The Hunt for the Most Interesting Team in the World is the Dagger's 2009-10 countdown preview series. Check out the overriding principles here.

Last year's record: 22-11, 9-9 Big Ten

2009-10's toughest games: at Butler, at Purdue, at Michigan State, at Michigan

Primary attraction: Tubby Smith leads a quietly rabid Minnesota fan base back into the national conversation. But for how long?

Three items of undeniable interest:

1. Tubby Smith's precarious position. Gophers fans love Tubby Smith. Tubby Smith should love Gophers fans. After all, Smith was expelled from Kentucky for too many just-OK seasons in a row, a rare feat for a fan base who watched that same coach win a national title not all that long ago. But where Kentucky's fans expect everything, Minnesota's fans are more than happy with what Tubby's got going right now: A consistently improving program that can compete night in and night out with some of the best teams in the country, and that seems all but a lock to return to the NCAA title again this season. If he keeps this up, Tubby could probably stay at Minnesota forever. But does he want to? Smith was the subject of some Alabama-related rumors last offseason, and those were not the first in his Gopher tenure. Does Tubby really want to be in Minnesota? And if not, why not?

2. We're going to watch the Gophers, don't'cha know. Minnesota fans love their Gophers. The Barn, Minnesota's old-school fieldhouse, is one of the most underrated venues in all of college hoops. Those fans pack that place, and once inside, things get wild. Perhaps they're just excited about the warmth on offer, but it's more likely Minnesota's fans truly support the Gophers that unique way people from the Midwest with funny accents choose to support their favorite Big Ten college. It's sort of criminal that Gophers fans aren't regarded more highly around the country, or even in the Midwest, but no one who has ever been to a Gophers basketball game has anything but positives to bring back.

3. Which, in 2009-10, is for good reason. If last year was Minnesota's breakout season, this year is the one that could make them a national program for the first time in a decade. The Gophers frontcourt, which led the Big Ten in blocks last season, is loaded. The Gophers play two de facto centers -- 6-foot-11 Ralph Sampson III, who is indeed Ralph Sampson's son, and 6-foot-10 Colton Iverson, who unfortunately is not Allen Iverson's offspring. Damian Johnson is a 6-foot-7 forward that supports the two big guys and led the team in blocks and steals last season. Add in Tubby's guards, including Blake Hoffarbar, a lights-out three-point shooter, and a few freshmen that could contribute right away, and you've got a solid team that should hang around the top of the Big Ten for most of 2009-10.

Related: The Hunt