Meet the Big Ten: Minnesota

Last year, Minnesota played the upset kings and busted onto the Big Ten basketball scene. After consecutive wins against Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana and Iowa, the Golden Gophers had the attention of the media and their Big Ten opponents.\nThe attention hasn't ceased this year, as Minnesota was picked to finish the Big Ten tied for second place with IU.\n"I'm pretty excited, but I've been around for a while, so I know that's a lot of press work," senior guard Kevin Burleson said. "So we have to prove it. There's pressure on us, but it's a good pressure because before we were always fighting for a little respect and now we've got it."\nThe Golden Gophers lost two key players in Dusty Rychart and Travarus Bennett, but bring back three starters. One of the main reasons the Gophers are getting respect is the return of Big Ten Freshman of the Year Rick Rickert, who is a preseason All-American candidate. Rickert was the team's leading scorer, averaging 14.2 points per game while setting a record for most points scored by a freshman at Minnesota with 441 points.\n"Rick is obviously a valuable part of what we are trying to do," coach Dan Monson said. "He's so skilled offensively that he creates matchup situations for people because he's very good with his back to his basket. He can also face up out at the three. Our challenge is to get him good touches and quality catches in both areas and try to exploit people with his abilities"