MN Gophers Announce 2018-19 Men’s Basketball Schedule

University of Minnesota men’s basketball head coach Richard Pitino announced the upcoming 2018-19 schedule for the Gophers on Thursday. The announcement coincides with the Big Ten Conference revealing game time and television broadcast information for all of its games this season.

“We set up our schedule this season to provide a challenging test for our team as they get ready for Big Ten play,” Pitino said. “We’re excited to have five Power Five opponents in our non-conference, including the Utah game at home. With a 20-game Big Ten schedule this year, I think our team will have a chance to get better early in the season.”

Following an exhibition game against in-state foe Minnesota Duluth on Thursday, November 1, the Gophers will begin the season with a pair of home games. The season gets underway on Tuesday, Nov. 6 against Omaha, followed six days later by a meeting with Pac-12 opponent Utah at Williams Arena (Monday, Nov. 12)

The next stretch sees the Gophers away from the Barn for the longest time during the year. They will travel across the border for the Vancouver Showcase, facing Texas A&M (Sunday, Nov. 18) and Santa Clara or Washington (Tuesday, Nov. 20). After the Thanksgiving holiday, the Gophers will visit Boston College in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge (Monday, Nov. 26) before returning to the Twin Cities for a matchup with Oklahoma State at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis (Friday, Nov. 30).

Minnesota visits Ohio State (Sunday, December 2) before hosting Nebraska (Wednesday, Dec. 5) in the early season conference matchups. The remainder of the non-conference slate is filled out by home games against Arkansas State (Saturday, Dec. 8), North Florida (Tuesday, Dec. 11), North Carolina A&T (Friday, Dec. 21) and Mount St. Mary’s (Sunday, Dec. 30).

After New Year’s Day, nine home and nine road Big Ten contests await the Gophers as they march towards the Big Ten Tournament, which returns to Chicago from March 13-17 at United Center.

Minnesota will have at least 26 games on a national television network, as part of the conference television rights agreements with ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, Fox Sports 1 and the Big Ten Network. The remaining home games will be broadcast on the BTN Plus subscription streaming service.

Gopher Murphy Repeats as Big Ten Player of the Week

For the second time in as many weeks, junior forward Jordan Murphy was selected as the top performer in the Big Ten, earning Player of the Week honors on Monday. Murphy has now captured the award three times in his career.

The San Antonio, Texas native continued his torrid start to the season, rattling off double-doubles in each of the Gophers’ three wins last week.

Murphy began the week with a dominant performance at Providence in the Gavitt Tipoff Games, scoring 23 points and 14 rebounds while adding three blocks and two assists. Two days later, Murphy chipped in 18 points and 11 rebounds in the 107-81 victory over Niagara. Sunday evening, Murphy took control of the game in the second half with 23 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals against Western Carolina. 17 of his points came in the second half against the Catamounts, while he posted a career performance at the free throw line, going 15-for-19 (78.9 percent).

He is the first Gopher to win Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks, and one of just four to ever garner the award multiple times in a season. Murphy joins Kris Humphries (2003-04), Joel Pryzbilla (1999-2000) and Quincy Lewis (1998-99) as the only Minnesota players to do so. Lewis was the only Gopher to earn the award three times in a season.

Additionally, he is the first Big Ten player to win back-to-back weekly honors since Ethan Happ on Jan. 23 and 30 last season.

Murphy, who is averaging Big Ten highs of 24.8 points and 12.8 rebounds per game, is currently third in the nation with three double doubles, 19^th in rebounds and 43^rd in total points. Murphy’s 4.67 offensive rebounds per game are 15^th in the country.

Murphy and the Gophers continue a busy seven-day stretch on Tuesday as they host Alabama A&M at 7:00 p.m. 

MN Gophers Croft, Smith Honored by Big Ten

Minnesota quarterback Demry Croft and running back Rodney Smith were honored by the Big Ten today. Croft was named the conference’s Co-Offensive Player of the Week and Smith was tabbed Special Teams Player of the Week.

Croft, who shares the honor with Ohio State’s Mike Weber, led Minnesota to a 54-21 victory against Nebraska last Saturday. In the win, Croft rushed 10 times for 183 yards and three touchdowns. Croft, who averaged 18.3 yards per carry, set a Minnesota record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a game, breaking Marqueis Gray's record of 171 set against Miami (Ohio) in 2011.

Croft's 183 rushing yards were the most by a Gopher since running back David Cobb rumbled for 194 yards against Purdue in 2014. In addition, Croft's 183 yards are the most by a Big Ten quarterback this year and are the fifth-most rushing yards for any Big Ten player this season.

Croft joins Johnathan Lewis (Rutgers) and Trace McSorley (Penn State) as the only Big Ten quarterbacks to rush for three touchdowns in one game this year. Croft's 183 yards helped Minnesota rack up 409 rushing yards on the day, which is the eighth-most ever for the Gophers in a single game. Croft added 105 passing yards in the dominating win.

Smith returned three kicks for 135 yards against Nebraska, and he started the game with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. It was his second kickoff return for a touchdown and first since going 94 yards against Rutgers in 2016. Smith became the first Gopher to return the opening kick for a score since Tyrone Carter (86 yards) did so against Arkansas State in 1998.

Smith ended the Nebraska game with 279 all-purpose yards (135 kick return, 134 rushing and 10 receiving), which ties Tellis Redmon (279 yards vs NC State in 2000) for the seventh most in a single game in school history. The 279 all-purpose yards is also a career high for Smith (previous best was 257 vs Rutgers in 2016).

Croft and Smith are the second and third Gophers to be recognized this year, as Jacob Huff was named Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 18.

The last Gopher to be recognized as Offensive Player of the Week was Smith, who earned the honor on Oct. 24, 2016. The last Gopher to be named Special Teams Player of the Week was Emmit Carpenter who was feted on Nov. 7, 2016. 

Gophers/Green Bay Hurricane Relief Exhibition

The Minnesota men’s basketball team announced Tuesday that the Gophers will host the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay on Sunday, November 5 at noon in an exhibition game. The game will be contested in Maturi Pavilion, with 100 percent of the proceeds to benefit the American Red Cross hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

“In my four years here we have played in Puerto Rico twice and have had an unbelievable experience both times,” said head coach Richard Pitino. “Hopefully our fans’ generosity and caring spirit will show on November 5. I am really looking forward to this day - we need to pack the Pav.”

Tickets for the Green Bay exhibition are $10, with all seats general admission inside Maturi Pavilion.

NCAA rules currently allow for two exhibition games and/or closed scrimmages per year, but Division I schools are being allowed a third contest this fall to raise money for people and areas affected by the recent hurricanes in the southern United States and the Caribbean. Accordingly, this game is not included in season ticket holder packages or student season tickets.

Gopher Score members and University of Minnesota student season ticket holders will be able to access a special pre-sale on Thursday, October 26 at 9:00 a.m. General public tickets, based on availability, will go on sale on Tuesday, October 31 at 9:00 a.m.

The game will also be streamed over the internet – details about the web stream will be announced shortly.

U of M, Pitino To Extend Contract Through 2022

The University of Minnesota today announced that Head Men’s Basketball Coach Richard Pitino has agreed to a contract extension that adds one year to his existing agreement, placing him under contract with the University through the 2021-22 season. The extension will become official pending approval from the Board of Regents at its May meetings.

“Since I came back to Minnesota as the AD last May, I have been impressed with Coach Pitino and his management of our men's basketball program,” said Athletics Director Mark Coyle. “I've seen accountability, commitment and focus from every student-athlete and member of the men's basketball staff, led by Coach Pitino. The team's success on the court this year generated a lot of excitement on campus and around the state. I'm looking forward to much more of that with Coach Pitino leading our program.”

“I am extremely grateful to be the head coach at such a prestigious university. My family and I love living in the Twin Cities and look forward to continuing to build a strong men's basketball program on and off the court,” said Pitino. “I have loved getting to know and working with Mark Coyle this past year. Mark and President Kaler's commitment to athletics is second to none. The future of Gopher basketball is very bright and I am excited to be a part of it.”

This contract extension comes after Pitino oversaw the greatest single-season turnaround of any Division I men’s basketball program last season, improving the Gophers’ win total by 16 and marking a return to the NCAA Tournament.

The Big Ten Coach of the Year as voted by the conference head coaches and media, Pitino led the Gophers to program records and achievements that had not been reached in decades. Under Pitino’s guidance, Minnesota set a new program record with 23 regular season victories. That total was driven, in part, by a 12-1 finish in non-conference play and eight straight Big Ten wins, the team’s longest conference winning streak since 1973. Four individual Gophers were recognized this year in All-Big Ten: first team selection Nate Mason, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Reggie Lynch, All-Big Ten third team honoree Jordan Murphy and All-Freshman Team member Amir Coffey.

"I am extremely pleased with the direction that our men's basketball program is headed under Coach Pitino,” said University of Minnesota President Eric W. Kaler. “Last season's success is just the beginning of a bright future for our team, and I have full faith that our student-athletes will continue to flourish under Coach Pitino's guidance."

Finishing 11-7 in conference play, the Gophers had their highest single-season Big Ten win total in the Big Ten since 1989-90. The Gophers placed fourth in the conference standings, their best finish in 12 years, and secured a coveted double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament for the first time in program history.

With 24 wins, the Gophers earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the program’s best in the past 35 years. Pitino will guide a roster next year that returns four starters and 12 contributors from what was among the nation’s youngest teams this past season, based on KenPom.com experience rankings.

One of the nation’s youngest head coaches and second-youngest at a Power 5 conference school, Pitino has posted a 75-61 overall record in his four seasons at the helm. He has presided over three winning seasons while at Minnesota, including a 25-13 team in 2013-14 that went on to win the National Invitation Tournament and set a school record for overall victories.