It’s playoff time!
It is officially the first full weekend of March and we have playoff’s and conference championships to show for it! A full weekend of winter sports season playoffs and spring sports gearing up with conference play underway. The full schedule with TV and streaming info is below:
Friday March 7th:
Tennis vs Illinois 4PM Gophersports.com
The Minnesota Golden Gophers tennis team is back to Big Ten action this weekend. The #60 ranked Gophers will host #45 Illinois Fighting Illini at 4 PM on Friday. Minnesota and Illinois have met 33 times since 1991. The Illini have won the last 10 matchups, including a 4-0 victory in their most recent meeting on April 5, 2024. Minnesota last defeated Illinois on April 26, 2007, with a 4-0 win. The meet will stream live on Gophersports.com.
Women’s Hockey vs #2 Ohio State, WCHA Final Faceoff 4:30 PM Fox9+/ B1G+
The #3 seed Gopher women’s hockey team will face off against #3 seeded Ohio State in the second semifinal of the WCHA Final Faceoff in Duluth. Minnesota is looking for at least one win this weekend to lock down a top 4 ranking in the Pairwise and a home NCAA Quarterfinal next weekend. With a loss and some negative help in the ECAC, the Gophers could be stuck heading on the road for the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. Faceoff is scheduled for 4:30 and will air live on Fox9+ and stream on B1G+.
Baseball vs Purdue US Bank Stadium 6 PM B1G+
The Gopher baseball team opens Big Ten play at “home” this weekend at US Bank Stadium. Minnesota is 5-5 on the season while Purdue comes in at 12-1. The Boilermakers are led by senior Logan Sutter with a .511 batting average and .956 slugging percentage. On the mound senior Carter Doorn has thrown 14.0 innings and holds a 2-0 record. First pitch is set for 6 PM and will stream on B1G+.
Men’s Hockey vs Notre Dame—B1G First Round 7 PM Fox 9/ B1G+
The Gopher men’s hockey team begins the post season by hosting Notre Dame in a best-of three Big Ten First Round playoff series. Minnesota earned a tie of the Big Ten regular season title with a 5-3 win at Penn State last Saturday night. Michigan State earned the #1 seed and the first round bye as they help the tiebreaker over the Gophers. Minnesota went 3-1 this season against the Irish. Faceoff is set for 7 PM on Fox9 and will stream on B1G+
Saturday March 8th:
Men’s Golf @ Desert Mountain Collegiate Scottsdale, AZ 8:30 AM
The Gopher men’s Golf team will be in Arizona for the weekend at the Desert Mountain Collegiate Tournament hosted by the Michigan Wolverines. The event will feature 17 teams competing in a 54-hole tournament over two days. The teams will begin in a shotgun start at 8:30 AM Saturday morning. Live scoring is available HERE.
Track and Field @ Arizona Spring Break Fiesta 10 AM
The Gophers kick off the outdoor track and field season in Tucson, Arizona at the Arizona Spring Break Fiesta meet. Action begins at 10 AM central with some of the field events and continues through the day. Live scoring is available HERE,
Wrestling @ Big Ten Tournament Evanston, IL 10 AM BTN
The Minnesota Gophers wrestling team heads to the Big Ten Championships this week at Northwestern. The opening session begins at 10 AM on Saturday. The pre-seeds were announced earlier this week with the Gophers having four wrestlers ranked in the top four of the conference. The full list of pre-seeds is below:
125 lbs Cooper Flynn #9
133 lbs Tyler Wells #10
141 lbs Vance VomBaur #4
149 lbs Drew Roberts #10
157 lbs Tommy Askey #5
165 lbs Andrew Sparks #5
174 lbs Clayton Whiting #5
184 lbs Max McEnelly #2
197 lbs Isaiah Salazar #4
285 lbs Gable Steveson #1
The first session will include the first round matches through the quarterfinals along with the first round of wrestlebacks. Action begins at 10 AM on Big Ten Network
Softball vs South Alabama @ Baton Rouge, LA 1 PM
The Gopher softball team will spend the weekend in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for the LSU Round Robin. Minnesota opens play against South Alabama at 1 PM. No stream is available but live stats are available HERE.
Women’s Hockey WCHA Championship Game 2 PM Fox9+/ B1G+ (if win Fri)
The WCHA Final Faceoff Championship Game will take place at 2 PM Saturday in Duluth. If the Gophers defeat Ohio State Friday they will play either UMD or Wisconsin for the title. If they lose on Friday it will be the Buckeyes playing for a title. The game will air on Fox9+ and stream on B1G+.
Gymnastics vs Illinois State 4PM B1G+
The Gopher gymnastics team returns home for a non-conference matchup against the Illinois State Redbirds at the Pav. It’s the first of back to back non-conference warmup meets before the Big Ten Championships. Action begins at 4 PM and will stream on B1G+
Wrestling @ Big Ten Tournament Evanston, IL 5 PM B1G+
Session II of the Big Ten Championships will take place at 5 PM with consolation matches and wrestlebacks streaming on B1G+
Baseball vs Purdue US Bank Stadium 6 PM B1G+
Game two of the three game series between the Gophers and Boilermakers is set for a 6PM first pitch on B1G+.
Softball @ #4 LSU 6 PM SEC Network +
The Gophers second game of the day will be against the host and #4 ranked LSU Tigers. The game will stream on SEC Network + via Watch ESPN.
Men’s Hockey vs Notre Dame—B1G First Round 7 PM Fox 9/ B1G+
Game two of the best-of-three series is set for a 7 PM faceoff on Fox 9 and streaming on B1G+.
Wrestling @ Big Ten Tournament Evanston, IL 7 PM BTN
Semifinals at all 10 weight classes will take place at 7 PM on B1g Ten Network.
Sunday February 9th:
Men’s Golf @ Desert Mountain Collegiate Scottsdale, AZ 8:30 AM
The third round of the Desert Mountain Collegiate will kick off Sunday morning. Live scoring is available at the link above.
Men’s Swimming Last Chance Meet 9 AM
The Men’s swim team hosts their last chance meet for athletes to try and qualify for the NCAA Championships. The meet begins at 9 AM with live scoring HERE.
Softball vs South Alabama @ Baton Rouge, LA 11 AM
The third game of the weekend for the Gopher softball team is the second against South Alabama. Live stats are available at the link above.
Men’s Basketball @ Rutgers Noon Big Ten Network
The Gopher men close out the regular season with one final game at Rutgers on Sunday. Minnesota has qualified for the Big Ten Tournament and Sunday’s game will have an impact on seeding. Minnesota is still able to finish anywhere between 11th and 15th in the seeding for the Big Ten Tournament and currently is in a 5-way tie for 11th with Rutgers, Nebraska, Northwestern, and USC. Northwestern is at Maryland and USC is at UCLA Saturday, while Iowa is at Nebraska Sunday morning.
Tip is set for Noon and will air on Big Ten Network.
Tennis vs Northwestern Noon Gophersports.com
The Gophers close out the weekend with a match against #39 Northwestern at the Baseline Tennis Center at Noon Sunday.
Wrestling @ Big Ten Tournament Evanston, IL Noon B1G+
Session III of the Big Ten Championships kicks off at Noon on B1G+ with the Consolation Semifinals and 7th-Place Matches.
Baseball vs Purdue US Bank Stadium 1 PM B1G+
Game three of the series between Minnesota and Purdue is set for a 1 PM first pitch on B1G+
Softball @ #4 LSU 1:30 PM SEC Network +
The Gophers and Tigers face off again on Sunday afternoon. The same streaming link as above will work.
Wrestling @ Big Ten Tournament Evanston, IL 4:30 PM B1g Ten Network
The final session of the Big Ten Championships begins at 4:30 with the 5th place, third place and Championship matches live on Big Ten Network. Can Gable bring home another title??
Men’s Hockey vs Notre Dame—B1G First Round 6 PM Fox 9/ B1G+ (If Nec)
Game three of the series between the Gophers and Fighting Irish will take place at 6 PM Sunday if Minnesota loses one of the first two games. Let hope that doesn’t happen.