Niko Medved enters Year 2 with a schedule that should excite Gophers fans

The Big Ten conference released its entire basketball schedule on Wednesday, which means we now officially know the Gophers’ full slate for the 2026-27 season. A much improved nonconference portion will lead into a Big Ten gauntlet, as Niko Medved looks to lead Minnesota back to the NCAA Tournament in his second season as the program’s head coach.

Full schedule

Oct. 15: vs. Omaha (exhib.)

Oct. 23: @ Creighton (exhib.)

Nov 14, 2025; Omaha, Nebraska, USA; Creighton Bluejays forward Jackson McAndrew (23) dribbles against the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks during the second half at CHI Health Center Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

Exhibitions have become more and more popular in college basketball, and the Gophers made big improvements this year with a road trip to Creighton on the schedule. A home game against Omaha will ease them into the season, but a road game against the Blue Jays and first year head coach Alan Huss will give us an early look at how prepared Minnesota is for this season.

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Nov. 16: vs. Western Illinois

Nov. 20, 22: Charleston Classic vs. Oklahoma State and Utah

Nov. 28 (in Sioux Falls, SD): vs. California

After a pair of Summit League opponents highlighted by the first matchup against St. Thomas as Division I programs, the Gophers’ biggest nonconference game of the season will be Nov. 9 at Cincinnati. They will have a pair of buy games before entering a pivotal slate in late November.

The Gophers drew the short end of the stick with their early Big Ten matchups. Michigan State and Illinois are the top two favorites to win the conference this season. Minnesota will wind up having six straight games against power conference opponents before Christmas, which hasn’t been the case in a long time. We’ll learn a lot about this team early in the season.

Dec. 12 (in Frisco, TX): vs. SMU

Dec. 16: vs. Texas Southern

Dec. 20: vs. Alcorn State

Minnesota’s final big-time nonconference game will be on Dec. 12 in Frisco, Texas against SMU. They will have…

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Publish date : 2026-09-17 13:37:00

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