The Minnesota Gophers have unveiled their 2025 men’s basketball nonconference schedule, marking the official start of the Niko Medved era on November 3 with a home matchup against Gardner-Webb at Williams Arena.
Before the regular season tips off, Minnesota will host a pair of exhibition games in October against North Dakota State and North Dakota — a departure from their usual tradition of opening with a local Division I or II opponent, something they’ve done every year since 2010–11.
The Gophers’ 11-game nonconference slate includes six teams that ranked outside the top 250 in last season’s final KenPom.com ratings. Campbell, which finished at No. 220, is the only team within the top 250 set to visit Williams Arena.
More competitive matchups await away from home. Minnesota will travel to Columbia to take on Missouri (No. 47 last season), face San Francisco (No. 81) at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, and participate in the Acrisure Invitational in California, where they’ll meet Stanford (No. 70) and then either Santa Clara (No. 59) or St. Louis (No. 121).
While adding a true road game against Missouri is a major step forward from last year’s soft slate, the home nonconference schedule is arguably even weaker. Given how critical nonconference play is for NCAA Tournament resumes, Minnesota’s margin for error remains razor-thin. Outside of Missouri — their lone likely Quadrant 1 opportunity — the Gophers will be relying on fringe tournament hopefuls to boost their early-season résumé.
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