The Gophers men’s basketball team has put itself in the conversation for the NCAA Tournament. That’s a credit to the work head coach Ben Johnson has done with a remade backcourt and a maturing and deeper roster in Year 3 of his tenure at the U.

After managing just six combined Big Ten wins in Johnson’s first two seasons leading the program, the Gophers are 7-7 in conference play so far this year. And talk of the tournament makes them “relevant,” a word Athletics Director Mark Coyle used for a baseline improvement he wanted to see from the program this winter.

But the U is not on the tip of the tongue when it comes to March Madness. The Gophers appear in need of going on an incredible hot streak to make the 68-team field. ESPN and CBS Sports do not have the Gophers “on the bubble.”

Minnesota’s NET ranking — a key metric used to determine the at-large field — is 76th in the country. The U hasn’t moved up much since being 85th when the Big Ten schedule restarted in early January.

ESPN on Wednesday morning labeled eight teams on the outside looking in, and the lowest NET ranking among those teams was Providence at 60th. CBS categorized 21 teams as “on the bubble,” and the lowest NET ranking was Mississippi at 67th.

The bracketologists, however, have taken notice of the Gophers’ improved play. CBS’ Jerry Palm wrote on X after the 84-76 loss to then-No. 2 Purdue a week ago: “Minnesota is getting better every week. Ben Johnson has done a great job with this team.”

The Gophers have six games remaining, starting with Ohio State (65th in NET ranking) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Williams Arena. A victory over the Buckeyes would be considered a Quad 2 win. Nice but not one to move the needle much.

The Gophers have three Quad 1 opportunities left on their schedule, all road games: Nebraska on Sunday, No. 12 Illinois on Feb. 28 and Northwestern in the regular-season finale on March 9.

The U is 1-5 in Quad 1 games this season, with the sole win coming over Michigan State 59-56 at The Barn on Feb. 6.

Minnesota also has two Quad 3 home games remaining: against Penn State on March 2 and Indiana on March 6. That pair, like Ohio State, are clearly must-win games if the Gophers want to get serious consideration.

The Gophers find themselves in this spot primarily because of their weak nonconference schedule. Analytics site KenPom has Minnesota’s adjusted nonconference strength of schedule ranking dead last in college basketball (362 out of 362).

Minnesota went 9-2 outside the Big Ten this season, but squandered its two best nonconference opportunities.

The U regurgitated a 20-point lead in a 70-68 home loss to Missouri on Nov. 16. That one stings more considering the Tigers are 8-18 overall and 0-13 in SEC play this season.

Then the Gophers got blown out by San Francisco 76-58 on Nov. 26. The Dons are 21-7 and 10-3 in the West Coast Conference.

Purdue coach Matt Painter volunteered to defend the Gophers’ nonconference schedule last week.

“They’ve had the schedule that they had to have because of all the newness (on the roster),” Painter told reporters postgame. “They’ve had to. The way (Johnson) scheduled, you look at it now and you wish that you scheduled a little bit more. But he wasn’t in that position. He had to do what he did.”

The Gophers’ clearest — but far from easiest — path to the NCAA Tournament is winning the Big Ten tournament at Target Center in mid-March. The U is currently the seventh seed, getting a first-round bye, but needing to rattle off four straight wins to receive the conference’s automatic berth.

It’s much more likely the Gophers head to the NIT tournament, which again, is an improvement for Johnson in Year 3.

“They are going in the right direction,” Painter added. “That’s what you want to see: Light at the end of the tunnel. You want that light to be hope, not a train. Their light is hope, and they should feel good about where they are.”

In the quad

The Gophers’ remaining schedule:

Thursday — vs. Ohio State (Quad 2)

Sunday — at Nebraska (Quad 1)

Feb. 28 — at No. 12 Illinois (Quad 1)

March 2 — vs. Penn State (Quad 3)

March 6 — vs. Indiana (Quad 3)

March 9 — at Northwestern (Quad 1)

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