’s NCAA tournament exit was quick (they lost to Middle Tennessee State in the opening round) what they did in 2017 was incredible. The Golden Gophers went from sub. 500 a year ago, to 24-10, and return every key player in 2018. That includes leading scorer Nate Mason and leading rebounder Jordan Murphy, as well as sophomore-to-be Amir Coffey. Coffey could be a breakout star next year, after averaging nearly 12 points per game as a freshman.

http://www.foxsports.com/college-ba...all-rankings-2018-way-too-early-top-25-040417

Go Gophers!!
 

CBS: early look at next season's Top 25 (and 1) (#15. Minnesota)

per CBS:

15. Minnesota Golden Gophers
Coach: Richard Pitino
2016-17 record: 24-10
Notable players definitely gone: Akeem Springs
Notable players expected to leave: None
Notable players expected to return: Nate Mason, Amir Coffey, Jordan Murphy, Dupree McBrayer, Reggie Lynch, Eric Curry, Bakary Donate, Davonte Fitzgerald
Notable newcomers: Isaiah Washington, Jamir Harris
Why the Gophers are here: Minnesota’s fourth-place finish in the Big Ten was one of college basketball’s biggest surprises, and most of the key players from that team are back. So Richard Pitino should be back in the NCAA Tournament in 2018.

http://www.cbssports.com/college-ba...s-an-early-look-at-next-seasons-top-25-and-1/

Go Gophers!!
 

ESPN: Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2017-18 (#17. Minnesota)

per ESPN:

17. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Minnesota, the No. 5 seed that lost twice to Wisconsin, caught the brunt of the angst over Wisconsin's underseeding (and subsequent second-round knockout of No. 1 Villanova), and it didn't help when the Golden Gophers fell to Middle Tennessee in the first round. Oh well. Coach Richard Pitino's team might not have been as good as the Badgers, but it did play top-25 defense, and it will return everyone of note moving forward, from point guard Nate Mason to shot-block specialist Reggie Lynch. Pitino also added four-star point guard Isaiah Washington to help Mason on the perimeter; he could fight his way into significant minutes right away. More pressing: This is a team that won eight games in 2015-16. Tourney seed aside, this turnaround was already spectacular. It will probably continue apace.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...ketball-way-too-early-top-25-rankings-2017-18

Go Gophers!!
 

Bakary Donate is looking up for us next year!!! /s.

But seriously I always find it funny when these things include projected back up players as notable players returning (unless were talking a 6th man of the year situation)
 

The Big Lead: Top 25 for 2017-2018 - Super Early Version (#16. Minnesota)

per The Big Lead:

16. Minnesota (24-10, 1st round of the NCAA Tournament)

Richard Pitino’s Gophers had a great run in February to get to the tournament, and I expect that to carry over into next season. All five starters are back. There were be expectations for this team – maybe the program’s best since the 1997 team that made the Final Four – but the question will be who is the take-over star in crunch time. Is it Nate Mason? Next question: When teams zone them, is there enough 3-point shooting? That could fall upon freshman Jamir Harris.

http://thebiglead.com/2017/04/04/top-25-2017-2018-college-basketball/3/

Go Gophers!!
 

per ESPN:

17. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Minnesota, the No. 5 seed that lost twice to Wisconsin, caught the brunt of the angst over Wisconsin's underseeding (and subsequent second-round knockout of No. 1 Villanova), and it didn't help when the Golden Gophers fell to Middle Tennessee in the first round. Oh well. Coach Richard Pitino's team might not have been as good as the Badgers, but it did play top-25 defense, and it will return everyone of note moving forward, from point guard Nate Mason to shot-block specialist Reggie Lynch. Pitino also added four-star point guard Isaiah Washington to help Mason on the perimeter; he could fight his way into significant minutes right away. More pressing: This is a team that won eight games in 2015-16. Tourney seed aside, this turnaround was already spectacular. It will probably continue apace.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...ketball-way-too-early-top-25-rankings-2017-18

Go Gophers!!

Shut up, Myron.
 

Akeem getting no love from most of these pubs that say we have all 5 starters returning. He'll be a more difficult loss to cover than most people realize.
 

per ESPN:

17. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Minnesota, the No. 5 seed that lost twice to Wisconsin, caught the brunt of the angst over Wisconsin's underseeding (and subsequent second-round knockout of No. 1 Villanova), and it didn't help when the Golden Gophers fell to Middle Tennessee in the first round. Oh well. Coach Richard Pitino's team might not have been as good as the Badgers, but it did play top-25 defense, and it will return everyone of note moving forward, from point guard Nate Mason to shot-block specialist Reggie Lynch. Pitino also added four-star point guard Isaiah Washington to help Mason on the perimeter; he could fight his way into significant minutes right away. More pressing: This is a team that won eight games in 2015-16. Tourney seed aside, this turnaround was already spectacular. It will probably continue apace.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...ketball-way-too-early-top-25-rankings-2017-18

Go Gophers!!

For how much the selection committee looks at RPI, Minnesota deserved to be seeded higher than Wisconsin. Head to head and conference standings are largely irrelevant. Minnesota played a tougher schedule and had more quality wins (8 RPI top 50 wins to Wisconsin's 5), and finished half a game back of Wisconsin overall. No one was clamoring to see Butler seeded ahead of Villanova, even though Butler beat Villanova twice.
 

Akeem getting no love from most of these pubs that say we have all 5 starters returning. He'll be a more difficult loss to cover than most people realize.

McBrayer averaged more minutes than Akeem, so maybe that's what they're looking at, and assuming that means that McBrayer was the starter, which he was for the first half of the season or more. Akeem is definitely a loss though, a bigger one than I thought he'd be coming into the 2016-17 season.
 

College Hoop News (Twitter) Top 25

Follow this guy (Tony Patelis) on Twitter. He's one of the best covering college basketball. Not agenda driven. For what it's worth here are his initial Top 25 rankings. Gophers come in at #15.

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per The Big Lead:

16. Minnesota (24-10, 1st round of the NCAA Tournament)

...

Next question: When teams zone them, is there enough 3-point shooting? That could fall upon freshman Jamir Harris.

http://thebiglead.com/2017/04/04/top-25-2017-2018-college-basketball/3/

Go Gophers!!

Zone or not, I am worried about our 3 point shooting next year. Really wish we had a Hoffarber type shooter coming off the bench. I know some want a surprise big man transfer to replace Gilbert, but an Akeem-like guard would be perfect. Big enough to defend bigger guards and with enough range to hit some clutch shots.
 

I really don't understand all the love for MSU. Ward is a nice player, Jackson is a nice recruit (definitely not a Bridges caliber recruit) and they should have some nice depth in the front court but Langord, McQuaid, Winston and Nairn just didn't have the production last year for me to justify putting them in the top 10 in the country. There is a very good chance they end up being nice players and they were highly rated recruits but teams like Minnesota, Purdue and Northwestern all have a lot more proven production returning.
 

Akeem getting no love from most of these pubs that say we have all 5 starters returning. He'll be a more difficult loss to cover than most people realize.

Dupree started 21 games, Akeem started 14 games. Dupree also averaged more points and minutes per game so the pundits aren't necessarily wrong in saying we return all 5 starters.
 

The national media is (already) ranking Gophers basketball? Twincities.com

Here’s a list of where the Gophers are ranked by various national media outlets (from best ranking to worst), less than seven months away from the start of the season:

SI.COM

Rank: 10

What they said: The Gophers lose just one senior starter from a squad that closed hard and finished fourth in the Big Ten.

SPORTING NEWS

Rank: 13

What they said: Minnesota snuck up on pretty much everybody in 2016-17, but that won’t happen again next year. Know how many seniors were on the team that won 24 games this season? Just one, and Akeem Springs was fifth on the team in scoring. The rest of those rising stars are expected back, and the Gophers will push for the Big Ten championship. Sounds strange, right? It’s true. Very true.

BLEACHER REPORT

Rank: 14

What they said: Despite getting bounced by Middle Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Minnesota was the biggest surprise success story of the 2016-17 season. The Golden Gophers went from 8-23 to 24-10 while finishing above .500 in Big Ten play for the first time since 2005.

Six of their primary seven guys should be back for another season, including shot-blocking phenom Reggie Lynch. The Illinois State transfer made Minnesota an elite defense just one year after it struggled to keep any opponent from scoring.

CBS SPORTS

Rank: 15

What they said: Minnesota’s fourth-place finish in the Big Ten was one of college basketball’s biggest surprises, and most of the key players from that team are back. So Richard Pitino should be back in the NCAA Tournament in 2018.

ESPN

Rank: 17

What they said: Minnesota, the No. 5 seed that lost twice to Wisconsin, caught the brunt of the angst over Wisconsin’s underseeding (and subsequent second-round knockout of No. 1 Villanova), and it didn’t help when the Golden Gophers fell to Middle Tennessee in the first round. Oh well. Coach Richard Pitino’s team might not have been as good as the Badgers, but it did play top-25 defense, and it will return everyone of note moving forward, from point guard Nate Mason to shot-block specialist Reggie Lynch. Pitino also added four-star point guard Isaiah Washington to help Mason on the perimeter; he could fight his way into significant minutes right away. More pressing: This is a team that won eight games in 2015-16. Tourney seed aside, this turnaround was already spectacular. It will probably continue apace.

YAHOO! SPORTS

Rank: 20 (haters)

What they said: The Gophers have almost everybody back from a 24-win team — one that didn’t lose in February, and claimed a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament. “Almost everybody” includes an All-Big Ten point guard (Mason), a shot-blocker extraordinaire (Lynch) and rising star (Coffey). Another year of experience for McBrayer, Murphy and Curry, plus the addition of Washington, a top-100 guard, should give Richard Pitino a strong seven- or eight-man rotation.


http://www.twincities.com/2017/04/0...lot-of-love-in-way-too-early-top-25-rankings/
 




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