Historic tipoff at The Barn: Gophers face St. Thomas in first D-I meeting

Gophers coach wants credit for scheduling St. Thomas

University of Minnesota men's basketball coach Niko Medved met with reporters on Thursday at The Barn. The Gophers host fellow in-state Division I St. Thomas for the first time in a regular season match-up Friday night. Medved said he's doing it to serve the Minnesota basketball community, as facing the Tommies doesn't do a lot for the Gophers' NCAA Tournament resume.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Some history will be made Friday night for the University of Minnesota men’s basketball team.

For the first time in the history of the Gophers’ program, they’re playing the University of St. Thomas in a Division I non-conference game. The Tommies will cross the Mississippi River Friday night and face the Gophers at The Barn.

It’ll mark the first time the two teams have met in Division I, with St. Thomas making the leap in 2021.

"I think it’ll be good, they’re saying there will be 10,000 some fans. I think that’s great for basketball here," Gophers coach Niko Medved said at Thursday’s practice. "It should be fun, especially early in the season. It’s a big game, but I don’t want to make it bigger than it is."

‘I hope I get some credit for playing it’

What they're saying:

Medved said recently he has no upside to putting St. Thomas on the Gophers’ non-conference schedule. The Tommies are a low major in the Summit League, and a win doesn’t do much for their early NCAA Tournament resume. But a loss could be devastating.

"If you take the name off the jersey or that they were local, there’s no upside to us playing them. I’m doing it because I think it’s great for basketball in the Twin Cities. They’ve been winning, we’re building ours so it’s going to generate a lot of enthusiasm. That’s a benefit. I’m glad we’re doing it," Medved said.

So what would it take for the Gophers and Tommies to be an annual game?

"It’s gotta be a Quad 1 or Quad 2 game, you know what I mean? Everyone talks there’s no reason for us to play that game, that doesn’t make any sense. I hope I get some credit for playing it," Medved said. "Everyone is greedy, they’re like no one ever plays them, why don’t we play it every year? I see some of these other rivals, if Cincinnati plays Xavier, that’s a Quad 1 game. It has nothing to do with emotion, my job is to do what’s best for Minnesota. You never say you won’t play them again, but there’s no way you can commit to doing something like that every year."