2 Golden Gophers ranked in preseason top 100

Minnesota Golden Gopher men's basketball players Trevor Mbakwe and Rodney Williams were ranked among the top 100 players in the country on the preseason top-100 list released by CBS Sports.

Mbakwe, a senior, checked in at No. 15 overall despite playing in just seven games last season. While Mbakwe is ranked among the elite, CBS Sports said he could have been even higher and a potential first-team All-American if not for the torn ACL he suffered last season. Mbakwe averaged 14 points and 9.1 rebounds per game last year before suffering the injury.

Here is what CBS Sports had to say about Mbakwe:

He's coming back from a torn ACL, otherwise he'd be a potential first-team All-American. He's a rebounding machine -- and it'll be interesting to see if he's lost any of his explosiveness after the injury

After a breakout season last year, Williams was ranked as the No. 93 player heading into the 2012-13 season. Williams averaged 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, both career highs. As the CBS Sports blub states, Williams and Mbakwe form an excellent duo.

Williams is a tantalizing athlete who broke through last season. He and Mbakwe provided a terrific one-two punch for Tubby Smith.

Mbakwe and Williams were the only Golden Gophers to average double-figure points per game last season.