Minnesota has been quietly climbing up in the daunting Big Ten. The Gophers have won eight in a row

“We’ve built a lot of chemistry over the last couple years. I think that’s showing up right now,” senior center Sophie Hart said. “We’re just playing together as a team and having a lot of fun doing it.”

After making their season debut in the poll this week at No. 23, the Gophers have an immediate opportunity to prove they belong with games against No. 10 Ohio State on Wednesday and No. 18 Michigan State on Sunday.

Last month, Minnesota beat USC for its first win over an AP Top 25 team in six years. Two weeks ago, a victory at Iowa marked the first on the road against a top 10 opponent since 2003.

The Gophers (20-6, 11-4) are on their longest winning streak in regular-season Big Ten play since an 11-game stretch between 2003-04, with a No. 9 spot in the NCAA's NET rankings that makes them a near lock for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018. Beating the Buckeyes and Spartans at home this week would put them in third place in the 18-team conference that could well send a dozen schools to the big dance.

Plitzuweit, who replaced Gophers icon Lindsay Whalen in 2023 after one year at West Virginia and a strong six-season run with South Dakota, would of course have preferred better results than a 13-23 record in the Big Ten over her first two years. But a WBIT title last spring gave the Gophers 25 victories — matching the 2003-04 total from the Whalen-led Final Four squad — plus some extra confidence and experience.

As the momentum has continued through this season, the pillars of toughness, togetherness and finding a variety of ways to win that Plitzuweit has consistently preached have been shining through.

The Gophers don't have any players in the top 25 in the conference in scoring, but their rate of 10.4 turnovers per game is the best the nation. They're allowing an average of 56.5 points per game, ranking first in the Big Ten. Half of their wins on the streak have come by more than 20 points.

“With this team, being veteran is an advantage,” Plitzuweit said. “What they’re learning is how to communicate specifically during the course of the game.”

That starts with junior guard Mara Braun, who broke her foot in each of the previous two seasons and was only able to play in five games in 2024-25. She's not asked to score as much as she was earlier in her career, but her impact on winning is immense.

“She’ll score. She’ll get assists. She’ll get rebounds, but it’s also just her leadership on the court. In the huddle, she’s always saying something. She’s always talking to us on defense,” said senior guard Amaya Battle. “She’s like a constant. She keeps us going.”

The addition of graduate transfer Finau Tonga has given the Gophers a productive sub when Hart gets a rest. Junior wing Grace Grocholski is third in the conference in 3-point shooting at 46%. Sophomore guard Tori McKinney leads the team in points and steals per game. Battle is the only active NCAA player with at least 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 500 assists.

The togetherness that Plitzuweit has long emphasized has been apparent, with Braun — who took a medical redshirt for last season — and Battle leading the way as Minnesota natives recruited by Whalen who stuck with the program after a rough first year. When a reporter asked them last week about the team's struggle in the third quarter against Nebraska, Braun quipped, “That was AI. That wasn't us," before she and Battle doubled over in laughter.

This team is clearly having fun.

“I think you can see that when we’re out on the court, and that contributes to us doing well out there," Grocholski said, adding: “We want to be playing our basketball in March.”

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball.