Big Ten releases Gopher basketball league schedule
Richard Pitino previews Gophers at Northwestern.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Big Ten announced on Wednesday the conference's men's basketball schedules for all the league teams in the 2019-20 season.
The Gophers finished 9-11 in Big Ten play after starting 5-4 last season. Paired with beating Penn State and Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament, it was enough for Richard Pitino and the Gophers to earn their second trip to the NCAA Tournament in three seasons.
Minnesota learned Wednesday its home schedule will include Maryland, Michigan and Nebraska. The away schedule will feature Illinois, Purdue and Rutgers.
The home/away schedule includes Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin. The Gophers are hoping to improve on a 2-9 road record last season. Their lone Big Ten road wins were at Wisconsin and Northwestern.
Dates and times for the games will be announced at a later date. Pitino received a two-year contract extension after leading the Gophers to a 22-14 season and a first-round win over Louisville.
The Gophers also announced on Wednesday they’ve signed center Sam Freeman to a national letter of intent to join the 2019 class.
He’s a 6-10 center from Dallas, Texas, and averaged 13.5 points, 11 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game this past season as a high school senior. He joins freshman signee Tre Williams and eligible transfers Marcus Carr and Payton Willis.