2019–20 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gophers were led by seventh-year head coach Richard Pitino and played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 15–16, 8–12 in Big Ten play to finish in 12th place. The Gophers defeated Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten tournament^[1] before the tournament was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.^[2] All other postseason tournaments including the NCAA tournament were later canceled effectively ending the season.^[3][4]

2019–20 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	15–16 (8–12 Big Ten)
Head coach	Richard Pitino (7th season)
Assistant coaches	Ed Conroy (4th season) Rob Jeter (2nd season) Kyle Lindsted (2nd season)
Home arena	Williams Arena
Seasons ← 2018–19 2020–21 →

2019–20 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 17 Wisconsin	14	–	6		.700			21	–	10		.677
No. 9 Michigan State	14	–	6		.700			22	–	9		.710
No. 12 Maryland	14	–	6		.700			24	–	7		.774
No. 21 Illinois	13	–	7		.650			21	–	10		.677
No. 25 Iowa	11	–	9		.550			20	–	11		.645
Penn State	11	–	9		.550			21	–	10		.677
No. 19 Ohio State	11	–	9		.550			21	–	10		.677
Rutgers	11	–	9		.550			20	–	11		.645
Michigan	10	–	10		.500			19	–	12		.613
Purdue	9	–	11		.450			16	–	15		.516
Indiana	9	–	11		.450			20	–	12		.625
Minnesota	8	–	12		.400			15	–	16		.484
Northwestern	3	–	17		.150			8	–	23		.258
Nebraska	2	–	18		.100			7	–	25		.219
Note: The 2020 Big Ten tournament was canceled prior to the second round due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Golden Gophers finished the 2018–19 season 22–14, 9–11 in Big Ten play to finish in seventh place. As the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Penn State in the second round.^[5] In the quarterfinals, they defeated Purdue for the second time on the season.^[6] In the semifinals, they lost to Michigan.^[7] The Gophers received a bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 10 seed in the East Region. There, they defeated seventh-seeded Louisville^[8] in the first round before losing to Michigan State in the second round.^[9]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Dupree McBrayer	1	G	6'5"	195	Senior	Queens, NY	Graduated
Jordan Murphy	3	F	6'7"	250	Senior	San Antonio, TX	Graduated
Amir Coffey	5	G	6'8"	205	Junior	Hopkins, MN	Declared for NBA Draft
Isaiah Washington	11	G	6'1"	195	Sophomore	Harlem, NY	Transferred to Iona^[10]
Jarvis Johnson	12	G	6'1"	185	Senior	Minneapolis, MN	Graduated
Brock Stull	31	G	6'4"	210	RS Senior	Rockford, IL	Graduated
Matz Stockman	35	C	7'0"	245	RS Senior	Oslo, Norway	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Alihan Demir	F	6'9"	232	Senior	Ankara, Turkey	Drexel

Recruiting class

2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Sam Freeman C	Justin, TX	Northwest High School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	223 lb (101 kg)	Apr 4, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: N/A
Bryan Greenlee PG	Gainesville, FL	The Rock School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jun 13, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A
Isaiah Ihnen SF	Böblingen, Germany	N/A	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Apr 23, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:     ESPN: N/A
Tre Williams SG	Mount Pleasant, UT	Wasatch Academy	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Nov 13, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2019 Minnesota Commits". Rivals.com. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Future recruits

2020–21 team recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Martice Mitchell PF	Chicago Heights, Illinois	Bloom High School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Oct 7, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 79
Jamal Mashburn Jr. CG	Miami, Florida	Brewster Academy	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Oct 14, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2021–22 team recruits

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Treyton Thompson PF	Alexandria, Minnesota	La Lumiere School	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Nov 30, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2019–20 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Payton Willis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Fayetteville Vanderbilt Fayetteville, AR G 1 Tre' Williams 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Wasatch Academy Dallas, TX G 3 Bryan Greenlee 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr The Rock School Gainesville, FL G 5 Marcus Carr (C) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So Montverde Academy Pittsburgh Toronto, ON G 10 Brady Rudrud (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Eden Prairie Eden Prairie, MN G 13 Hunt Conroy (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Jesuit New Orleans, LA F 21 Jarvis Omersa 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Orono Orono, MN G 22 Gabe Kalscheur 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So DeLaSalle Edina, MN F 24 Eric Curry   6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Jr Southwest Christian Academy Memphis, TN C 25 Daniel Oturu 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Cretin-Derham Hall Woodbury, MN F 30 Alihan Demir 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Ari College Drexel Ankara, Turkey C 32 Sam Freeman 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Northwest Dallas, TX F 35 Isaiah Ihnen 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr IBA Munich Böblingen, Germany F 42 Michael Hurt (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr John Marshall Rochester, MN	Head coach Richard Pitino (Providence) Assistant coach(es) Ed Conroy (The Citadel) Rob Jeter (UW–Platteville) Kyle Lindsted (Central Christian (KS)) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Oct 28, 2019* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus		Southwest Minnesota State	W 73–48		14 – Willis	16 – Oturu	6 – Tied	Williams Arena (7,387) Minneapolis, MN
Regular season
Nov 5, 2019* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus		Cleveland State	W 85–50	1–0	18 – Carr	10 – Oturu	8 – Tied	Williams Arena (8,693) Minneapolis, MN
Nov 9, 2019* 7:00 pm, BTN		vs. Oklahoma Sioux Falls Showcase	L 62–71	1–1	16 – Carr	10 – Carr	6 – Carr	Sanford Pentagon (3,445) Sioux Falls, SD
Nov 12, 2019* 7:30 pm, FS1		at Butler Gavitt Tipoff Games	L 56–64	1–2	24 – Oturu	10 – Oturu	7 – Carr	Hinkle Fieldhouse (7,879) Indianapolis, IN
Nov 15, 2019* 8:00 p.m., P12N		at Utah	L 69–73	1–3	21 – Oturu	18 – Oturu	6 – Carr	Jon M. Huntsman Center (12,760) Salt Lake City, UT
Nov 21, 2019* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus		Central Michigan	W 82-57	2–3	19 – Carr	12 – Oturu	7 – Carr	Williams Arena (8,566) Minneapolis, MN
Nov 24, 2019* 6:00 pm, BTN		North Dakota	W 79–56	3–3	18 – Kalscheur	9 – Omersa	6 – Carr	Williams Arena (8,854) Minneapolis, MN
Nov 29, 2019* 2:00 pm, FS1		DePaul	L 68–73	3–4	19 – Oturu	18 – Oturu	4 – Carr	Williams Arena (10,260) Minneapolis, MN
Dec 2, 2019* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2		Clemson ACC–Big Ten Challenge	W 78–60	4–4	24 – Carr	6 – Demir	9 – Carr	Williams Arena (10,148) Minneapolis, MN
Dec 9, 2019 7:00 pm, BTN		at Iowa	L 52–72	4–5 (0–1)	22 – Oturu	12 – Oturu	7 – Carr	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,442) Iowa City, IA
Dec 15, 2019 5:30 pm, BTN		No. 3 Ohio State	W 84–71	5–5 (1–1)	35 – Carr	13 – Oturu	7 – Carr	Williams Arena (9,854) Minneapolis, MN
Dec 21, 2019* 4:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. OSU BOK Center Basketball Showdown	W 86–66	6–5	34 – Kalscheur	8 – Oturu	8 – Carr	BOK Center (4,979) Tulsa, OK
Dec 28, 2019* 3:00 pm, BTN		FIU	W 89–62	7–5	23 – Kalscheur	20 – Oturu	8 – Carr	Williams Arena (10,546) Minneapolis, MN
Jan 2, 2020 6:00 pm, BTN		at Purdue	L 78–83 ^2OT	7–6 (1–2)	29 – Oturu	18 – Oturu	4 – Carr	Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN
Jan 5, 2020 6:30 pm, BTN		Northwestern	W 77–68	8–6 (2–2)	19 – Oturu	16 – Oturu	7 – Carr	Williams Arena (9,574) Minneapolis, MN
Jan 9, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPN2		at No. 8 Michigan State	L 58–74	8–7 (2–3)	22 – Oturu	10 – Oturu	6 – Carr	Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI
Jan 12, 2020 12:00 pm, BTN		No. 19 Michigan	W 75–67	9–7 (3–3)	30 – Oturu	7 – Oturu	12 – Carr	Williams Arena (10,453) Minneapolis, MN
Jan 15, 2020 8:00 pm, BTN		Penn State	W 75–69	10–7 (4–3)	27 – Carr	14 – Oturu	9 – Carr	Williams Arena (9,714) Minneapolis, MN
Jan 19, 2020 12:00 pm, BTN		at Rutgers	L 56–64	10–8 (5–4)	19 – Oturu	9 – Oturu	5 – Carr	Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,000) Piscataway, NJ
Jan 23, 2020 5:30 pm, FS1		at Ohio State	W 62–59	11–8 (5–4)	21 – Carr	7 – Carr	2 – Tied	Value City Arena (13,234) Columbus, OH
Jan 26, 2020 2:00 pm, FOX		No. 11 Michigan State	L 52–70	11–9 (5–5)	19 – Oturu	7 – Tied	6 – Carr	Williams Arena (12,114) Minneapolis, MN
Jan 30, 2020 6:30 pm, FS1		at No. 19 Illinois	L 51–59	11–10 (5–6)	20 – Oturu	9 – Carr	2 – Carr	State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL
Feb 5, 2020 8:00 pm, BTN		Wisconsin	W 70–52	12–10 (6–6)	21 – Willis	14 – Oturu	10 – Carr	Williams Arena (11,389) Minneapolis, MN
Feb 8, 2020 3:00 pm, BTN		at No. 22 Penn State	L 66–73	12–11 (6–7)	32 – Oturu	16 – Oturu	5 – Carr	Bryce Jordan Center (15,261) University Park, PA
Feb 16, 2020 12:00 pm, FS1		No. 21 Iowa	L 55–58	12–12 (6–8)	15 – Oturu	9 – Demir	6 – Carr	Williams Arena (14,625) Minneapolis, MN
Feb 19, 2020 8:00 pm, BTN		Indiana	L 56–68	12–13 (6–9)	12 – Tied	14 – Oturu	7 – Carr	Williams Arena (9,686) Minneapolis, MN
Feb 23, 2020 2:00 pm, BTN		at Northwestern	W 83–57	13–13 (7–9)	22 – Oturu	12 – Oturu	7 – Carr	Welsh-Ryan Arena (5,815) Evanston, IL
Feb 26, 2020 8:00 pm, BTN		No. 9 Maryland	L 73–74	13–14 (7–10)	28 – Oturu	11 – Oturu	7 – Carr	Williams Arena (9,252) Minneapolis, MN
Mar 1, 2020 5:30 pm, BTN		at Wisconsin	L 69–71	13–15 (7–11)	26 – Oturu	12 – Oturu	4 – Carr	Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI
Mar 4, 2020 6:00 pm, BTN		at Indiana	L 67–72	13–16 (7–12)	24 – Oturu	16 – Oturu	5 – Carr	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN
Mar 8, 2020 12:00 pm, BTN		Nebraska	W 107–75	14–16 (8–12)	26 – Kalscheur	10 – Demir	11 – Carr	Williams Arena (9,984) Minneapolis, MN
Big Ten tournament
Mar 11, 2020 6:00 pm, BTN	(12)	vs. (13) Northwestern First Round	W 74–57	15–16	24 – Oturu	8 – Tied	5 – Carr	Bankers Life Fieldhouse  Indianapolis, IN
Remaining Games Canceled
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

References

1. "Northwestern vs. Minnesota - Game Recap - March 11, 2020 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
2. Solari, Chris. "March Madness cancellation inevitable, unavoidable: 'Bigger than basketball'". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
3. Almasy, Steve. "The NCAA is canceling March Madness". CNN. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
4. "2020 NCAA Tournament canceled due to growing threat of coronavirus pandemic". CBSSports.com. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
5. "Gophers shake off slow start to force overtime, beat Penn State in Big Ten basketball tournament". Star Tribune. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
6. "Minnesota knocks Purdue basketball out of Big Ten tournament". Journal & Courier. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
7. "Recap: Michigan rolls over Minnesota, will play Michigan State in Big Ten final". Detroit News. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
8. "Minnesota vs. Louisville - Game Recap - March 21, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
9. "Minnesota vs. Michigan State - Game Recap - March 23, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
10. Greder, Andy (May 15, 2019). "Former Gophers guard Isaiah Washington to transfer to Iona". Twincities.com. Retrieved June 29, 2019.