This week saw the likely end of a pair of winter sports seasons for the Minnesota Golden Gophers as the Men’s Hockey team and the men’s basketball team both fell in conference tournament action. The men’s hockey season is officially over, however there is a small chance the men’s basketball team could end up in some version of postseason action depending on what teams accept bids, etc. We will see the end of the indoor track and field season this weekend with the NCAA Championships, and women’s hockey has
now reached win or done time as they host the NCAA Quarterfinal this Saturday. As things wind down, others pick up as Gopher Baseball open Big Ten action this weekend. Here is a full list of all the Minnesota Gophers events this weekend and how you can watch.
Friday March 13th:
Softball vs Iowa State @ Missouri Noon
The Gopher softball team will face a field of Power 4 schools this weekend beginning with a game against Iowa State at the University of Missouri at Noon on Friday. The teams met earlier in February at US Bank Stadium where the Cyclones picked up a 5-2 victory.
Minnesota enters the weekend with a 9-16 overall record and a 1-2 record in Big Ten play. The Gophers took the opener of the three-game series at Indiana last weekend before dropping the next two. In midweek action this week the Gophers defeated SIUE 5-0 on Tuesday before losing 3-0 at Lindenwood on Wednesday.
Softball @ Missouri 5 PM SEC+
The second game of the day for the Gopher softball team will be against the host Missouri Tigers. Mizzou comes into the weekend with a 8-16 record including a 0-3 start in SEC play. The teams last met in 2025 where the Gophers picked up a 3-1 win. Friday’s game will stream on SEC+ on the ESPN app.
Baseball @ Illinois 6 PM B1G+
The Gopher baseball team opens up Big Ten play this weekend with a road trip to Champaign to face the Illinois Fighting Illini. Minnesota begins conference play with a seven-game winning streak helping to a 14-3 start in the non-conference capped off with a pair of wins over Gonzaga at US Bank Stadium earlier in the week.
Minnesota features four hitters who are hitting .350 or better this season, including infielder Jack Spanier, who has a team-best .368 average. Catcher Weber Neels has five home runs, 18 RBI, and a .362 average, while outfielder Easton Richter leads the Golden Gophers in both home runs (7) and RBI (23). The Minnesota pitching staff boasts a 3.32 ERA this season, which ranks third in the Big Ten, while the Gophers’ projected weekend rotation all has a 4.10 ERA or better.
Illinois has started the season with an 8-7 record and is 0-3 after being swept by USC last weekend. They did earn a 21-8 victory over Western Illinois on Tuesday night to get back in the win column. Illinois has dominated the Gophers as of late. The Illini have won the last five series against the Golden Gophers, with Minnesota’s last series win coming in 2016.
First pitch Friday is set for 6 PM and will stream on B1G+.
Indoor Track and Field NCAA Championships 7:30 PM ESPN+
Minnesota has four athletes comping in five different events at the NCAA indoor track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas this weekend. The meet kicks off Friday with Minnesota’s first event beginning at 7:30 PM in the women’s weight throw.
Anthonett Nabwe is the No. 1 ranked competetor heading into the national championships. Nabwe will be aiming to secure her first NCAA title and the first for Minnesota indoors since 2018 when Kaitlyn Long won the Weight Throw). Also in the weight throw field for the second straight season is redshirt junior Hadley Streit. The Mounds View High School grad returns to the NCAA Indoor Championships after she finished ninth in 2025 in her first career appearance. Streit is coming off a fifth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships where she solidified her NCAAs spot with a lifetime best 22.41m (73-6 1/4). Streit’s mark, which is the fourth-best in school history, enters as the No. 8 mark among the qualified competitors in Fayetteville.
Live action will stream on ESPN+
Saturday March 14th:
Women’s Golf @ Valspar Invitational 7:00 AM
The Gopher women’s gold team heads to Augusta, Georgia for a tournament not at the famous course in Augusta, but at the Forest Hills Golf Course. Augusta University is hosting the tournament that also will feature sixteen other schools including Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky and more. The teams will play 36 holes on Saturday before finishing with 18 more on Sunday. Live scores are available HERE.
Tennis @ Purdue 10 AM
The Gopher tennis team heads on the road for their Big Ten road opener after being swept at home by ranked USC and UCLA last weekend. Purdue is 5-4 on the season. A free live stream will be available HERE.
Softball vs South Dakota @ Missouri 11 AM
The Gophers close out their softball weekend with a game against South Dakota at Missouri on Saturday morning. The Coyotes enter the weekend with a 7-17-1 record on the season. Minnesota has never lost to South Dakota with a perfect 5-0 record.
#4 Women’s Hockey vs #5 Northeastern 2 PM ESPN+
The Gopher women’s hockey team will look to keep their season alive with a NCAA Quarterfinal matchup against #5 Northeastern at Ridder Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Gophers and the Huskies are set to meet for the ninth time ever on Saturday. Minnesota holds a 4-2-2 lead over Northeastern in the series, but the teams have not met since 2007. A full preview of the game will be available. Puck drop is set for 2 PM and will stream on ESPN+.
Indoor Track and Field NCAA Championships 2:30 PM ESPN+
The Gophers remaining three entries to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships take action on Saturday. First up is the triple jump at 2:30 PM. Diarra Sow enters the meet with the 14th-best mark among the field, Sow becomes the first Gopher to qualify for the indoor national championships in the triple jump in 23 years with Shani Marks being the last back in 2003 when she finished sixth overall. Sow’s season-best triple jump of 13.34m (43-9 1/4) was set back at the Tyson Invitational at the Randal Tyson Track Center, the same location as this year’s indoor NCAAs.
The shot put begins at 2:45 and will see Anthonette Nabe make her second appearance of the meet. Nabwe’s qualification in the shot put, as well as the weight throw, makes her the first Gopher woman to earn two bids to the indoor NCAA Championships since Amira Young in 2021 (60m, 200m). Nabwe’s season-best of 17.36m (56-11 1/2) from the 2026 Big Ten Indoor Championships secured her spot to nationals where she enters 11th out of the 16 competitors.
Minnesota’s final competitor is Zoie Dundon in the 800 meters. She qualified with a time of 2:01.56 at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. Dundon’s qualification is the first for the Maroon and Gold indoors in the 800m since Alena Brooks finished seventh overall in 2014. Dundon’s lifetime best 800m time, which is also a Minnesota school record, has the redshirt junior seeded 12th heading into her first NCAA Indoor Championships.
All the action will stream on ESPN+.
Baseball @ Illinois 3 PM B1G+
Game two between the Gophers and Illini is set for a 3 PM first pitch on B1G+.
Sunday March 15th:
Women’s Golf @ Valspar Invitational 7:00 AM
The Gophers will play 18 final holes in the event on Sunday.
Tennis @ Indiana Noon
The Gopher tennis team goes further downstate into Indiana to take on the Indiana Hoosiers on Sunday an Noon. Indiana enters the weekend with a 10-3 record. Indiana opened the season with a seven match win streak, including a victory over No. 69 Cornell. The Hoosiers are led by Ameia Sorey, who plays at No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles and has started the spring season 5-2. The two teams also met at the Spartan Invite in the fall, where Indiana went 4-3 in singles against the Gophers. A free livestream is available HERE.
Baseball @ Illinois 1 PM B1G+
The final game of the series between Minnesota and Illinois on the diamond is set for a 1 PM first pitch—weather dependent.
#13 Gymnastics vs Iowa, N. Illinois and Illinois 2 PM B1G+
The Gopher gymnastics team will complete the regular season and honor the program’s seniors with a quad meet before preparing for the Big Ten Championships on Sunday. The Gophers will host a pair of Big Ten foes in #20 Iowa and Illinois and Northern Illinois at the Pav.
Minnesota enters the final meet of the regular season with a 9-4 record and a 7-2 record in Big Ten action. Minnesota finished in second place in the Big Ten regular season. They rank 13th overall nationally and are Minnesota 16th on vault, 17th on bars , 6th on beam (49.303 avg.), and 14th on floor.
At the conclusion of the meet the Gophers will honor their six seniors in Gianna Gerdes, Seria Johnson, Sarah Moraw, Lauren Pearl, Brooklyn Rowray, and Megan Steensland.
The meet is scheduled for a 2 PM start and will stream on B1G+.
Women’s Basketball NCAA Selection Show 7 PM ESPN
The Minnesota Golden Gophers women’s basketball team will find out if they are hosting or will hit the road for the first round of the NCAA Tournament when the brackets are announced Sunday night. our full analysis of where the Gophers are sitting is HERE.
