Gophers men's basketball set to host Bemidji State in exhibition game

Minnesota will host Bemidji State for the third time ever.

Jan 2, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Gophers mascot Goldy Gopher during a time out late in the game between the Minnesota Gophers and the Michigan Wolverines at Williams Arena. The Wolverines defeated the Gophers 63-60. Mandatory Credit: Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports / Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports

Gophers men's basketball has announced that they will host Bemidji State in an exhibition game on Oct. 19. It will be their first of two exhibition games before the 2024-25 season, as they're still set to host Hamline on Oct. 29.

NEWS: #Gophers MBB will host Bemidji State in an exhibition game on Oct. 19 at Williams Arena. They still plan on playing Hamline on Oct. 29.

They will now have two exhibition games before their non-conference schedule begins on Nov. 6. https://t.co/VFFSSRvleI pic.twitter.com/oXwvv7yReu

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) August 28, 2024

The Beavers will now be the second Minnesota-based Division III school they face in an exhibition game before tipping off the regular season on Nov. 6.

The Gophers faced Bemidji State for the first time in 2006 and won 88-32. They matched up again in 2011 and came out on top 71-58. Mike Boschee is entering his 12th season as head coach of the Bemidji State program.

Minnesota has made it a tradition to face a local Division III school in an exhibition before beginning the regular season, but now they will face two before the 2024-25 season officially gets underway. Without a true preseason, it will give Ben Johnson a chance to experiment with rotations with nine new scholarship players.

Minnesota's full non-conference schedule was released last week, and it's notably lacking any marquee home games at Williams Arena. The only non-con opponents they'll face who were top 100 teams in KenPom last year are Yale, North Texas, and whichever of Florida or Wake Forest they face in the second game of a late November tournament in Orlando.