Gophers to host St. Thomas on November 6

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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The wait is finally over and we can finally put this weird saga to rest.

The University of Minnesota men's and women's basketball programs are set to host in-town contests with St. Thomas this upcoming basketball season. The Gopher men's program will host the Tommies on Nov. 6, while the Gopher women will welcome St. Thomas to the Barn on Dec. 1. Times and broadcast information will follow at a later date.

"We're excited to have St. Thomas on campus for a game this year," head coach men's basketball coach Niko Medved said. "Having two Division I programs right here in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area is great for the sport, and I know it's something fans are really looking forward to seeing. Our schedules were able to align this year, so it seemed like a perfect time to create a fun environment here at the Barn."

It marks the first time the Golden Gopher men will compete against the Tommies since 1934 and the first since St. Thomas competed at the Division I level in 2021. Minnesota's all-time record is 6-1 against the Tommies when they were Division III, dating from 1907-1934. All contests were held on the U of M campus. The Gophers won five straight against St. Thomas from 1907 to 1919. Minnesota's lone loss against St. Thomas came in 1933 in a 25-24 Tommies victory, but the Gophers garnered their sixth win in 1934 by a score of 28-18.

Niko Medved enters his second year at the helm of the Minnesota men's basketball team. He led the Gophers to a 15-18 overall record last year and 8-12 in Big Ten play for an 11th-place seeding in the Big Ten Tournament. The Golden Gophers return a core group of Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, Isaac Asuma, Bobby Durkin, and Grayson Grove, who all started in over 20 games for Minnesota, while Kai Shinholster came off the bench to average 13 minutes a game. Minnesota welcomed five portal additions in the off-season: Kyan Evans, Winters Grady, Nolan Groves, Malick Kordel and Malachi Palmer, while four freshmen enter the mix in the 2026-27 season: Nolen Anderson, Cedric Tomes, Chadrack Mpoyi and Blake Nixon.

The matchup between the Gopher women's basketball team and the Tommies will be their first meeting.

"We are excited to welcome St. Thomas to The Barn this season," head women's basketball coach Dawn Plitzuweit said. "Adding this matchup to our schedule creates a great opportunity for our student-athletes, fans and both institutions. There is tremendous support for women's basketball across the state, and we look forward to a terrific atmosphere on game day.

gophersports.com

Gopher Men’s and Women’s Basketball Set to Host St. Thomas in 2026-27 Season - University of Minnesota Athletics

The Gopher men's program will host the Tommies on Nov. 6, while the Gopher women will welcome St. Thomas to the Barn on Dec. 1.
gophersports.com gophersports.com

Go Gophers!!
 

When do tickets go on sale? I'm looking forward to burying them so we can quit hearing about these low majors thinking they are elite B1G schools who would win it all every year.
 








ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of St. Thomas and the University of Minnesota will meet on the hardwood this season. On Friday, the two athletic departments announced that the Tommies and Gophers men's and women's basketball teams will square off during the 2026-27 season, marking the first meetings between the historic programs in nearly 100 years. Both games will be played at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

Basketball fans won't need to wait long to see the St. Thomas men take on the Gophers. The two teams will meet at "The Barn" on Friday, November 6, while the women will square off on December 1. Tipoff times will be announced at a later date.

The first Division I era meeting between the programs will be their eighth all-time match up and first in nearly 100 years. The Tommies and Gophers last met December 11, 1934, according to available records. The previous seven meetings occurred at Minnesota, with St. Thomas' lone win coming December 16, 1933.

According to available records dating back to 1981, this will be the first-ever meeting between the Tommies and Gophers women's basketball programs. St. Thomas female student-athletes were first admitted to campus in 1977 and began competition that same season. The match up will also mark head coach Mandy Pearson's first game against Minnesota since taking over the program in March. Pearson was previously the head coach at Minnesota Duluth and Saint Mary's University before being hired as the fifth coach in program history.
 






Bayfield Gopher said:
Could the Barn sell out?
Click to expand...
Gopher fan but did go to two UST games last year-highly doubt it based on what their attendance was for home games last year. Maybe it draws more interest in secondary market but I’d guess no-seemed to be only about 1500 in the arena at UST when I went (games against UND and SDSU). I understand the listed attendance is higher but doesn’t seem like that many were scanned
 




I am thinking it will is my guess. It’s on a Friday night which will encourage adult pre-game and post game activity… Friday night good for the students… I am sure UST will have buses for their students like they did for the hockey game at the X against the U… that Friday night game drew over 11k off campus … 10k the next night… hoops it’s one game on the U campus on a Friday night the weather should be decent… Game on!
 





I'd bet 12,000 plus for the game, better than playing some no-name directional school.
 

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