Gophers basketball: Key tidbits from the Big Ten home, road opponents

Niko Medved introduced as Gophers' basketball coach [RAW]

The University of Minnesota officially introduced Niko Medved as its new men's basketball coach at a news conference on Tuesday at Athletes Village. Medved, a Roseville native, is taking over the Gophers after leading Colorado State to three NCAA Tournament appearances in seven seasons.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team knows its home and away opponents for its first Big Ten season under Niko Medved.

With it comes a few interesting storylines when it comes to former players in the program.

Gophers Home & Road opponents

What we know:

Minnesota has just three opponents on its 20-game Big Ten schedule. They are Indiana, Northwestern and Wisconsin. That means trips to Assembly Hall, and the Kohl Center.

It also means a reunion of sorts with Minnesota native and former Park Center standout Braeden Carrington. He spent his first two seasons with the Gophers before entering the NCAA transfer portal, where he ended up at Tulsa last year. He started 10 of 29 games in his sophomore year at Minnesota, and averaged 4.6 points in 21 minutes per game.

The Gophers will face him twice.

Gophers Home-Only opponents

Why you should care:

Minnesota will have seven Big Ten opponents solely at Williams Arena this season. They are Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Nebraska, Rutgers, UCLA and USC.

That means a reunion with Pharrel Payne, the former Park Cottage Grove star who spent two seasons with the Gophers before leaving for Texas A&M. He followed Buzz Williams after this past season to Maryland.

Payne started 19 games as a sophomore for the Gophers, averaging 10 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. He started 14 games at Texas A&M and averaged 10.4 points per game.