Gophers men’s basketball coach Niko Medved's first team at his alma mater will have low expectations.

Minnesota was picked to finish 16th in the 18-team Big Ten Conference this season, according to the Columbus Dispatch and Indianapolis Star’s annual Big Ten men’s basketball preseason poll released Wednesday morning.

The U received 95 total votes, which was fewer than No. 15 Northwestern (119) and ahead of only No. 17 Rutgers (54) and No. 18 Penn State (43). Purdue was picked to win the conference with 501 total votes and 25 first-place votes, followed by Michigan's 472 and three.

In Ben Johnson’s fourth and final season at the helm, the Gophers finished 13th in the Big Ten with a 7-13 record in league play and 15-17 overall. He was replaced by Medved in March.

The Gophers’ roster has

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