The Minnesota women"s basketball team is ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in nearly two decades. No one expected much from Minnesota this year, but the Golden Gophers are causing a stir in the Big Ten, and not just because of their play on the court.

Last week, the Gophers upset two nationally-ranked teams in Michigan and No. 8 Wisconsin. The Wolverines fell at Minnesota 84-75 in a game that the Gophers dominated the second half.

Then Minnesota traveled to Madison and pulled an upset against the Badgers in front of the largest crowd in Big Ten women"s basketball history.

Playing at a sold out Kohl Center in Madison, the Gophers dazzled fans as they downed the ninth-ranked Badgers 92-85. The huge crowd in Madison was largely due to the "Cram the Kohl" campaign launched earlier by Wisconsin coach Jane Albright. The 17,142 fans that responded broke the previous attendance record of 16,329, set by Wisconsin against Northwestern in 1998.

"I think just going in there everyone was very excited," Minnesota guard Lindsay Whalen said. "It is a dream to play in front of a sold out crowd, 17,000 people."

Whalen has been a dream for Minnesota"s coaching staff this year. She and Penn State"s Kelly Mazzante have followed up last year"s successful freshman campaign to lead the Big Ten in scoring this year. A 5-foot-8 guard, Whalen is versatile, which has allowed Minnesota coach Brenda Oldfield to feature the sophomore sensation in the offense.

Whalen and Oldfield have guided No. 23 Minnesota to its first appearance in the Top 25 since Dec. 12, 1982.

"It is an exciting time to be part of Gopher women"s basketball here and to be making our own history," Oldfield said.

Minnesota was not predicted to finish in the top tier of the Big Ten this year, but it surpassed all expectations by knocking off conference leader Wisconsin.

Minnesota"s 4-2 record in Big Ten play is good enough for fourth place in a conference that ranks third in the nation according to the Rating Percentage Index. But it was the success of the Gophers in nonconference play that caught the eyes of all those watching, as Minnesota lost just one game outside the Big Ten.

"I don"t think anyone could have anticipated in their wildest dreams that we would be sitting here 14-3," Oldfield said. "We knew from day one that everyone was going to discount this team."

But all of Minnesota"s success this year could be marred by an NCAA investigation that is currently going on. Former Minnesota coach Cheryl Littlejohn, who was replaced this year by Oldfield, allegedly gave money to a former player and interfered with investigations into NCAA infractions.

The NCAA will meet in April to decide the fate of the Minnesota women"s basketball program. Because Minnesota has previously had rules violations, it could fall under the "repeat violator" rule. Possible penalties the team could suffer include loss of scholarships, recruiting activities and, in the worst case, the banning of women"s basketball games at Minnesota for two seasons.