It’s a busy weekend for the Gophers sports teams with numerous Top 5 tilts
It’s a busy weekend for the Minnesota Golden Gophers athletic teams. Several Gophers teams are in action, many facing off against top five ranked opponents. Two get to play a heated rival in Wisconsin, and there are at least two Big Ten Championships on the line. Below is your weekend schedule, along with how you can view all the action via TV, streaming, or in person.
Thursday October 26th:
Volleyball @ #16 Purdue 6 PM BTN
The Gopher volleyball team seems to have figured something out after struggling a few weekends ago on the road. They have now won four straight matches and have a tough back to back this weekend against ranked opponents on the road. First up is a match in West Lafayette Thursday night against the #16 ranked Purdue Boilermakers. Purdue is in fourth place in the Big ten at 7-3 on the season with Minnesota just one game behind at 6-4. The Boilermakers have won three matches in a row after dropping one on the road to Indiana including a win over a ranked Penn State team. Minnesota will have their hands full with a talented Boilermaker lineup that features Maddie Schermerhorn who is 2nd in the Big Ten averaging 4.30 digs per set) and Raven Colvin who is 2nd in the conference averaging1.40 blocks per set. Meanwhile, Eva Hudson and Chloe Chicoine are among the top offensive players in the conference, ranking 5th and 6th, respectively in kills per set and 3rd and 5th in total points. The match will begin at 6 PM and will air live on Big Ten Network.
Men’s Hockey vs #14 Wisconsin 8 PM BTN
The volleyball game leads right into another ranked Gopher matchup as the #1 Gopher men’s hockey team hosts their rival #14 ranked Wisconsin Badgers. Our full series preview is here. Faceoff is set for 8 PM on Big Ten Network.
Friday October 27th:
Cross County @ Big Ten Championships, Madison, WI 10:45 AM, B1G+
A busy Friday kicks off with the 2013 Big Ten Cross-Country Championships in Madison hosted by the Badgers. The 8K men’s race kicks off at 10:45 with the 6K women’s race beginning at 11:45.
The last time the full Minnesota cross country team was in action was at the XC23 Pre-Nationals Meet at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., on Oct. 14, where the women’s team finished in 19th and the men finished in 22nd. Minnesota did compete at the Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course earlier this season in the Big Ten Preview meet, with the men’s team winning the meet and the women finishing fourth. The win for the men was the first for the program away from home since 2018 and led to the program being named the NCAA Team of the Week.
Both races will stream live on B1G+.
Swimming and Diving vs St Thomas and South Dakota 5 PM B1G+
The Gopher swim and dive teams are back in action in their home pool this weekend when St. Thomas and South Dakota visit for a tri-meet. Last weekend the Gophers faced SMU in Dallas with the women picking up a win and the men a narrow loss. The Gopher women are now 3-0 on the season and are ranked #24 in the nation while the men are 1-1.
The bright spot for the Gopher men this season has been freshman swimmer Davide Harabagiu. The Rome, Italy native competed in five events, winning four and taking second in the other against SMU. Harabagiu swam the 100 fly in 46.11 and the 100 free in 43.96 for two individual wins at the meet. He won all four of his races in the Gophers season opener over Nebraska two weeks ago.
The tri-meet will stream live on B1G+.
Women’s Hockey @ #2 Ohio State 5 PM B1G+
It’s a top five matchup when the #4 ranked Gopher women’s hockey team heads to Columbus to face the #2 ranked Buckeyes. Minnesota is 5-0 on the season and 3-0 in WCHA play after earing a road sweep of St. Thomas and a home win over St. Cloud State. The Buckeyes split an early series against #3 Colgate and are 4-0 in conference play.
Minnesota is still looking to find additional scoring threats besides redshirt junior Abbey Murphy who has been amazing for the Gophers. Minnesota has had great play from a very solid tandem in net with junior Skyler Vetter jumping right into form from last year’s great season, and the addition of transfer Lucy Morgan from St. Lawrence who has been very good early in the season.
This will be by far the toughest opponent Minnesota has faced yet this year with the Buckeyes staking claim to being one of the nation’s best winning the NCAA title in 2022 and losing to the Badgers last year in the NCAA Championship game. Former Gopher star and assistant coach Nadine Muzzerall has shaped the Buckeye program to be hers, and OSU has been the most aggressive team in the nation in using the transfer portal adding a pair of Boston College stars Hannah Bilka and Cayla Barnes to their roster and watching them immediately step into large roles on the team. It will be the Buckeyes home opener where they went 16-1-2 a year ago with the lone loss coming to the Gophers.
This will be a good weekend to show just where the Gophers program is early in the year. Faceoff Friday is set for 5 PM and will stream live on B1G+.
Men’s Hockey vs Wisconsin 8 PM BTN
Game two of the Border Battle series between the Gophers and Badgers kicks of at 8PM. Minnesota will raise their 2023 Big Ten Championship banner is a pre-game ceremony. The game will air live on Big Ten Network.
Saturday October 27th
Women’s Hockey @ Ohio State 2 PM B1G+
The second game between the Gophers and Buckeyes is set to faceoff at 2 PM in Columbus and will stream on B1G+.
Football vs Michigan State 2:30 PM BTN
The Gopher football team will look to avoid a letdown on Saturday against a reeling Michigan State team after an emotional win over Iowa last weekend. Our full preview of the game is HERE. Plenty of tickets are still available, and the game will air live on Big Ten Network.
Sunday October 28th:
Volleyball @ #2 Wisconsin 3:45 PM FOX
The Gopher volleyball team caps off the weekend with their second ranked opponent in a row when the Gophers head to rival Wisconsin. The Badgers lost their first game of the season last week at home to now #1 Nebraska and dropped to #2 in the nation. This game will feature Minnesota’s first time playing against former middle blocker Carter Booth who transferred from Minnesota to Wisconsin in the off-season. The Gophers would love to pull off the huge upset in Madison, but will have their work cut out for them.
The potential for viewership is huge as Fox will air their first college volleyball game on the main network and the Gophers and Badgers could not have a better lead in. The match will take place directly after the Minnesota Vikings take on the Green bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Hopefully by the end of the night on Sunday the Minnesota teams can pick up a couple of huge wins in the Badger state.