MinnesotaSportsScene.com

It means pretty much nothing, except that maybe Minnesota is playing more of its regular season starters for more minutes during the exhibition season. But for those trivia lovers out there, the Timberwolves did improve to 5-1 on the preseason, winning Sunday night 111-107 over the Denver Nuggets.

Rarely does pre-season success suggest anything for the regular season. Still, the Wolves have been down for so long now, any sign of hope is a positive thing for Randy Wittman’s crew. The line on Minnesota’s big stars was as follows:

Ryan Gomes scored 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field for the Timberwolves (5-1). Mike Miller had 17 points, Al Jefferson added 15, Craig Smith 13 and Randy Foye 12. Foye also had 15 assists.

If the team can manage to play like this, they should be able to get off to a decent start on the season. But that’s a big if, considering Nuggets coach George Karl held back so many starters that former Timberwolf reserve Anthony Carter led the Nuggets in scoring.

Like I said, bet your wireless router on this little nugget: preseason success means nothing in basketball.

Even though this weekend was a bye week for the football Gophers, Minnesota debuted in the BCS Top 25 poll for the first time this season, and the first time since 2005. While the Tim Brewster-coached Gophers are ranked near the bottom of that poll, at number 24, it is still a huge achievement for a team that no one - including MinnsotaSportsScene.com - expected much out of this year.

Color us humbled. Still, despite the team’s current 6-1 record (2-1 in the Big 10), there’s still a long and difficult schedule ahead for the maroon and gold, and to achieve a top bowl bid, they can’t drop more than one game the rest of the way. If they do, I wouldn’t bet my MBT shoes on a January bowl appearance.

The remaining schedule for the Gophers is somewhat favorable. There are only two road games left, including Purdue and Wisconsin. The team also faces home games against Northwestern, Michigan and Iowa.

The team ought to be able to win three of the last five, given their performances so far this season. That would put Minnesota at 9-3, which would ensure a good bowl, but probably not a January bowl. If the Gophers can manage four wins, a January bowl would not be out of the question, but that would mean beating either Wisconsin on the road, or Michigan at home - tall order.