Nearly a quarter of Minnesota’s games are against preseason Top 25 teams

The Gophers have a fairly soft nonconference schedule, but the Big Ten is going to be brutal.

Mar 5, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard John Blackwell (25) celebrates his basket against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Niko Medved and the Gophers didn't stack the 2025-26 schedule with many nonconference juggernauts, but they'll have plenty of time in the Big Ten season to build an NCAA Tournament resume.

As is usually the case, the Big Ten is loaded with some of the best teams in the country. The games still have to be played to deem that statement true, but Minnesota will face seven teams ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 poll that was released Monday.

The preseason top 25:

1. Purdue
2. Houston
3. Florida
4. UConn
5. St. John's
6. Duke
7. Michigan
8. BYU
9. Kentucky
10. Texas Tech
11. Louisville
12. UCLA
13. Arizona
14. Arkansas
15. Alabama
16. Iowa State
17. Illinois
18. Tennessee
19. Kansas
20. Auburn
21. Gonzaga
22. Michigan State
23. Creighton
24. Wisconsin
25. North Carolina

Gophers games against top-25 teams

Minnesota will play No. 1 Purdue on Wednesday, Sept. 10. The game will be played at Mackey Arena, making the Boilermakers a significant favorite at one of the nation's toughest road arenas.

The good news is that Minnesota will have a full week to prepare for Purdue after their Dec. 3 Big Ten opener at home against Indiana.

The next top-25 opponent isn't until Jan. 13, when the No. 24 Badgers visit Williams Arena. The Badgers will be interesting with former Gophers guard Braeden Carrington on the team in his final year of college hoops. They also bring back John Blackwell and Nolan Winter, while former St. Thomas star Andrew Rohde is new to the team and likely to play a big role.

The Wisconsin game goes straight into a Jan. 17 matchup with No. 17 Illinois. That game is in Champagne, making it a very difficult back-to-back for the Gophers.

After facing the Badgers in Madison on Jan. 28, the next Gophers' top-25 foe is Feb. 4 against No. 22 Michigan State. Minnesota gets a break this year as they don't have to play the Spartans in East Lansing.

The last two preseason top-25 opponents are featured in what lloks like the toughest consecutive games on the schedule for Minnesota: at No. 7 Michigan on Feb. 7, followed by a date with No. 12 UCLA in Minneapolis on Feb. 28.

Gophers begin exhibition play this week

The first chance to watch the Gophers play another team in Year 1 under Medved is Thursday when they host North Dakota State at 7 p.m. CT on B1G+. The new-look Gophers have yet to unveil the starting five, but some clarity on that should come with Thursday night's exhibition opener.

Minnesota will play a second exhibition on Saturday, Oct. 25, against North Dakota. Then it's onto the regular season when they open the season at home against Gardner-Webb on Nov. 3.