Minnesota Basketball: Gophers and Iowa a rivalry on the hardwood too

This video from Gopher Sports is quite awesome and has inspired me to post about the Gopher and Iowa basketball Iowa. Why? Because, who hates Iowa?

The All-Time Series*

*all-time series excludes all games between 1993 and 2000 due to the academic scandal.

These two teams have played 187 times and the Gophers have won more of these games than they have lost. Only Wisconsin has more games against Minnesota with 190 all-time games. But against the Hawkeyes the Gophers have won 98 times, losing 89. When played at the Barn, they dominate to the tune of 60-34.

In recent years the Gophers hold a 9-6 record against Iowa in their last 15 games.

Major Games

The first game ever dates back to 1900 where the Gophers won 30-4. It should also be noted that the Gophers finished 10-2 that year with a big win over the Fargo YMCA that year.

1955 was a big year where Iowa won the Big Ten with Minnesota finishing 2nd. The two teams split that year with each team winning the away game.

But perhaps the biggest match up between these two teams (at least from a Gopher fan’s perspective) is also one of my favorite all-time Gopher memories. Technically it didn’t happen, but I was there so I KNOW that it did.

The 1996-97 season was where the Gophers finished atop the Big Ten standings with Iowa nipping at their heels finishing 2nd. I was in attendance for this mid-season game. Buried high up in the student section to the point where I could see some of the action on the other end of the court but couldn’t actually see the basket. Which meant I would watch Sam Jacobson shoot an open three but had not idea if it went in until the reaction for The Barn made it clear the result.

The Gophers won that game by 14 points and went on to run away with the Big Ten.