Gophers men's basketball debuts outside top 150 in initial NET rankings

Minnesota is the second worst team in the Big Ten according to the NET.

Nov 29, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Ben Johnson looks on against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the second half at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The first NET rankings of the 2024-25 college basketball season have been released, and Minnesota finds itself ranked at No. 155.

The NCAA debuted the NET rankings in 2019 as an evaluation tool for the NCAA Tournament. It is arguably the most significant metric to determine a team's standing for an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament. The Gophers' placement at 155 puts them as the second-worst team in the Big Ten, only ahead of USC.

NOTE: The CBSSports list I was looking at before was not accurate... #Gophers MBB has debuted at No. 155 in the first NET rankings of the 2024-25 season.

Losses:
North Texas (Quad 2)
Wichita State (Quad 2)
Wake Forest (Quad 3)

Best win:
Yale (Quad 3) pic.twitter.com/sor2EUAyKR

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) December 2, 2024

From now until March Madness, you will hear the terms Quad 1, Quad 2, Quad 3 and Quad 4. It is a way to place each team you face into a quadrant, which can determine the significance of each result.

• Quadrant 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75
  
• Quadrant 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135
  
• Quadrant 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240
  
• Quadrant 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353

After last week's appearence in the ESPN Events Invitational, the Gophers have gone through the tough part of their non-conference schedule. They have suffered a pair of Quad 2 losses to North Texas and Wichita State and the Wake Forest loss falls into Quad 3. Their best win of the season has been over Yale, who ranks at No. 106 in the NET.

Minnesota still has two non-conference games against Fairleigh Dickinson and Morgan State at the end of the month, but those will be Quad 4 games and they'll hold very little significance to their resume.

The Gophers' first Big Ten game of this season is this Wednesday against Michigan State at the Barn. The Spartans rank 41st in the NET, which makes it a Quad 2 opportunity for Minnesota. Their game against Indiana on Dec. 9 will be a Quad 1 opportunity as the Hoosiers rank 71st in the NET.

If you're confused by all of these rankings, it basically means the Gophers' margin for error is about as slim as it can possibly be. It's a bit premature to say they don't have a chance at the NCAA Tournament on Dec. 2, but they will need to win at least 10 conference games, this year or likely more to even be in the discussion for an at-large invitation.