Arizona basketball has never beaten the Minnesota Golden Gophers
- Overall series record: 0-4
- First matchup: December 31, 1951
- Last matchup: November 24, 1994
- Last Score: Minnesota 72, Arizona 70
As crazy as it sounds, Arizona has played the Golden Gophers four times in their history and Minnesota won each of those games. We’ll give a brief rundown on each Arizona loss here, though none of the games have been in the last 29 years.
The first-ever matchup between these two schools actually came way back on New Year’s Eve in 1951 in a neutral-site game in Milwaukee. Back when the big stars for Arizona were Bill Kemmeries and Roger Johnson, they went down 73-61 against the Golden Gophers.
These two programs wouldn’t play again for thirty years, but the next game would come in a more traditional setting. A home game for Minnesota on December 29, 1981, turned into a 91-62 blowout win in a season where the Wildcats really struggled while the Golden Gophers finished 23-6.
Three seasons later, the two programs met again in Arizona with a similar result. This was Lute Olson’s second season leading the Wildcats, but an 88-79 home loss to the Golden Gophers on December 17, 1984, gave them their first loss of that season, spoiling a 6-0 start during Steve Kerr’s sophomore season.
The most recent matchup between the two schools came during the 1994 Great Alaska Shootout. Minnesota would win that tournament and hand the Wildcats a close 72-70 loss in their first contest of the season, with the game played up in Anchorage.
Minnesota hasn’t played Arizona since that November 1994 date but has beaten the Wildcats in four different cities in four different states across their history.