The Gophers 2015-2016 men’s basketball schedule is starting to take form, and a big piece was revealed today as Jon Rothstein of CBS reports that Minnesota will play Temple in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. While the sports betting picks probably have this game evenly matched, it will be important for Minnesota to get the win so it can face as many higher ranking RPI teams as possible in the non-conference portion of the schedule.
The Gophers will bring a team with plenty of fresh faces to Puerto Rico, though the team will already be well-traveled as Coach Richard Pitino and the program will head to Spain next month for international competition. Temple is coming off a 26-11 season in which the Owls advanced to the NIT Final Four before losing to Miami in New York City.
The winner of the Minnesota-Temple game will play the winner of the Butler-Missouri State game. The other side of the bracket includes first round matchups between Mississippi State-Miami and Texas Tech-Utah.
Richard Pitino enters his third season at Minnesota and will feature a squad that includes an infusion of new talent including Kevin Dorsey, Jordan Murphy, Dupree McBrayer and Ahmad Gilbert.
The 2015 Puerto Rico Tip-Off is November 19, 20 and 22 in Coliseo Robert Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico.