Watch CBS News

Pitino's Gophers Can Match Last Year's Win Total With Victory Tuesday Night

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- What a difference a year makes for the Gopher men's basketball team. A year after winning just eight games all season, Minnesota is off to a 7-1 start.

If the Gophers win their next game, Tuesday night?

"You cut down the nets," coach Richard Pitino said, a big smile creeping across his face.

That would match their 8-win total from a year ago, already. Which, to Pitino, would mean?

"Nothing," Pitino said, the smile turning into a full-on laugh. "Nothing. It would mean that last year was not a good year. The goal is not to top last year. I think it's such a different team."

Which is true. While the Gophers lost a lot last year, it was largely not the same players --- five are different, including a couple key contributors. It does, though, show how far the program has come, and how quickly.

"I think they're happy that they're 7-1," Pitino said. "It's nice to taste some success. You have a tough year last year... now I think it feels nice to win a little bit. But I would hope that they understand that you take your foot off the gas and anybody could beat you, and NJIT (their next opponent, Tuesday night) could do that."

Which is why Pitino remains cautious. For all the new players, the coach isn't. Last year was hard on him too.

"It can change so fast," Pitino said. "You could have a bad week, and you go back to hiding again. So for me, we're going to enjoy it when we win. You know, there wasn't a lot of times we got to fly back on a plane and be excited on a plane. It's been awhile for that. I want everybody to taste it, feel good about it, and then move on."

And then ideally, win some more.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.