It is ALWAYS about expectations. Always. I don’t know how many, countless times I have typed that on these interwebs. Gopher football, for example, finished 7-6 making a bowl game and finishing the year with a win at Wisconsin. A 7-6 season for Ohio State would have been a disaster of a season while it would have been very exciting for Rutgers. Why? All because of expectations.
But back to basketball. This is the deepest and most balanced team that Richard Pitino has had during his tenure in Minnesota. It is very talented and there is every reason to believe that this team can compete with anybody.