Through the first two years of Jerry Kill’s tenure as the University of Minnesota’s football coach, the NFL Draft didn’t mean much in Dinkytown.
After a 3-9 campaign in 2011,...
Minnesota’s first varsity eight was neck and neck with Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon until the end of the race. That’s when the No. 9 Badgers powered past the Gophers during the...
Damien Wilson was sitting with his family in Mississippi on Saturday afternoon eating chips and watching television when his phone started buzzing.
The former Gophers linebacker didn’t recognize...
The last time Minnesota raced, the first varsity eight fared uncharacteristically poor. The Gophers’ top boat finished sixth out of seven teams in both of its Saturday races and was fifth on...
Between the time the NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night and ends Saturday, Maxx Williams, David Cobb, Damien Wilson and Cedric Thompson hope to hear their names called.
The...
All of Cedric Thompson’s life, he’s been the underdog.
He grew up in Bombay Beach, Calif., a Southern California desert wasteland, far from the reach of college football recruiters....
When Nate Mason played his first game at Minnesota last year, those who watched saw a freshman ready to contribute right away.
The Decatur, Ga., native stood out as one of the team’s only...
Sophomore McKenzie Lukacs had to improvise during Minnesota’s second varsity eight on Sunday morning, as a heavy rain shower caught the rowers by surprise in the middle of the race.
The...
Growing up, Kylie Andersen ran cross country, track and was an avid skier. When she came to the University of Minnesota in 2012, the lifelong athlete rowed competitively for the first time.
Since...
After two consecutive Rodrick Williams runs to open up Saturday’s spring game at TCF Bank Stadium, the Gophers faced third-and-three.
That’s when Minnesota showed that...
One theme has consistently stood out during MinnesotaâÄôs spring season: improvement. After a long winter stunted their development last year, the Gophers continue to best their marks from a 2014...
Whenever the Gophers defense needed a lift last year, there was a pretty good chance Briean Boddy-Calhoun would make a game-altering play. As the cornerback prepares for his senior season, heâÄôs...
After a Saturday morning session of races at the Oregon State Classic that included two last-place finishes, head coach Wendy Davis had a simple message for her team.
“This...
On their way back to Minnesota from a February race in San Diego, the Gophers had a layover in Colorado, where an underclassman looked out the airport windows, staring at the mountainous scenery.
Then,...
Last Tuesday afternoon, Taylor Gainey hunched down in the back of a boat floating on the Mississippi River.
With 36-degree water splashing onto her face, the Gophers’ first varsity eight coxswain...
The Gophers combined for 16 runs in two contests at Nebraska on Friday and Saturday to win their 14th and 15th consecutive games.
But No. 12 Minnesota saw its record-breaking winning streak come to an...
Before heading to Tennessee to compete in the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invite earlier this month, the Gophers spent three days practicing on the Mississippi River.
With the river frozen solid this time last...
Stabresa McDaniel and Tory Jacobs have requested to transfer, an athletics department spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.
McDaniel and Jacobs are the fourth and fifth players to leave first-year head coach...
Minnesota finished last year’s spring season sixth out of seven teams at the Big Ten championships.
But this year, the Gophers started their spring slate quite a bit better, placing near the top...
CHICAGO — One of them laid next to a heap of athletic tape on the locker room floor. The other was still laced up to DeAndre Mathieu’s left foot. After Minnesota’s 79-73 loss to Ohio...
CHICAGO — There's a reason why D'Angelo Russell is widely considered a top-5 pick if he chooses to enter the NBA Draft this summer. Just ask the Gophers.
Before winter prematurely ended...
CHICAGO — Earlier this week Richard Pitino and Rick Pitino sent each other texts back and forth, talking about Minnesota's Big Ten tournament game with Rutgers slated for Wednesday night. Then...
CHICAGO — Minnesota spent more than 20 minutes of play going back and forth with the worst team in its conference on Wednesday night.
Then the Gophers (18-14, 6-12 Big Ten) received a spark from...
Chicago — Richard Pitino's Gophers lead Rutgers 30-27 at the end of the first half of the first round of the Big Ten tournament. Here are five takeaways from the first half of action at the United...
Chicago — The Gophers face off with Rutgers at roughly 6:15 from the United Center in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. Here's everything you need to know.
The last time Minnesota played...
Entering Minnesota’s first-round Big Ten tournament matchup against Rutgers on Wednesday, its 2015 NCAA tournament chances have never looked bleaker.
Going back to the “Big Dance” for...
Wisconsin has been stellar this season behind player-of-the-year candidate Frank Kaminsky and the team’s experienced supporting cast.
Heading into the postseason, the Badgers appear poised to take...
About seven weeks ago, the Gophers were 0-5 in conference play, and Andre Hollins was taking most of the blame for the team’s slow start.
The senior guard slumped in a big way, shooting 12-for-58...
After the Gophers trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half against Penn State on Sunday, Mo Walker and Joey King led a comeback that knotted the score at 76 with 14 seconds remaining.
Head coach...
One day after the athletics department announced Adam Weber as his replacement, former Gophers graduate assistant Ryan Maiuri paced the sidelines of Minnesota's practice facility Tuesday with a pencil...
After Minnesota lost at Wisconsin on Feb. 21, Badgers star Frank Kaminsky had a simple postgame message for Gophers center Mo Walker: “See you soon.”
When Minnesota hosts No. 6 Wisconsin on...
When Mitch Leidner began spring practice for the Gophers last year, he had only passed for 619 yards in limited reps.
But now — after a completed redshirt sophomore season in which he was Minnesota’s...
Cedric Thompson sensed that NFL scouts saw his perceived lack of athleticism as a weakness. But at Minnesota’s pro day on Monday, he showed them exactly why it might be a strength.
The former Gophers...
The Gophers topped Michigan State 96-90 in overtime on Thursday night for arguably their most impressive victory of the season.
An NCAA tournament appearance is highly unlikely at this point — but...
The Gophers topped Michigan State 96-90 in overtime on Thursday night for arguably their most impressive victory of the season. An NCAA tournament appearance is highly unlikely at this point — unless...
Barring an incredible run that culminates in a Big Ten tournament championship, the Gophers’ season won’t conclude in the NCAA tournament.
Minnesota could go back to the National Invitational...
Keys started to jingle outside the door of a Marcy-Holmes neighborhood apartment.
Elijah Mathieu knew what came next.
“Da da! Da da!” the 7-month-old shouted as he crawled toward the door.
When...
MADISON, Wis. – As the second half of Minnesota’s game at No. 5 Wisconsin began Saturday, fans in the Badgers student section started chanting.
“N-I-T. N-I-T. N-I-T,” they said.
But...
Early in the second half of Minnesota’s game against Northwestern on Wednesday, the usually deafening Williams Arena crowd was dead silent.
That’s when the Wildcats coaching staff made some...
A 17-second span in Minnesota’s game against Iowa last Thursday showed Charles Buggs’ pure talent yet revealed why he’s still far from a polished
player.
Buggs stole the ball from Gabriel...
After the Gophers won 64-59 at Iowa on Thursday night, Andre Hollins answered different questions with the same response.
What was the key to Minnesota winning its first Big Ten road game of the year?
“Defense,...
When asked about his team’s No. 5 steal ranking in early December, Richard Pitino brushed off the statistic’s significance.
“Numbers shouldn’t matter this early in the season,”...
In the first half of Minnesota’s game against Purdue on Saturday, Richard Pitino felt a little too hot, so he took off his suit jacket.
When the Gophers head coach emerged from the locker room at...
The college basketball world woke up to sad news Sunday as legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith, 83, died Saturday night.
Smith won 879 games, the fourth-most in history, and took the Tar Heels to...
The Gophers men's and women's basketball programs received a $6 million donation to help fund a new basketball facility, the University announced Friday. Former telecommunications executive Robert...
At 6 feet, 5 inches with a 4.66 second 40-yard dash time, Demry Croft looks like a college wide receiver.
Two years ago, that’s exactly what he was projected to be. But after switching to quarterback...
A few weeks before Alonzo Craighton’s sophomore season of high school football was supposed to begin, it ended.
The wiry defensive back from Louisiana was going through shuttle drills in practice...
Minnesota is 10 games into its conference season, and hardly anything has been constant.
Andre Hollins went from a slumping shooter to a do-it-all leader whom Richard Pitino calls “the heart and...
Mo Walker couldn’t stop thinking about his stat line at Nebraska on Jan. 20: Four points, four fouls and three turnovers.
In practice last week, coach Richard Pitino kept reminding him.
“Coach...
When Andre Hollins was slumping early on in Big Ten play as the Gophers started 0-5, he had to cope with a sobering fact.
“I wasn’t helping them win,” he said Saturday.
Now, he’s...
Gophers running back Berkley Edwards is expected to be a sprinter on the men's track and field team this spring, the University confirmed. The redshirt freshman rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns...
Illinois’ Malcolm Hill drove baseline early in the second half and cocked the ball back behind his head, preparing to dunk over Bakary Konate.
No dice.
The ball was blocked out of bounds instead...
Minnesota’s slow start to conference play is due to a variety of reasons.
Rutgers head coach Eddie Jordan called the close losses “bad luck.”
Iowa’s Fran McCaffery said the Gophers’...
Holding sharpshooter Terran Petteway to 11 points on 4-for-12 shooting would usually be enough to beat Nebraska.
But conventional wisdom doesn’t apply to the Gophers right now.
Not when they keep...
The Gophers take on Nebraska on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. Here are five things to watch for in the game:
1. Will Minnesota go on a run?
Richard Pitino's players took their 0-5 conference start rough...
The last few weeks have been rough for Andre Hollins.
He shot 28 percent or lower in Minnesota’s first five conference games, all of which were losses. Iowa’s Jarrod Uthoff hit a game-winning...
Even with Amanda Zahui B. struggling and Rachel Banham sidelined, No. 23 Minnesota pulled out a 65-61 win over Indiana on Sunday.
That statement was nearly unthinkable last season, as Banham and Zahui...
Taking a glance through the box score from Minnesota's 89-80 win against Rutgers on Saturday, Andre Hollins' 31 points stand out like a big beacon of hope for the Gophers who are still shooting...
The last few weeks have been rough for Andre Hollins.
He shot 28 percent or lower in Minnesota’s first five conference games, all of which were losses. Iowa’s Jarrod Uthoff hit a game-winning...
Maxx Williams was mum after Minnesota's 33-17 loss to Missouri in yesterday's Citrus Bowl when asked if he'll remain with the Gophers or bolt for the NFL, but an announcement could be coming...
As the dust settled following a brutal 33-17 loss to Missouri in the Citrus Bowl on Thursday afternoon, Gophers fans took to social media to sound off as a season of growth came to a sour conclusion:
“So...
Minnesota at Purdue
Tip-off: 2:15 p.m. CT
T.V.: Big Ten Network
Before the season started, Minnesota’s Big Ten opener at Purdue on Wednesday projected to be a mouth-watering matchup between...
As the Badgers sauntered off of their home floor as double-digit losers to Duke earlier this month, this much became clear: the Big Ten is no longer college basketball’s top conference. Wisconsin...
It's winter break and I'll be about 1,000 miles away from Minnesota for the next three weeks. But that doesn't mean I can't still watch games on television and provide some insight. Until...
Carlos Morris leaned back in his chair and sighed.
Positioned in front of his locker after a Friday game against Western Carolina, the junior guard-forward had just scored 16 points and helped Minnesota...
Minnesota trailed North Dakota 10-5 early Monday night, but those watching could tell the deficit wouldn’t last.
Mo Walker was the reason for that.
The redshirt senior center powered past North Dakota’s...
Richard Pitino can’t afford to look ahead.
Not when his team is second-worst at rebounding in its conference. Not when he has to implement a matchup zone defense if Carlos Morris isn’t on the...
It took four seasons, upset victories at Nebraska and Michigan, and Minnesota’s first AP top-25 ranking since 2008, but Jerry Kill’s team is finally in a New Year’s Day bowl game.
Minnesota...
Carlos Morris looked like an octopus playing Wake Forest on Tuesday night, stretching his long arms to pick off passes left and right as the Gophers won 84-69.
When the junior college transfer’s...
One day before facing Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Tuesday night, Mo Walker lamented Minnesota’s tendency to play stretches of games conservatively.
“We just need to play more aggressive...
Minnesota will play at Wake Forest on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The game can be seen on ESPNU and heard on 1500 ESPN. Here are five things to watch during the contest:
1....
With Daquein McNeil serving an indefinite suspension from all team activity, Minnesota is forced to move forward without a major piece of its rotation.
“It certainly is a very difficult situation...
Minnesota escaped its trip to New York City for the NIT Season Tip-Off with a .500 record and two sloppy second halves.
The Gophers lost 70-61 to St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday...
MADISON, Wis. — Just over 15 minutes into Minnesota’s game at Wisconsin on Saturday, the Gophers had built up a 14-point lead.
The Big Ten West was theirs, and it looked like the Gophers would...
MADISON, Wis. — With David Cobb hobbled and likely limited coming into No. 22 Minnesota's clash at No. 14 Wisconsin for the Big Ten West title, it didn't look like the Gophers had much of...
After speculation all week that running back David Cobb might miss today’s unofficial Big Ten West championship game, the senior has put the Gophers on his back en route to a 17-13 halftime...
As the Badgers sprinted toward TCF Bank Stadium’s east end zone wielding Paul Bunyan’s Axe, the Gophers crowded in front of their goalpost in force.
After winning the rivalry trophy, it has...
Minnesota will play St. John’s on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, which is arguably the most storied arena in basketball history.
But for the Gophers, primetime matchups in New York...
LINCOLN, Neb. — As Donnell Kirkwood trotted onto Tom Osborne Field with 1:19 remaining, there were just three words in his head.
“Hold the ball,” he said.
The redshirt senior running...
The Gophers trail Nebraska 21-7 at halftime after the Cornhuskers blocked a Ryan Santoso field goal attempt and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown.
Quarterback Mitch Leidner has used his legs to...
After Minnesota had beaten Franklin Pierce 109-57 Thursday night at Williams Arena, Richard Pitino wasn't quite sure what to say. There wasn't much the second year head coach could take away from...
Richard Pitino has high hopes for his redshirt senior big men.
Before the season, he said eight rebounds per game was a realistic average for Elliott Eliason. On Tuesday, he said he thinks Mo Walker is...
With at least three games left in his senior season, David Cobb is on the verge of getting his name in the record books.
“If you told me two years ago I would be close to this, I wouldn’t believe...
Cameron Botticelli remembers the sequences well.
In both of Minnesota’s Big Ten losses and in its closest win — a 39-38 shootout against Purdue — the Gophers’ defense came out slow...
After Louisville thoroughly outplayed them last week in Puerto Rico, the Gophers rebounded from their season-opening loss with a 76-54 victory over Western Kentucky on Tuesday night at Williams Arena.
The...
Many Big Ten teams tip off their seasons with multiple games against inferior opponents. But after playing then-No. 8 Louisville in Puerto Rico on Friday, Minnesota will play another quality opponent —...
By the time the Gophers escaped the snow and filed through TCF Bank Stadium’s tunnel to their locker room, they had come within a few plays of defeating one of the best teams in the nation.
But when...
When the Gophers lost to Louisville 81-68 in the Armed Forces Classic on Friday night during primetime on ESPN, they got an unusual amount of exposure.
Before the contest, head coach Richard Pitino...
By the time the Gophers escaped the snow and filed through TCF Bank Stadium’s tunnel toward their locker room, they had come within a play or two of beating one of the best teams in the nation.
But...
20 minutes into its game against Louisville in Puerto Rico, Minnesota is close to winning the turnover battle, Nate Mason looks much older than a freshman and Andre Hollins is back to his sharpshooting...
The college basketball season officially begins tonight — and Minnesota is on center stage in a prime-time ESPN matchup against No. 8 Louisville. Stop pinching yourselves, Gophers fans.
Here...
The Gophers looked helpless when they lost to TCU 30-7 in September.
David Cobb rushed for only 41 yards, Mitch Leidner threw three interceptions and cornerback Jalen Myrick couldn’t stop high-flying...
Last spring, Montrezl Harrell went back and forth with decisions about his future.
He could have joined the heralded 2014 NBA Draft class, where he likely would have been a first-round pick, but he turned...
Rick Pitino burst out of his seat in the final minutes of Minnesota's 65-63 NIT championship victory in April. The Louisville head coach was situated just behind the bench and his son, Richard, yelling...
Richard Pitino and his coaching staff will charter a plane to Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, on Wednesday for their Friday matchup with Louisville in the Armed Forces Classic.
But back in Minneapolis, coveted...
When Minnesota faces Louisville in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, on Friday night, the temperature will be around 80 degrees with 83 percent humidity.
But the Gophers practice gym at Bierman Field Athletic...
Redshirt senior center Mo Walker and freshman guard Nate Mason will practice Monday after sitting out Minnesota's 95-68 exhibition win over Minnesota-Duluth on Thursday.
Walker, who head coach...
Before the Gophers pulled off their full-court press with about 13 minutes remaining in a 95-68 exhibition victory against Minnesota-Duluth on Thursday night, they flashed the defensive intensity coach...
