On Thursday, Minnesota's 2024-25 men's basketball Big Ten conference schedule was released. The 20-game conference schedule features 10 games that will take place at Williams Arena and 10 true road games for the Gophers.
The Golden Gophers opened their regular season on November 6, 2024 against Oral Roberts, the first of 11 non-conference games. They'll then begin Big Ten action on December 4 against Michigan State, playing a pair of conference games in December before entering the heart of conference play in January.
Notably, the Gophers will face a trio of Big Ten teams twice, once at home and once on the road. Those three opponents are; Michigan State, Penn State, and Wisconsin.
Gophers Nation offers four takeaways on Minnesota's full 2024-25 schedule below.
1. One true away game before January
The Gophers are going to get used to the friendly confines of Williams Arena early in the season as they play just one true road game through the first two months, a December 9th trip to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall to take on the Indiana Hoosiers. The Gophers will take part in the ESPN Events Invitational in late November, a two game series in Orlando. WIth a very manageable non-conference schedule, the Gophers should find themselves positioned well record wise entering conference play.
2. A tough start to conference play
That being said, it will be a tough start to conference play for the Gophers. They start conference play against Michigan State on December 4 and then will have to travel to Indiana to take on the Hoosiers on December 9, both the Spartans and Hoosiers are potential Big Ten title contenders in 2024.
After facing MSU and Indiana, the schedule doesn't get any easier. The Gophers will then take on the Purdue Boilermakers to start up the 2025 calendar year before taking on an improved Ohio State squad on January 6.
They'll wrap up their first six conference games then with back-to-back road affairs at Wisconsin and Maryland, two opponents that are always tough especially on their home courts.
If the Gophers hope to have a chance at an NCAA Tournament berth this season, they'll have to find a way to manage the especially tough start to conference play.
3. West Coast Road Trip
After welcoming Oregon and Washington to town in late January and early February, the Gophers will take a road trip to Los Angeles to take on USC on February 15 and UCLA on February 18. Could be a good opportunity for any Gophers fans who want a mid-February vacation and get out of a cold Minnesota winter.
4. Weak non-conference schedule won't do the Gophers any favors
We've known the Gophers non-conference schedule for a couple weeks now. That being said, the non-conference schedule will not do the Gophers any favors this upcoming season if they find themselves on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. Of the Gophers 10 set non-conference opponents, only two finished last season in the KenPom top-100. Notably, both Florida and Wake Forest, who the Gophers will face one of as part of the ESPN Events Invitational finished last season as top-30 teams according to KenPom. Additionally, seven non-conference opponents finished last season ranked 150 or worse.
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