Monday, August 31, 2015

Gophers Non-Conference Schedule Announced



The full 2015-16 Minnesota men’s basketball schedule is set, as head coach Richard Pitino and the Gophers announced their upcoming non-conference slate on Monday. It features eight home games at Williams Arena along with strong neutral site competition leading up to the 18-game Big Ten regular season.

Game times and television information will be announced at a later date.

“We believe that this year’s non-conference schedule will be an excellent test for our young team,” said Pitino. “In putting together the schedule, we wanted to ensure quality competition in order to prepare the team for the rigors of Big Ten play, while also providing a chance for our team to grow and improve.”

The Gophers will play two exhibition games in early November, hosting Minnesota Crookston (Nov. 1) and Southwest Minnesota State (Nov. 6) at Williams Arena. On Friday, November 13, the season officially opens as Minnesota welcomes Missouri-Kansas City, then hosts Louisiana-Monroe two days later (Nov. 15).

Next up is a return to Puerto Rico for the second straight year, where the Gophers will take part in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Playing three games in four days beginning with the Temple Owls (Nov. 19), the Maroon and Gold will also compete on Friday, November 20 and Sunday, November 22 in San Juan.

After Thanksgiving, the Gophers open a four-game homestand beginning with Nebraska Omaha (Nov. 27). That game is followed by the 2015 Big Ten/ACC Challenge, in which Minnesota will host Clemson on Monday, November 30.  Home games follow against South Dakota (December 5) and South Dakota State (December 8).

In their final contest away from home before starting conference play, the Gophers will make the short trip to Sioux Falls, S.D., to square off against Oklahoma State at the Sanford Pentagon on Saturday, Dec. 12.

Minnesota rounds out its non-conference schedule at home, hosting Chicago State (Dec. 16) and Milwaukee (Dec. 23) on back-to-back Wednesdays.

Minnesota will begin conference play on the road at Ohio State on Wednesday, December 30, before its home B1G opener on Saturday, January 2 against 2015 Final Four participant Michigan State, who the Gophers defeated in East Lansing last season in their lone matchup. The Gophers alternate home-and-away for their next six games, with midweek road trips to Penn State (Jan. 5), Nebraska (Jan. 12) and Michigan (Jan. 20) each followed by Saturday home games against Northwestern (Jan. 9), Indiana (Jan. 16) and Illinois (Jan. 23). The following Wednesday, the Gophers host Purdue (Jan. 27) in their first two-game B1G homestand, before closing out January at Indiana (Jan. 30).

The only two-game road trip of the conference season, the Maroon and Gold remain on the road traveling to Northwestern on Thursday, February 4 before their first bye comes on the first weekend of the month. A home game against Michigan (Feb. 10) is followed by a Valentine’s Day trip to rival Iowa (Feb. 14), and back-to-back home games against Maryland (Feb. 18) and Rutgers (Feb. 23). The two contests against the conference’s new members are split up by Minnesota’s second bye of the season, also coming on a weekend.

Two of the Gophers’ final three games come on the road, as Minnesota travels to Illinois (Feb. 28) for the first time in three years. The final home game of the year comes on Wednesday, March 2 against rival Wisconsin, before closing out the regular season at Rutgers three days later (Mar. 5).
Minnesota will compete for the Big Ten Tournament title from March 9-13 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

2015-16 Gopher Men’s Basketball Schedule (game times TBA)
Date
Day
Opponent
11/1/15
Sun.
Minnesota Crookston (Exhibition)
11/6/15
Fri.
Southwest Minnesota State (Exhibition)
11/13/15
Fri.
Missouri-Kansas City
11/15/15
Sun.
Louisiana-Monroe

Puerto Rico Tip-Off (Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan)
11/19/15
Thu.
Temple
11/20/15
Fri.
Butler/Missouri State
11/22/15
Sun.
TBD



11/27/15
Fri.
Nebraska Omaha
11/30/15
Mon.
Clemson
12/5/15
Sat.
South Dakota
12/8/15
Tue.
South Dakota State
12/12/15
Sat.
vs. Oklahoma State (at Sioux Falls, S.D.)
12/16/15
Wed.
Chicago State
12/23/15
Wed.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee
12/30/15
Wed.
at Ohio State
1/2/16
Sat.
Michigan State
1/5/16
Tue.
at Penn State
1/9/16
Sat.
Northwestern
1/12/16
Tue.
at Nebraska
1/16/16
Sat.
Indiana
1/20/16
Wed.
at Michigan
1/23/16
Sat.
Illinois
1/27/16
Wed.
Purdue
1/30/16
Sat.
at Indiana
2/4/16
Thu.
at Northwestern
2/10/16
Wed.
Michigan
2/14/16
Sun.
at Iowa
2/18/16
Thu.
Maryland
2/23/16
Tue.
Rutgers
2/28/16
Sun.
at Illinois
3/2/16
Wed.
Wisconsin
3/5/16
Sat.
at Rutgers
3/9/15-
  3/13/15
Wed.-Sun.
Big Ten Tournament
(Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis)

No comments:

Post a Comment