Gophers Announce Big Ten Conference Basketball Schedule

The University of Minnesota men's basketball program, in conjunction with the Big Ten Conference, announced its 2014 conference schedule today. The schedule will include 18 conference games, nine of which will be played at the friendly confines of Williams Arena. Complete TV assignments will be announced at a later date.

Minnesota will open the conference season with a pair of home games for the second-consecutive season – Jan. 2 against the national runner-up Michigan Wolverines and a Jan. 5 game against Purdue. The Gophers will also host Ohio State (Jan. 16), Wisconsin (Jan. 22), Northwestern (Feb. 1), Indiana (Feb. 8), Illinois (Feb. 19), Iowa (Feb. 25) and Penn State (March 8 or 9) at The Barn. The Gophers will not play Nebraska and Michigan State this season in Minneapolis.

Minnesota will hit the road for conference games at Penn State (Jan. 8), at Michigan State (Jan. 11), at Iowa (Jan. 19), at Nebraska (Jan. 26), at Purdue (Feb. 5), at Wisconsin (Feb. 13), at Northwestern (Feb. 16), at Ohio State (Feb. 22) and at Michigan (March 1). The Gophers will not travel to Champaign, Ill., to play the Illini or Bloomington, Ind., to play the Hoosiers this season.

The Gophers will open the non-conference portion of their schedule with four of their first five games at Williams Arena, including the season-opening tilt against Lehigh University on Fri., Nov. 8. Minnesota will leave the Twin Cities for four games during the non-conference season, beginning with a trip to Richmond, Va., to finish the home-and-home series. The Gophers defeated Richmond 72-57 last season in Minneapolis.

Minnesota will play three games in Maui at the Lahaina Civic Center as part of the 2013 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational Nov. 25-27. The Gophers open play on Nov. 25 against Syracuse University on ESPN2 and will play either the University of Arkansas or the University of California in the second round. The remaining field includes Baylor, Dayton, Gonzaga and Chaminade.

Minnesota will play host to Florida State in the 2013 Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Dec. 3. The Gophers and Seminoles will be meeting for the ninth time in each school’s history, including the second-straight matchup in the Challenge. Minnesota defeated FSU 77-68 last season at the Tucker Center in Tallahassee. In all, the schools have met a total of four times as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

The Maroon and Gold's season officially begins on Fri., Nov. 1, in an exhibition matchup with the Wolves from Cardinal Stritch University, the reigning NAIA Division II National Champions. Minnesota's other exhibition game will be Mon., Nov. 4 against Concordia-St. Paul.

Minnesota returns its top two scorers from a team that finished the 2012-13 season 21-13 overall, including a win over UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.