MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The University of Minnesota men’s basketball schedule for the 2012-13 season was released Thursday.

The Gophers open the regular season Nov. 9 with a game at Williams Arena against American University. The biggest non-conference game of the year will come on Thanksgiving day as the Gophers travel to the Bahamas to face NCAA power Duke at the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. The Gophers will play three games in that tournament.

The Big 10 Conference season opens with a pair of home games as the Gophers will host Michigan State on New Year’s Eve, then host Northwestern Jan. 9.

Minnesota will also travel to Florida State as part of its non-conference schedule for the Big 10/ACC Challenge. The Gophers will also travel to USC, host North Dakota State and South Dakota State in other non-conference match-ups.

The Gophers return all but one player to this year’s team after a run to the NIT championship game last year. Tubby Smith is entering his sixth season as head coach. He is 103-68 in five seasons, and recently got a three-year contract extension with the Gophers.