Minnesota will ring in the New Year by opening Big Ten Conference play.
The Gophers and the Big Ten released its 2012-13 conference schedule Thursday and UM will open conference play on New Year's Eve, hosting Michigan State at Williams Arena.
Seven of the other 11 Big Ten teams will play home-and-home series with Minnesota, with the Gophers playing Michigan and Penn State only at home and Ohio State and Purdue just on the road.
Minnesota went 6-12 and finished tied for ninth place in the Big Ten last season. The Gophers have gone 38-49 in conference play during coach Tubby Smith's five seasons at the helm, finishing no higher than sixth place.
The Gophers' Big Ten schedule is listed below. Game times and television schedules will be released at a later date.
Dec. 31: vs. Michigan State
Jan. 6: vs. Northwestern
Jan. 9: at Illinois
Jan. 12: at Indiana
Jan. 17: vs. Michigan
Jan. 23: at Northwestern
Jan. 26. at Wisconsin
Jan. 29: vs. Nebraska
Feb. 3: vs. Iowa
Feb. 6: at Michigan State
Feb. 10: vs. Illinois
Feb. 14: vs. Wisconsin
Feb. 17: at Iowa
Feb. 20: at Ohio State
Feb. 26: vs. Indiana
March 2-3: vs. Penn State
March 6: at Nebraska
March 9: at Purdue
