In expanding Big Ten, Gophers basketball teams know there's lots of catching up to do — and fast

The Big Ten Conference held its annual basketball media days event at Target Center earlier this month. In the same city as the Gophers. But there was zero talk about the U's men's and women's programs being contenders.

Both teams have a lot of catching up to do in the Big Ten. And tougher times are coming.

The conference will soon be as deep as ever after expanding to 18 teams next season with the addition of UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington.

For Gophers coaches Ben Johnson and Dawn Plitzuweit, this is a critical season to climb the standings and build their brands so they can walk into a new-look Big Ten with more swagger.

"We're adding four pretty prestigious programs," Johnson said. "We want to continue to grow and be the best we can be."

In Johnson's first two seasons, the Gophers finished tied for 14th and in sole possession of 14th place in the Big Ten. They were 9-22 last season.

The Gophers women finished in 10th place or lower in four of Lindsay Whalen's five years, including 11-19 last season. Plitzuweit, who came from West Virginia to replace Whalen, inherited a team with bright young talent and is working to establish a winning identity.

Johnson, in his third season, has a deeper and healthier roster after two years of massive rebuilding. He's not nearly as experienced as Plitzuweit, but his passion to resurrect the program runs deep as a Minnesota native and Gophers alum.

"I've spent a little time now with Ben Johnson," Plitzuweit said. "That's good for me to see it through his set of lenses."

Where do the Gophers under Johnson and Plitzuweit fit in with the bigger Big Ten? For lower-to-middle-tier teams looking to move up in the conference, "It's not going to get easier," first-year Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti said.

"Everybody wants to be competing against the best on the biggest stages," Petitti told the Star Tribune. "Things change quickly. Teams get better and things are unexpected. It's hard to always predict."

Recruiting challenges

Johnson has already gone toe-to-toe against some Pac-12 schools for players. California is one of his staff's top recruiting bases. Assistant Marcus Jenkins is from the Golden State.

But USC, Oregon and UCLA had the top three 2023 recruiting classes in the Pac-12. All of them were top 13 nationally, including the Trojans with the No. 2 class overall behind Kentucky, per 247Sports.

For the second straight year, the Gophers men will get exposure on the West Coast by playing in California in the nonconference schedule.

They face San Francisco at the Golden State Warriors' arena on Nov. 26. They played in the SoCal Challenge last year, and in front of five-star 7-foot recruit Dennis Evans III, who lived nearby. But after signing with the Gophers, Evans eventually asked out of his letter of intent to play at Louisville.

The impact of NIL on recruiting could make it difficult for the Gophers to compete with new Big Ten teams, but Johnson expects them to show progress in that area soon.

"Sometimes new things and change isn't always the easiest thing," Johnson said. "Especially when you talk about finances and money, but I think we have a really competitive fan base. They're going to show up when we need them."

Whalen landed a top 10 recruiting class two years ago, but that was with Minnesota talent. UCLA and Oregon had the No. 1 and No. 2 classes nationally that year, per ESPN. For the class of 2023, the top 20 national recruiting classes include USC, Washington and Oregon.

Plitzuweit, who spent one season at West Virginia, won 158 games in six seasons at South Dakota, including a Sweet 16 run in 2021-22. Her recruiting at South Dakota was primarily limited to the Midwest. She understands that needs to change in the Big Ten.

"At South Dakota, we recruited a kid here or there nationally, but we didn't have a lot of kids from outside of our region," Plitzuweit said. "At West Virginia, we [started] recruiting nationally. So now we're able to continue with those ties but really kind of hone in and focus."

'We want to establish ourselves'

Gophers coaches are trying to figure out how to add talent to compete in the new Big Ten, but players are also thinking about battling on the court and proving themselves against different schools.

"It's very important," junior Dawson Garcia said about the Gophers showing they can be contenders in the expanding Big Ten. "But the best way we can do that is by focusing on this year. I feel like [the rest] will come."

Earlier this month, the Pac-12 released its preseason men's hoops poll. Arizona was the favorite, but right behind were USC, UCLA and Oregon. Washington was projected ninth.

On the women's side, UCLA was picked second in the Pac-12 preseason poll recently. USC (sixth), Oregon (eighth) and Washington (ninth) were not far from one another.

Gophers sophomore Amaya Battle said it will be cool to travel to California, Washington and Oregon for Big Ten games, but she's trying to not look too far ahead.

"We definitely want to establish ourselves," Battle said, "not just with those new teams but to other teams in the Big Ten. We can play, too."