2018–19 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gophers, led by sixth-year head coach Richard Pitino, played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota as members of the Big Ten Conference. The team was led by 2019 First team All-Big Ten selection Jordan Murphy and third team selection Amir Coffey.^[1] They finished the season 22-14, 9-11 in Big Ten Play to finish in 7th place. They defeated Penn State and Purdue to advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament where they lost to Michigan. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Louisville in the First Round before losing in the Second Round to Michigan State.

2018–19 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
Vancouver Showcase champions
NCAA tournament, Second Round
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	22–14 (9–11 Big Ten)
Head coach	Richard Pitino (6th season)
Assistant coaches	Ed Conroy (3rd season) Rob Jeter (1st season) Kyle Lindsted (1st season)
Home arena	Williams Arena
Seasons ← 2017–18 2019–20 →

2018–19 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 5 Michigan State †	16	–	4		.800			32	–	7		.821
No. 13 Purdue	16	–	4		.800			26	–	10		.722
No. 8 Michigan	15	–	5		.750			30	–	7		.811
No. 21 Wisconsin	14	–	6		.700			23	–	11		.676
Maryland	13	–	7		.650			23	–	11		.676
Iowa	10	–	10		.500			23	–	12		.657
Minnesota	9	–	11		.450			22	–	14		.611
Ohio State	8	–	12		.400			20	–	15		.571
Indiana	8	–	12		.400			19	–	16		.543
Penn State	7	–	13		.350			14	–	18		.438
Illinois	7	–	13		.350			12	–	21		.364
Rutgers	7	–	13		.350			14	–	17		.452
Nebraska	6	–	14		.300			19	–	17		.528
Northwestern	4	–	16		.200			13	–	19		.406
† 2019 Big Ten tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Golden Gophers finished the 2017–18 season 15–17, 4–14 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for 11th place. As the No. 11 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost in the first round to Rutgers.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Nate Mason	2	G	6'2"	190	Senior	Decatur, GA	Graduated
Jamir Harris	4	G	6'0"	190	Freshman	North Brunswick, NJ	Transferred to American
Davonte Fitzgerald	20	F	6'8"	225	RS Senior	Atlanta, GA	Transferred to Stephen F. Austin
Bakary Konaté	21	C	6'11"	240	Senior	Bamako, Mali	Graduated
Reggie Lynch	22	C	6'10"	265	RS Senior	Edina, MN	Dismissed from school[2]
Gaston Diedhiou	41	F	6'10"	245	Senior	Dakar, Senegal	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Payton Willis	G	6'4"	182	Junior	Fayetteville, AR	Vanderbilt
Marcus Carr	G	6'1	185	Sophomore	Toronto, ON	Pittsburgh
Brock Stull	G	6'4	194	RS Senior	Rockford, IL	Milwaukee

2018 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Daniel Oturu C	St. Paul, MN	Cretin-Derham Hall	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	216 lb (98 kg)	Jan 19, 2017
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Gabe Kalscheur SG	Minneapolis, MN	DeLaSalle High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	Jul 25, 2017
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Jarvis Omersa PF	Orono, MN	Orono High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jul 18, 2017
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, 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: "2018 Minnesota Commits". Rivals. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.

Roster

2018–19 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Payton Willis (I)  6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Jr Fayetteville Vanderbilt Fayetteville, AR G 1 Dupree McBrayer 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Sunrise Christian Academy Queens, NY G 2 Marcus Carr (I)  6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Montverde Academy Pittsburgh Toronto, ON F 3 Jordan Murphy (C) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Sr Brennan San Antonio, TX G 5 Amir Coffey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Hopkins Hopkins, MN G 10 Brady Rudrud (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Eden Prairie Eden Prairie, MN G 11 Isaiah Washington 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So St. Raymond Harlem, NY G 13 Hunt Conroy (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Jesuit New Orleans, LA F 21 Jarvis Omersa 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Orono Orono, MN G 22 Gabe Kalscheur 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr DeLaSalle Edina, MN F 24 Eric Curry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS So Southwest Christian Academy Memphis, TN C 25 Daniel Oturu 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Cretin-Derham Hall Woodbury, MN G 31 Brock Stull 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Sr Boylan Catholic Milwaukee Rockford, IL C 35 Matz Stockman 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Sr Canarias Academy Louisville Oslo, Norway F 42 Michael Hurt 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr 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

The 2018–19 season will mark the first time in Big Ten history that the teams will play a 20-game conference schedule, setting a precedent for all Division I basketball.^[3] The new schedule will also include a regional component to increase the frequency of games among teams in similar areas. Over the course of a six-year cycle (12 playing opportunities), in-state rivals will play each other 12 times, regional opponents will play 10 times, and all other teams will play nine times.^[3] Three in-state series will be guaranteed home-and-homes: Illinois and Northwestern, Indiana and Purdue, and Michigan and Michigan State will always play twice.^[4]

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN+		Minnesota–Duluth	W 109–53	–	18 – Washington	10 – Oturu	6 – Stull	Williams Arena (7,481) Minneapolis, MN
Regular season
November 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN+		Omaha	W 104–76	1–0	18 – Coffey	10 – Murphy	11 – Washington	Williams Arena (8,883) Minneapolis, MN
November 12, 2018* 8:00 pm, BTN		Utah	W 78–69	2–0	19 – Kalscheur	17 – Murphy	6 – Tied	Williams Arena (11,554) Minneapolis, MN
November 18, 2018* 9:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. Texas A&M Vancouver Showcase	W 69–64	3–0	14 – Murphy	9 – Oturu	3 – Washington	Vancouver Convention Centre (3,107) Vancouver, BC
November 20, 2018* 8:00 pm, BTN		vs. Santa Clara Vancouver Showcase	W 80–66	4–0	25 – Kalscheur	17 – Murphy	6 – Murphy	Vancouver Convention Centre (3,070) Vancouver, BC
November 21, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN		vs. Washington Vancouver Showcase	W 68–66	5–0	18 – Murphy	11 – Murphy	2 – Tied	Vancouver Convention Centre (1,680) Vancouver, BC
November 26, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPN2		at Boston College ACC–Big Ten Challenge	L 56–68	5–1	16 – Murphy	11 – Murphy	3 – Washington	Conte Forum (4,389) Chestnut Hill, MA
November 30, 2018* 9:00 pm, BTN		vs. Oklahoma State U.S. Bank Stadium Classic	W 83–76	6–1	24 – Murphy	16 – Murphy	4 – Washington	U.S. Bank Stadium (12,357) Minneapolis, MN
December 2, 2018 6:00 pm, BTN		at No. 16 Ohio State	L 59–79	6–2 (0–1)	19 – Coffey	7 – Tied	3 – Washington	Value City Arena (11,668) Columbus, OH
December 5, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN		No. 24 Nebraska	W 85–78	7–2 (1–1)	32 – Coffey	13 – Murphy	6 – Coffey	Williams Arena (9,624) Minneapolis, MN
December 8, 2018* 3:00 pm, BTN+		Arkansas State	W 72–56	8–2	19 – Oturu	12 – Tied	6 – Coffey	Williams Arena (10,257) Minneapolis, MN
December 11, 2018* 8:00 pm, BTN		North Florida	W 80–71	9–2	20 – Murphy	18 – Murphy	13 – Washington	Williams Arena (9,212) Minneapolis, MN
December 21, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN+		North Carolina A&T	W 86–67	10–2	30 – Murphy	16 – Murphy	10 – Washington	Williams Arena (10,144) Minneapolis, MN
December 30, 2018* 3:00 pm, ESPNU		Mount St. Mary's	W 71–53	11–2	15 – McBrayer	10 – Oturu	3 – Tied	Williams Arena (10,767) Minneapolis, MN
January 3, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN		at No. 22 Wisconsin	W 59–52	12–2 (2–1)	21 – Coffey	11 – Murphy	3 – Coffey	Kohl Center (16,687) Madison, WI
January 8, 2019 6:00 pm, BTN		Maryland	L 67–82	12–3 (2–2)	16 – Coffey	11 – Oturu	5 – Coffey	Williams Arena (9,919) Minneapolis, MN
January 12, 2019 11:30 am, BTN		Rutgers	W 88–70	13–3 (3–2)	29 – Coffey	16 – Murphy	10 – McBrayer	Williams Arena (10,837) Minneapolis, MN
January 16, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN		at Illinois	L 68–95	13–4 (3–3)	17 – Oturu	8 – Oturu	4 – Washington	State Farm Center (11,503) Champaign, IL
January 19, 2019 7:30 pm, BTN		Penn State	W 65–64	14–4 (4–3)	19 – Murphy	21 – Murphy	6 – Murphy	Williams Arena (11,042) Minneapolis, MN
January 22, 2019 6:00 pm, BTN		at No. 5 Michigan	L 57–59	14–5 (4–4)	15 – Murphy	11 – Murphy	4 – McBrayer	Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI
January 27, 2019 4:00 pm, FS1		No. 19 Iowa	W 92–87	15–5 (5–4)	23 – Tied	11 – Murphy	7 – McBrayer	Williams Arena (11,582) Minneapolis, MN
January 30, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN		Illinois	W 86–75	16–5 (6–4)	18 – Coffey	10 – Murphy	6 – Coffey	Williams Arena (9,565) Minneapolis, MN
February 3, 2019 11:00 am, BTN		at No. 17 Purdue	L 63–73	16–6 (6–5)	22 – Coffey	10 – Murphy	5 – Washington	Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN
February 6, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN		No. 19 Wisconsin	L 51–56	16–7 (6–6)	16 – Murphy	19 – Murphy	5 – McBrayer	Williams Arena (14,625) Minneapolis, MN
February 9, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN		at No. 9 Michigan State	L 55–79	16–8 (6–7)	17 – Kalscheur	7 – Oturu	4 – Coffey	Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI
February 13, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN		at Nebraska	L 61–62	16–9 (6–8)	19 – Murphy	13 – Murphy	4 – McBrayer	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,642) Lincoln, NE
February 16, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN2		Indiana	W 84–63	17–9 (7–8)	23 – Murphy	11 – Murphy	7 – Coffey	Williams Arena (11,639) Minneapolis, MN
February 21, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN		No. 7 Michigan	L 60–69	17-10 (7-9)	18 – Tied	15 – Murphy	4 – Coffey	Williams Arena (11,084) Minneapolis, MN
February 24, 2019 5:30 pm, BTN		at Rutgers	L 64–68	17–11 (7–10)	21 – Kalscheur	8 – Oturu	3 – Coffey	Louis Brown Athletic Center (7,270) Piscataway, NJ
February 28, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2		at Northwestern	W 62–50	18–11 (8–10)	32 – Coffey	12 – Coffey	3 – Coffey	Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,869) Evanston, IL
March 5, 2019 7:00 pm, BTN		No. 11 Purdue	W 73–69	19–11 (9–10)	32 – Coffey	14 – Murphy	4 – Tied	Williams Arena (10,062) Minneapolis, MN
March 8, 2019 5:30 pm, FS1		at No. 24 Maryland	L 60–69	19–12 (9–11)	23 – Coffey	11 – Oturu	6 – Coffey	Xfinity Center (16,662) College Park, MD
Big Ten tournament
March 14, 2019 6:00 pm, BTN	(7)	vs. (10) Penn State Second Round	W 77–72 OT	20–12	22 – Coffey	14 – Murphy	5 – Tied	United Center (16,207) Chicago, IL
March 15, 2019 6:00 pm, BTN	(7)	vs. (2) No. 13 Purdue Quarterfinals	W 75–73	21–12	27 – Murphy	10 – Oturu	4 – Tied	United Center (18,575) Chicago, IL
March 16, 2019 2:30 pm, CBS	(7)	vs. (3) No. 10 Michigan Semifinals	L 49–76	21–13	14 – Coffey	6 – Murphy	7 – McBrayer	United Center (18,468) Chicago, IL
NCAA tournament
Mar 21, 2019* 11:15 am, CBS	(10 E)	vs. (7 E) Louisville First Round	W 86–76	22–13	24 – Kalscheur	8 – Kalscheur	4 – McBrayer	Wells Fargo Arena (16,512) Des Moines, IA
Mar 23, 2019* 6:45 pm, CBS	(10 E)	vs. (2 E) No. 5 Michigan State Second Round	L 50–70	22–14	27 – Coffey	7 – Omersa	4 – Coffey	Wells Fargo Arena (16,770) Des Moines, IA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

Main article: 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP				RV		RV	RV			RV	RV									Not released
Coaches			RV	RV						RV	RV									RV

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings