Men’s basketball receive votes in preseason coaches poll

Mar 29, 2012; New York, NY, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers cheerleaders entertain during the second half of the final round against the Stanford Cardinal at the NIT held at Madison Square Garden. Stanford won 75-51. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

Before we get too excited about the Gopher men’s basketball team this season, let us take a moment and acknowledge that in the preseason coaches poll released on Oct. 17, there were five Big Ten teams that placed in the Top 25.

Indiana takes the No. 1 spot, and deservingly, with big man Cody Zeller leading the Hoosiers. But Ohio State, both Michigans, and Wisconsin follow as ranked teams in the poll.

The Gophers received nine votes, which makes them the sixth Big Ten team that received votes – not quite enough to be ranked, but at least in a positive light, better than Iowa or Northwestern.

Everything was going well for Tubby Smith’s veteran team, until a pair of DUI convictions have since steered the team’s media presence from a team looking to make a serious run during March Madness to a team walloping in a sea of bad PR with both a player (Trevor Mbakwe) and a coach (Saul Smith) fighting to keep their jobs and their respect on campus.

If the Gophers can fight through the early PR fiasco and at the same time, maintain a healthy lineup, it won’t be much longer until the Gophers will crack the Top 25.