All the games are big this time of year. But some are bigger than others, and these Gophers teams have particularly important events Friday-Sunday:

Nick Bjugstad and the Gophers are in first place in the WCHA. That's good. But they're 14th in the Pairwise Rankings. Considering the Pairwise mimics the selection process used by the NCAA folks and only 16 teams make the field, that's dangerous. Minnesota plays host to a very important series against Bemidji State -- no slouch at No. 23 in the Pairwise and owner of a sweep last weekend against Colorado College.

The Gophers men's basketball team, meanwhile, missed chances to earn quality wins over Wisconsin and Ohio State, leaving the squad at 5-8 in the conference, 17-9 overall. Minnesota's tournament hopes are dimming, but they're hardly dead. Saturday's game at Northwestern, though, is huge. Both teams are listed in Joe Lunardi's "first four out" section of his projected NCAA field right now. It's safe to say the loser of this game will have a tough time recovering.

The wrestling team competes Sunday in the National Duals Final Four at Oklahoma State. First up in the semifinals is Iowa, which should be an intense dual. Coach J Robinson has long pushed for a true dual meet championship at the end of the year, and this season marks a format change that aims to do just that.

Mix in the opening weekend for the U of M baseball team, a home series for the women's hockey team against North Dakota and a few other events, and this is a pretty big weekend for Gophers sports.