In addition to myriad on- and off-the-court challenges this season, the Minnesota Golden Gophers were also forced to battle another opponent: One of the toughest travel schedules in the Big Ten that featured four one-day preps and a lost home game.
The Big Ten expedited its schedule by one week this season to accommodate an earlier conference tournament at Madison Square Garden, which begins Wednesday night and runs through Sunday. In order to fit in 18 conference games, the Big Ten scheduled two early matchups for each team in the first week of December with one day off in between.
The conference also signed a reported $2.64 billion deal with FOX in July that allowed for Monday and Friday night games.
Between the condensed schedule and the unorthodox gamedays, some teams were forced into an inordinate amount of one-day prep periods with the Gophers being among the most victimized programs, playing four conference games on one day of rest — something they didn’t do once during conference play a season ago.
This didn’t help Nate Mason (hips), Dupree McBrayer (left leg) or Amir Coffey (shoulder), who all tried to play through injury at various points during the season.
“Obviously a lot of teams had injuries that probably wouldn’t have been there,” said Jordan Murphy. “I just think that it just felt a little bit too rushed, a little bit too condensed.”
Four of the Big Ten’s 14 teams — Minnesota, Nebraska, Illinois and Indiana — had four one-day preps.
Ohio State, Rutgers and Maryland had three.
Michigan State, Iowa, Penn State, Michigan and Northwestern had two.
Purdue and Wisconsin only had one, and it came during the early December stretch.
“That’s just not ideal,” said head coach Richard Pitino of the disparity.
One of Minnesota’s quick turnarounds also cost it a home game at Williams Arena. The Gophers were a part of the Big Ten’s Super Saturday, in which they participated in a basketball/hockey doubleheader at Madison Square Garden. After losing at Maryland on Jan. 18, the Gophers faced No. 22 Ohio State on Jan. 20 at MSG, losing 67-49.
Between a non-conference tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the game against Ohio State and the Big Ten Tournament, the Gophers have made three trips to the Big Apple.
“I don’t love the whole thing,” said Pitino. “Not that I don’t love New York — I love New York. I don’t love what it’s done to our schedule.”
The Big Ten has been efforting in recent years to expand its brand eastward after adding Rutgers and Maryland to the conference in 2014, hence the appeal of holding the Big Ten Tournament at one of the world’s most famous arenas. But with the Big East occupying the arena during the week the Big Ten typically prefers to play its tournament, concessions — and sacrifices — were made.
But they may not be made again after backlash from Big Ten coaches.
“Wasn’t good. Wasn’t healthy,” Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany told the Chicago Tribune last week. “I thought starting early was OK, but if you look at our schedules (through the years), we’ve been able to give everybody two-day prep in 99 percent of the cases. … We won’t do it again this way, and I take responsibility for asking the coaches. … If we can make it back to the Garden on a regular week, that’s great.”
In no way do the Gophers blame their 15-16 record on the schedule, but it reduced potential practice days for a team that found itself constantly mixing and matching personnel as injuries piled up.
While Big Ten coaches may appreciate Delany taking responsibility for the decision, it doesn’t change the impact it had on the current season.
“You accept it, you move on,” said Pitino. “It doesn’t change a whole lot.”
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