Gopher Basketball Turnaround Builds Excitement On Campus

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- After years of struggling, University of Minnesota basketball is back in the game.

The Gophers went 8-23 last season. They matched that win total this year just nine games into the regular season.

Minnesota finished the non-conference season 12-1 and after Sunday night's win over Ohio State, the Gophers improved to 15-2 and 3-1 in the Big Ten. They are tied for first place in the conference, and earned a top-25 ranking Monday for the first time under head coach Richard Pitino.

WCCO's Molly Rosenblatt went to the U to see if fans are getting on board and what ticket sales are looking like.

It's a far cry from the mood at the Barn last year.

"Last year they were awful. An 8-win season, no enthusiasm for the program. It hit an all-time low last year, all time low in the last 40 years," WCCO Sports Reporter Mike Max said.

And after years of losing streaks and ending up at the bottom of the Big Ten, now they're on top. It's something even the best experts didn't see coming.

"First of all I'm shocked. I didn't see this coming together, they had (Nate) Mason and Jordan Murphy, but I didn't know that Amir Coffey would be this good as a freshman, that Reggie Lynch was this big and strong and can play in the Big Ten like he can," Max said.

And just like that, the boys in maroon and gold, well, they're back. And ticket sales, they're up too.

"I think our fans have obviously jumped on board so we've certainly seen a great crowd at the Ohio State game, we continue to see that," Brent Holck said. "Our Wisconsin game is almost sold out now, which is one of our largest rivalries, so I think we'll continue to see great success."

And with growing fan support, it looks like filling the Barn again is a likely a reality.

"But it's really good to see those guys succeed this year and I'm really rooting for them because they're really great guys, a lot of them, and they bring a lot to campus and it's just really good to see them do well," one U of M student said.

"It's exciting that they're on the top. I was just kind of waiting for them to lose it when they started conference but they're actually winning in conference so it's exciting," another U student said.

Just goes to show what a difference a year can make.

"I just put it into that's why we cover sports, because you never know what's going to happen day-to-day or year-to-year," Max said.

The Gophers (15-2, 3-1) hit the road for their next two games, traveling to Michigan State Wednesday and Penn State Saturday.