A game-winner from Bobby Durkin saved Minnesota on Monday night, helping the Gophers pick up a massive 63-61 win on the road against Cincinnati.

The Gophers have gone through some dark seasons since firing head coach Richard Pitino after the 2020-21 season. The fan base has been starving for something to cheer for over the last seven seasons, and Niko Medved has delivered.

Importance of nonconference road win

Cincinnati didn’t look like a great team on Monday night, but head coach Jerod Calhoun is one of the fastest-rising names in the sport, and it’s hard to imagine the Bearcats won’t improve throughout the season. Minnesota going into Fifth Third Arena and leaving with a nonconference road win is a result that will pay off when March rolls around.

A Quad 1 road win is over a team ranked 1-75 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, and it’s fair to assume Cincinnati will be somewhere in that range by the end of the season, as the Bearcats were No. 30 in KenPom before Monday night.

The Gophers haven’t had a résumé-building win before Big Ten play in years, and they finally got one in Cincinnati.

Best nonconference win since ___

Minnesota has routinely had some of the worst nonconference schedules in power-conference basketball since letting go of Pitino, and they’ve had an even worse track record in the tough games they do schedule.

Monday was the Gophers’ first nonconference regular-season win over a power-conference team since beating Pittsburgh and Mississippi State in 2021. The Panthers finished that season 11-21, and the Bulldogs were 18-16. Neither team was particularly good. Cincinnati could be different.

College basketball is a marathon, not a sprint. It all depends on how Cincinnati and Minnesota finish the season before realizing just how important Monday night’s result is, but this year’s Gophers team might be the best the program has had in a long time.

Just imagine how good they’ll be if Cade Tyson is ever ruled eligible in his fight against the NCAA.

Source: Yahoo Sports