Minnesota Gophers: Weekend Schedule and How to Watch

It’s a holiday weekend—well for some people. Guess the President’s Birthdays aren’t as big a thing as they once were. But it’s a loaded weekend of Minnesota Gophers action as the winter sports wind down as playoffs and tournaments begin and the spring sports kick off in gear. Below is a look at this weekend’s schedule and how you can try and catch the action!

Friday February 17th

Indoor Track and Field—Snowshoe Open 2 PM

Minnesota hosts the Snowshoe open featuring small college teams from around the area and some of the Gophers younger athletes running unattached. The Gophers main athletes are resting up for the Big Ten Championships next weekend. Action begins with the field events at 2 PM and live results are posted HERE.

Women’s Swimming @ Big Ten Championships—Ann Arbor, MI 4PM

Day three of the Women’s Big Ten Swim and Diving championships is Friday with prelims starting at 9 am and the finals beginning at 4 PM. Minnesota sits in 5th place through the first two days with a pair of third place finishes coming from Megan Van Berkom in the 200 IM and Joy Zhu in the 1 meter diving competition.

Friday’s schedule includes the prelims of the 100 fly, 400 IM, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back and 3-meter diving, plus the 200 free relay in the evening session. You can stream it live on BTN+.

Softball @ North Carolina —4:30 ACC Extra

The Gophers kick off the Big Ten/ACC Challenge weekend in Chapel Hill with the first of two games against the Tar Heels. Minnesota opened the season last weekend going 4-1. Freshman shortstop Jess Oakland was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after leading the team with 13 RBI on the weekend, collecting five extra base hits (eight total) and six runs, including two home runs which came against Colgate and Western Kentucky. Through five games, Oakland went 8-for-16, slugging 1.125 with a .619 on-base clip.

Minnesota’s games against North Carolina will stream on ACC Extra on the ESPN App.

Men’s Hockey @ Penn State 5:30 BTN

Minnesota opens their two game series at Penn State Friday night at 5:30. Minnesota are now back to back Big Ten Regular Season Champions after Ohio State’s shootout win over Michigan last night eliminated the Wolverines. Minnesota will be short a pair of defensemen and both Brock Faber and Ryan Chesley will miss the weekend series with injuries. Faceoff at 5:30 and the game will air live on Big Ten Network.

Baseball vs UC Santa Barbara 6 PM Surprise, Arizona

The Gophers open the 2023 season in Surprise, Arizona for a four game non-conference weekend. The Gophers will face the #14 Gaucho’s twice this weekend with LHP Tucker Novotny (1-1, 3.86 ERA in 2022) getting the start Friday night for Minnesota. A full season preview is located HERE. This weekend’s action can be streamed for a fee on Flobaseball.com

Women’s Hockey @ St. Thomas 6 PM

The Gopher women will look to try and pick up a pair of wins over the Tommies in their final two regular season games of the year. Minnesota still can win the WCHA regular Season title but will need to not slip up against UST and then get some help from rival Wisconsin in taking at least three points on the weekend over first place Ohio State in Madison. Face-off is at 6 PM and will stream live on BTN+.

Saturday February 18th

Softball vs Virginia—9 AM/ @ North Carolina—2PM

It’s a double header day for Gopher softball as Minnesota takes on Virginia for the first time Saturday morning before their second game against the Tar Heels Saturday afternoon. The UNC game will be streamed on ACC Extra, but the Virginia game will not.

Women’s Swimming and Diving— Big ten Championships 9AM/4PM

The final day of the Big Ten Championships kicks off with prelims at 9 AM with finals beginning at 4 PM from Ann Arbor. Saturday’s events include the 1,650-yard Freestyle, 200-yard Backstroke, 100-yard Freestyle, 200-yard Breaststroke, 200-yard Butterfly, Platform Diving, and the 400-yard Freestyle Relay. All the action is streamed on BTN+.

Tennis vs Washington State @ Lincoln, NE 11 AM

The Gopher tennis team is back in action after four wins in a row as they head to Lincoln, Nebraska for a pair of matches this weekend. First up is the Washington State Cougars at 11 AM on Saturday. Washington State has a 4-3 overall record, coming off a two-game win streak against Fresno State (5-2) and Cal Poly (6-1) last weekend in California. The match will stream for free HERE.

Baseball vs Oregon State—1 PM @ Surprise, AZ

Game two of the season for Minnesota is against #18 Oregon State. The Gophers will throw RHP George Klassen (0-2, 14.09 ERA in 2022)who struggled a year ago in his return from Tommy John surgery but is listed as a top three MLB prospect in the Big Ten this spring.

Women’s Basketball @ Northwestern—2 PM

The Gopher women’s basketball team will see if they can put two wins together when they head to last place Northwestern on Saturday afternoon. Minnesota earned a 95-92 win over Nebraska at the Barn on Wednesday on an Isabelle Gradwell three pointer with 1.1 seconds left in the game. The game will tip at 2 PM and stream on BTN+

Men’s Hockey @ Penn State—5:30 PM—BTN

Game two of the Minnesota and Penn State series will face-off at 5:30 PM and will air once again on Big Ten Network in what is the opener to a Gophers/Nittany Lions doubleheader.

Women’s Hockey @ St. Thomas—6PM—Fox9+

The Gophers conclude the regular season with a final game at St. Thomas Saturday night. After what should be a sweep Minnesota will be anxiously watching the finale of the Bader/Buckeyes series on Sunday afternoon to determine their WCHA fate and seed heading into the beginning of the conference tournament next weekend. Saturday’s game will stream on BTN+ and air in Minnesota on Fox9+.

Men’s Basketball vs Penn State 8 PM BTN

The Gopher men’s basketball team will return to the court for the first time in nearly a week when they host Penn State at the Barn at 8PM. Minnesota’s game at Michigan State last Wednesday was postponed after the tragic shooting on the MSU campus. That game may not get rescheduled as finding available slots for both teams is nearly impossible. Saturday’s game may be a preview of a potential 11 vs 14 Big Ten Tournament opener depending on how the Nittany Lions fair the rest of the season. The game will tip at 8 Pm and air live on Big Ten Network.

Sunday February 19th

Softball vs Virginia—9 AM

The Gophers close out the Big Ten/ACC Challenge with one last game against Virginia Sunday morning. No streaming will be available.

Tennis @ Nebraska—11 AM

Minnesota opens Big Ten play Sunday morning in Lincoln as the Gophers and Cornhuskers will face off. Nebraska is 5-1 overall, with its most recent sweep against South Dakota, 4-0, last weekend. Action begins at 11 and will stream for free HERE.

Gymnastics @ Maryland—Noon

The Gopher gymnasts are back in action Sunday afternoon at Maryland. Minnesota dropped a close meet to #2 Michigan last weekend in Ann Arbor. The Gophers currently are ranked #17 in the Road To Nationals rankings, with event rankings of #9 on vault, #15 on bars, #39 on beam and #8 on floor. The Terrapins are 4-2 this season, picking up wins against West Virginia, Kent State, Nebraska and most recently, Rutgers. Maryland competes against Southern Connecticut State on Friday night, less than two days before their meet with Minnesota. They are ranked #24 overall with event rankings of #19 on vault, #20 on bars, #29 on beam and #33 on floor. The meet will stream live on BTN+.

Baseball vs UC Santa Barbara—6 PM

Game three on the season and game two of the weekend against the Gauchos will kick off at 6 PM from Surprise, Arizona. Minnesota is scheduled to throw RHP Sam Malec (0-0, 9.88 ERA in 2022) to start the game.

Monday February 20th

Baseball vs New Mexico—10 AM

Minnesota closes out their opening weekend against the New Mexico Lobos in Surprise. First pitch is slated for 10 am with RHP Richie Holetz (1-3, 7.41 ERA in 2022) taking the hill for the Gophers.

Men’s Basketball @ Illinois—8 PM—BTN

Minnesota plays it’s first of two potential make-up games Monday night when they head to Champaign on two days rest to face Illinois. This game was slated for 2 weeks ago but was postponed due to COVID issues in the Gopher program. Tip is set for 8 PM and will air live on Big Ten Network.