Gopher Sports: Weekend Preview

It’s another busy weekend in the Gopher Sports world as the basketball season start to get into full swing, football is in its final games of the regular season, hockey is back, and we have some NCAA Championship action. Here is how to follow and watch it all this weekend either from your favorite on-campus venue, or your favorite comfortable chair.

Friday November 12th

Cross-Country—NCAA Midwest Regional, Iowa City, IA 11AM

The Gopher cross-country teams head down to Iowa City Friday morning for the NCAA Midwest Regional. The Gopher women are the top seed at the regional and are ranked #5 overall in the nation while the men are ranked #4 at the regional and are #23 in the nation.

The 6K women’s race will begin at 11 AM. Minnesota has not finished lower than 4th at a NCAA Regional since 2003 and have advanced to the NCAA Championships every year in that stretch other than 2016. The 10K men’s race will begin at noon. Minnesota has advanced to nine NCAA Championships.

The top two finishers in each race automatically qualify for next weekend’s NCAA Championships in Tallahassee, Florida. There are 31 team spots available at the NCAA Championships with the top two finishers in nine regional meets taking 18 spots and leaving 13 to be assigned. From there, the NCAA DI Cross Country Subcommittee will then choose the remaining 13 teams at-large to fill out the field.

The meet will be streamed live on BTN+, or live results are available HERE.

Men’s Basketball vs Western Kentucky, Ashville Championship 5:30 PM

The Gopher men will hit the road for the first time this season traveling to Ashville, North Carolina for the Ashville Championship. Minnesota will play Western Kentucky in the opener on Friday night at 5:30 PM. It will be the third ever meeting between the Gophers and Hilltoppers with Minnesota having won both previous matchups. Look for a larger preview later on Friday on the blog and you can watch the game live on ESPNU.

Women’s Hockey vs RIT, 6PM

The Gopher women’s hockey team in back in action after a weekend off and will host RIT in their first home non-conference series of the season. Minnesota is ranked #3 in the nation with a 7-3 record while RIT is one of if not the worst teams in college hockey this season with a 0-12 record including getting swept at home by DI newcomer St. Thomas.

This should be the easiest series of the year for the Gophers and a chance to get some lesser used players some ice time. Faceoff on Friday is 6PM and will stream on BTN+.

Men’s Hockey vs Ohio State, 6:30 PM

The Gophers open a big Big Ten series against the Buckeyes at home on Friday night. A full preview of the series is HERE. Face-off is 6:30 PM and will air on Bally Sports North and stream on the Bally Sports App and BTN+.

Women’s Basketball @ Arizona State, 8PM

The Gopher women will try and get back on track after an embarrassing season opening loss to Jacksonville last Tuesday at the Barn. They will head to Tempe to face Arizona State in what should be significant jump in opponent talent. The Gophers are making the return trip after the Sun Devils came to the Barn in 2019 and the Gophers earned a 80-66 win in the first meeting between the two schools. Arizona State opened with an easy win over Northern Colorado on Tuesday. It will be an emotional night for ASU as they will retire former star and WNBA player Briann January’s jersey. The game will tip off at 8PM and will stream for free HERE.

Saturday November 13th

Wrestling @ Bison Open, Fargo, ND, 10:00 AM

The Gopher wrestling team kicks off their season Saturday when they head up to Fargo and the Bison Open. Minnesota will see DI wrestlers from NDSU and SDSU in what should be a relatively easy warmup to open the year. Live stats of the meet will be available HERE.

Football @ Iowa 2:30 PM

The Gopher football team will try and defeat Iowa for the first time in six seasons and win in Kinnick Stadium for the first time since 1999 on Saturday. A full preview of the game is here. Kickoff is at 2;30 and will air on BTN.

Women’s Hockey vs RIT, 4PM

Game two of the series between Minnesota and RIT kicks off at 4PM and will stream on BTN+.

Men’s Hockey vs Ohio State 5PM

Game two of the series between the Gophers and Buckeyes faces off at 5PM on Bally Sports North.

Sunday November 14th

Women’s Basketball vs George Washington, 2PM

The Gopher women will have a quick turnaround after a late game in Arizona Friday night to a home matinee against George Washington on Sunday. Minnesota last faces the Colonials in 2019 in Washington DC. The game will stream live on BTN+.

Volleyball vs Purdue 3:30 PM

In what may be the biggest game of the weekend the #7 Gopher volleyball team hosts #9 Purdue at the Pav in massive Big Ten match. Minnesota has won six matches in a row including four over ranked teams and is just a half game back of Wisconsin for the lead in the conference. Purdue and Nebraska are just one game back of the Gophers. This match is not only for conference pride, but also for NCAA RPI. Minnesota moved up to #11 this week in the RPI moving them comfortably into a spot where they can be one of the top 16 teams and host a first and second round pod for the NCAA Tournament A win over Purdue could lock that hosting spot up tight, but a loss could make things interesting as Minnesota still closes the regular season with matches against the Badgers at the Pav and at Penn State in their final four.

The match will start at 3:30 PM and will air live on BTN.

Men’s Basketball vs Princeton/South Carolina 4/6:30 PM

The Gophers will play their second game at the Ashville Championships on Sunday against either Princeton or South Carolina depending on the results of Friday’s games. If Minnesota loses Friday they will play at 4:30 and the game will air on ESPNU. If Minnesota wins they will play for the Championship at 6:30 and the game will air on ESPN2. Minnesota is 0-2 all time against South Carolina and are 3-0 all time against Princeton.