For the first time in three years, the Gophers’ men’s basketball team is ranked in the most recent Associated Press poll. After an upset win over then-No. 4 Iowa, Minnesota improved to 8-1 on the season and found itself ranked No. 21 in the nation.

The Gophers are alongside eight other Big Ten teams currently ranked, which is the most of any other conference. The Big 12 is the next closest with five teams in the rankings.

The overtime thriller displayed stellar performances from both redshirt senior Brandon Johnson and redshirt junior Marcus Carr. Johnson finished the night with a season-high 26 points on 8-of-9 shooting from downtown, including a perfect 4-of-4 in overtime to propel the Gophers to a 102-95 win.

Carr was sensational again, continuing his dominance early in the season. Coming off a 32 point performance in a win over Saint Louis, he put up 30 points including a game-tying stepback three pointer with under six seconds remaining.

In the Iowa contest, Carr scored his third 30-point game of the season and is currently averaging 24.6 points per game to rank second in the Big Ten and third in the nation. Carr was awarded his first ever Big Ten Player of the week award and is the Gophers’ first winner since junior Gabe Kalscheur and Daniel Oturu won in the 2019-20 season.

The Gophers will look to continue their success over No. 17 Michigan State Monday night. The Gophers are 8-5 overall and just 1-3 in Big Ten play under head coach Richard Pitino while being ranked.