PREVIEWING MINNESOTA: At this time a year ago, Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino was seemingly on everyone’s hot seat. The Gophers were fresh off of a season in which they not only finished 2-16 in the Big Ten, but had a series of embarrassing off-court incidents as well.
Pitino’s first recruit at Minnesota, Daquein McNeil, was arrested for felony domestic assault in 2014, while 2016 brought more trouble when three players were suspended for posting sexually explicit videos on social media. The program’s reputation took another hit when another player was arrested on suspicion of criminal sexual conduct (he was later not charged due to a lack of evidence and is currently with the program).