Minnesota will see two familiar names in Charleston next November.
The Gophers are set for the 2026 Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic, where they’ll face Oklahoma State on Nov. 20 and Utah on Nov. 22 at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C. The six-team event also includes Dayton, Northwestern and Virginia Tech, with each team playing three standalone games across the two-day schedule.
Minnesota’s first test comes against Oklahoma State at 12:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
The Cowboys are coming off a 20-15 season and an NIT Second Round appearance, and they bring back senior guard Kanye Clary, who averaged 10.6 points and 4.6 assists in 2025-26. Minnesota, meanwhile, returns senior forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, who put up 13.4 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game last season.
The Gophers are 5-3 all-time against Oklahoma State, and the last meeting came in 2019.
Minnesota’s second game is a Sunday night matchup with Utah at 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
That series has been tight in the past: the Utes lead it 3-2 overall, and the teams last met in 2019, when Utah won 73-69 in Salt Lake City. This will be the first meeting between the programs since then.
The rest of the field gives the bracket plenty of intrigue. Northwestern and Virginia Tech will square off on Friday in a battle between two former Charleston Classic champions, with the Wildcats taking the title in 2011 and the Hokies winning it in 2018. Dayton and Utah meet in the event’s opening round as well, and that one carries a long gap between games - the programs have only played twice before, in 1955 and 1958.
Dayton will also face Northwestern on Sunday, and that matchup has been close lately. The last two meetings between the Flyers and Wildcats both finished 71-66, with Northwestern winning in 2023 before Dayton answered in 2024. Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State round out the Sunday slate in an ACC-Big 12 matchup.
The Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic, owned and operated by ESPN Events, is in its 18th year. Recent champions include Utah State and Clemson in 2025, Drake in 2024, Houston in 2023, College of Charleston in 2022, St. Bonaventure in 2021 and Florida in 2020.
The event also offers teams a week of competition, practice and experiences around Charleston. Tickets are now on sale for the 2026 tournament.
In Other News...
Gophers Finally Have A Real Shot To Challenge The Big Ten Elite
Minnesotas recruiting profile has taken a noticeable step forward under P.J. Fleck, and the numbers around the Gophers next few classes suggest this is no longer just a program trying to hold steady in the Big Ten. The 2026 class is ranked 28th nationally, the best of Flecks tenure, and the early outlook for 2027 is encouraging as well. Add in a better job of keeping key players from leaving, landing top in-state talent and finding useful help through the FCS transfer market, and there is a clearer sense of upward momentum than this program has had in a while.
Minnesota still has to prove it can turn that foundation into real damage against the leagues heavyweights. Since 2019, the Gophers have had a tough time against top-10 teams, even as theyve pulled off a few eye-catching upsets against ranked opponents along the way. That mix is what makes this moment so interesting: the roster-building has started to look more like that of a contender, but the next step is showing that the Gophers can carry that progress into the games that define the Big Ten hierarchy. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Face A Costly New Question About The Programs Future
The financial pressure around college sports keeps landing closer to home for Minnesota, and Mark Coyle said the Gophers athletics department is now projecting an approximately $9 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2027. It is the kind of number that has become increasingly familiar across the sport, but for Minnesota it underscores how quickly the House vs. NCAA settlement is reshaping the business side of running a major program.
Coyle said the department expects to lean on a reserve fund to bridge the gap, while also looking for new money through ideas such as jersey patch sponsorships and naming rights deals. The challenge is bigger than covering one shortfall, because the payments to student-athletes mandated by the settlement appear likely to keep squeezing athletic departments like Minnesotas as they try to maintain competitive footing and manage the future at the same time. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Suddenly Have A Minutes Squeeze Fans Will Be Watching
Minnesotas rotation already had a few moving parts after last season, when Bobby Durkin gave the Gophers a lift from beyond the arc, Jaylen Crocker-Johnson reached career highs before his injury ended his year early, and Isaac Asuma became a steady all-around starter. Add in the arrival of guard Kyan Evans from North Carolina through the transfer portal, and there is suddenly a lot more talent competing for the same court time.
For a program trying to build momentum under coach Medved, that is a good problem to have, but it also makes the next stretch worth monitoring closely. The Gophers now have proven returners, an important transfer and a coach who knows Evans well, and the way those pieces fit together will determine who keeps their roles and who sees their minutes trimmed. [Read more 🡒]