Shameless Promo #23: Travel 'The Journey' with Minnesota Basketball

I'm looking forward to watching this tonight. I know, I know, I have no life and am unhealthy obsessed with Gopher sports....but whatever, I love it. If you have the Big Ten Network (which no one does) you should check this out.

Big Ten Network to air 8-episode all-access series with coach Tubby Smith

AP Photo

As the highly anticipated first season of the Tubby Smith era at Minnesota continues, the Big Ten Network will introduce viewers to the personalities that make up the Golden Gophers through the original series, MINNESOTA BASKETBALL: THE JOURNEY.

The 8-episode series debuts with an hour-long episode Friday, December 21 at 6 PM CT.

MINNESOTA BASKETBALL: THE JOURNEY will follow the Gophers' entire season, including activities on the basketball court and beyond. The show will take viewers on campus and deep inside the Minnesota basketball program with the players, coaches and support staff. Big Ten Network cameras will travel with the Gophers on the team plane, capture practices, pre-game shoot-arounds and time-out huddles, as well as many of Smith's pre-game, halftime and post-game speeches in the locker room.

"As Tubby Smith brings his history of success north, the transformation of Minnesota basketball will undoubtedly be an interesting story to tell," said Big Ten Network Executive Producer Leon Schweir. "We plan to capture it all."

As of Dec. 18, Smith's Gophers are 7-1 and off to their best start since the 2000-01 campaign. Four Minnesota players average double figures in scoring led by Dan Coleman's 13.6 points per game.

"The Big Ten Network has an opportunity to bring Big Ten fans closer to their favorite programs than ever before," network president Mark Silverman said. "MINNESOTA BASKETBALL: THE JOURNEY is an example of how we are creating original, compelling programming that people will want to see."

New 30-minute episodes of MINNESOTA BASKETBALL: THE JOURNEY will debut starting in January and follow the Gophers throughout the season. Check local listings for dates and times or the programming schedule on BigTenNetwork.com.