Jan 2, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Isaac Asuma (1) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Big Ten slate revealed: What you need to know about the Gophers' 2025-26 schedule

Originally posted on Minnesota Golden Gophers on SI
By Tony Liebert | Last updated Sep 18, 2025 5:29 PM ET

We officially know the entire regular season schedule for the Gophers men's basketball team in 2025-26 for Niko Medved's first season as head coach.

Picture via: @tonyliebert (X)

Big Ten schedule takeaways

A 1-1 split in Minnesota's early Big Ten games should be viewed as a win, but there's a real chance they could go 0-2 against two projected NCAA Tournament teams. Three of their first four games to begin full-time conference play are at home, but January ends with three of four games on the road at Illinois, Ohio State and Wisconsin.

Like most seasons, late January and early February look like a pivotal stretch on Minnesota's schedule. By the time they make a trip out west to face Oregon and Washington on the road, they will have gone through a gauntlet.

Two-play matchups

Minnesota will open Big Ten play on December 2 at Williams Arena against Indiana and first-year head coach Darian DeVries. The Gophers will then return the matchup on March 4 in Bloomington. The Hoosiers are expected to compete for an NCAA Tournament birth in 2025-26.

Northwestern returns Nick Martinelli, who could be one of the best players in the conference after averaging 20.5 points per game last season. Minnesota will play them on the road on Jan. 2 and then welcome them to the Barn in the regular season finale on March 7.

Wisconsin is the Gophers' only other two-play opponent, and longtime head coach Greg Gard should have the Badgers competing for an NCAA Tournament birth once again. Overall, it was a good draw in terms of two-play opponents for Minnesota, but that has been known for a while.

Small margin for error in nonconference play

Minnesota has a traditional 11-game nonconference schedule, but it's essentially only four games. Matchups with San Francisco, Stanford and Santa Clara or St. Louis on a neutral floor could all be competitive, while a road game at Missouri might be their only guaranteed Quad 1 game before conference play. A loss in any of the other seven games could be catastrophic to their postseason resume.

Overall thoughts:

A weak nonconference schedule will provide Minnesota with a golden opportunity to get over .500 in year one of the Medved era, something they've done only once since 2018-19. It's a fair benchmark and goal for the Gophers based on their schedule.