2022–23 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gophers were led by second-year head coach Ben Johnson and played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 9–22, 2–17 in Big Ten play to finish in last place. They defeated Nebraska in the first round of the Big Ten tournament before losing to Maryland in the second round.

2022–23 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	9–22 (2–17 Big Ten)
Head coach	Ben Johnson (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Dave Thorson (2nd season) Jason Kemp (2nd season) Marcus Jenkins (2nd season)
Home arena	Williams Arena
Seasons ← 2021–22 2023–24 →

2022–23 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 3 Purdue †	15	–	5		.750			29	–	6		.829
No. 21 Indiana	12	–	8		.600			23	–	12		.657
Northwestern	12	–	8		.600			22	–	12		.647
Michigan State	11	–	8		.579			21	–	13		.618
Maryland	11	–	9		.550			22	–	13		.629
Illinois	11	–	9		.550			20	–	13		.606
Iowa	11	–	9		.550			19	–	14		.576
Michigan	11	–	9		.550			18	–	16		.529
Penn State	10	–	10		.500			23	–	14		.622
Rutgers	10	–	10		.500			19	–	15		.559
Wisconsin	9	–	11		.450			20	–	15		.571
Nebraska	9	–	11		.450			16	–	16		.500
Ohio State	5	–	15		.250			16	–	19		.457
Minnesota	2	–	17		.105			9	–	22		.290
† Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Gophers finished the 2021–22 season 13–17, 4–16 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for last place. The team was almost entirely remade from the prior season, with 10 players transferring out of the program following the firing of former head coach Richard Pitino.^[1]

The Gophers began the season well, compiling a 10–1 record to begin the season,^[2] including the team's first road win against Michigan in Ann Arbor since 2011.^[3] The Gophers were unable to continue that success as the season wore on, losing 16 of their final 19 games and finishing the season with a 60–51 loss to Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.^[4]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Payton Willis	0	G	6'4"	200	Graduate Student	Fayetteville, AR	Graduated
Eric Curry	1	F	6'9"	240	RS Senior	Memphis, TN	Graduated
Abdoulaye Thiam	2	G	6'3"	180	Freshman	Orlando, FL	Transferred to High Point
Joey Kern	3	G	6'1"	170	Graduate Student	Norwalk, IA	Walk-on; graduated
Luke Loewe	12	G	6'4"	185	Graduate Student	Fond du Lac, WI	Graduated
Charlie Daniels	15	F/C	6'9"	230	Graduate Student	Jacksonville, FL	Graduated
Eylijah Stephens	20	G	6'3"	175	Graduate Student	Plantation, FL	Graduated
Danny Ogele	22	F	6'7"	220	Graduate Student	Chicago, IL	Graduated
Sean Sutherlin	24	G	6'5"	200	RS Senior	New Brighton, MN	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Taurus Samuels	0	G	6'1"	190	Graduate Student	Oceanside, CA	Dartmouth
Dawson Garcia	3	F	6'11"	235	Sophomore	Prior Lake, MN	North Carolina
Ta'Lon Cooper	55	G	6'4"	190	Junior	Roebuck, SC	Morehead State

Recruiting classes

2022 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Braeden Carrington SG	Brooklyn Park, MN	Park Center High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Aug 4, 2021
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (80)
Pharrel Payne PF	Cottage Grove, MN	Park Senior High School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Aug 22, 2021
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (75)
Joshua Ola-Joseph PF	Osseo, MN	Osseo Senior High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Aug 30, 2021
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (75)
Jaden Henley SF	Ontario, CA	Colony High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Dec 10, 2021
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:
Kadyn Betts SF	Pueblo, CO	Central High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jul 1, 2022
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:
Overall recruit ranking:    Rivals: 48    247Sports: 35
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: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved June 27, 2022.

2023 Recruiting class

College recruiting information (2023)
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Cam Christie SG	Rolling Meadows, IL	Rolling Meadows High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Jul 29, 2022
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
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: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved October 28, 2022.

Roster

2022–23 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Taurus Samuels 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) GS Vista Dartmouth Oceanside, CA F 1 Joshua Ola-Joseph 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Compass Prep Brooklyn Park, MN F 3 Dawson Garcia 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Prior Lake North Carolina Prior Lake, MN G 4 Braeden Carrington 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Park Center Brooklyn Park, MN F 5 Isaiah Ihnen  6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Jr IBA Munich Böblingen, Germany F 10 Jamison Battle 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr DeLaSalle George Washington Robbinsdale, MN G 11 Jackson Purcell (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Fr Eastview Apple Valley, MN F 15 Kadyn Betts  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Central Pueblo, CO F 21 Pharrel Payne 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Fr Park Cottage Grove, MN F 23 Parker Fox  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Mahtomedi Northern State Mahtomedi, MN G/F 24 Jaden Henley 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Colony Ontario, CA G 25 Will Ramberg (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Cook County McGill Grand Marais, MN C 42 Treyton Thompson 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So La Lumiere School Glenwood, MN G 55 Ta'Lon Cooper 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Dorman Morehead State Roebuck, SC	Head coach Ben Johnson (Minnesota) Assistant coach(es) Dave Thorson (Hamline) Jason Kemp (UW–La Crosse) Marcus Jenkins (Air Force) 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
November 2, 2022* 7:00 p.m., BTN+		St. Olaf	W 71–55		14 – Ola-Joseph	9 – Thompson	5 – Cooper	Williams Arena (8,869) Minneapolis, MN
Regular season
November 7, 2022* 8:00 p.m., BTN+		Western Michigan	W 61–60	1–0	23 – Garcia	8 – Tied	10 – Cooper	Williams Arena (8,119) Minneapolis, MN
November 11, 2022* 6:00 p.m., BTN+		St. Francis Brooklyn	W 72–54	2–0	16 – Henley	8 – Tied	6 – Cooper	Williams Arena (8,232) Minneapolis, MN
November 14, 2022* 6:00 p.m., BTN		DePaul Gavitt Tipoff Games	L 53–69	2–1	19 – Garcia	6 – Garcia	6 – Cooper	Williams Arena (8,426) Minneapolis, MN
November 17, 2022* 8:00 p.m., BTN		Central Michigan SoCal Challenge campus-site game	W 68–60	3–1	17 – Garcia	7 – Tied	8 – Cooper	Williams Arena (8,096) Minneapolis, MN
November 21, 2022* 9:30 p.m., CBSSN		vs. Cal Baptist SoCal Challenge Surf Division semifinals	W 62–61 OT	4–1	15 – Payne	13 – Payne	7 – Cooper	The Pavilion at JSerra (900) San Juan Capistrano, CA
November 23, 2022* 9:30 p.m., CBSSN		vs. UNLV SoCal Challenge Surf Division championship	L 62–71	4–2	17 – Battle	9 – Battle	7 – Cooper	The Pavilion at JSerra  San Juan Capistrano, CA
November 28, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Virginia Tech ACC–Big Ten Challenge	L 57–67	4–3	13 – Tied	6 – Payne	5 – Cooper	Cassell Coliseum (7,870) Blacksburg, VA
December 4, 2022 4:00 p.m., BTN		at No. 5 Purdue	L 70–89	4–4 (0–1)	21 – Battle	6 – Carrington	8 – Cooper	Mackey Arena (14,876) West Lafayette, IN
December 8, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN		Michigan	L 75–90	4–5 (0–2)	16 – Cooper	5 – Tied	5 – Cooper	Williams Arena (10,004) Minneapolis, MN
December 11, 2022* 7:30 p.m., BTN		No. 23 Mississippi State	L 51–69	4–6	20 – Garcia	10 – Carrington	4 – Cooper	Williams Arena (8,664) Minneapolis, MN
December 14, 2022* 7:00 p.m., BTN		Arkansas–Pine Bluff	W 72–56	5–6	20 – Carrington	7 – Garcia	8 – Cooper	Williams Arena (8,127) Minneapolis, MN
December 22, 2022* 12:00 p.m., BTN+		Chicago State	W 58–55	6–6	18 – Garcia	7 – Carrington	9 – Cooper	Williams Arena (8,736) Minneapolis, MN
December 29, 2022* 7:00 p.m., BTN+		Alcorn State	Canceled due to travel complications at Alcorn State					Williams Arena  Minneapolis, MN
January 3, 2023 8:00 p.m., BTN		at No. 14 Wisconsin	L 60–63	6–7 (0–3)	16 – Cooper	9 – Tied	3 – Cooper	Kohl Center (13,850) Madison, WI
January 7, 2023 11:00 a.m., BTN		Nebraska	L 79–81 OT	6–8 (0–4)	20 – Battle	15 – Garcia	4 – Cooper	Williams Arena (10,948) Minneapolis, MN
January 12, 2023 5:30 p.m., FS1		at Ohio State	W 70–67	7–8 (1–4)	28 – Garcia	11 – Cooper	4 – Cooper	Value City Arena (11,202) Columbus, OH
January 16, 2023 5:00 p.m., BTN		Illinois	L 60–78	7–9 (1–5)	17 – Garcia	7 – Payne	4 – Tied	Williams Arena (9,874) Minneapolis, MN
January 19, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN2		No. 3 Purdue	L 39–61	7–10 (1–6)	13 – Ola–Joseph	6 – Tied	2 – Tied	Williams Arena (9,251) Minneapolis, MN
January 22, 2023 12:00 p.m., BTN		at Michigan	L 56–60	7–11 (1–7)	15 – Cooper	10 – Cooper	3 – Tied	Crisler Center (12,092) Ann Arbor, MI
January 25, 2023 8:00 p.m., BTN		Indiana	L 57–61	7–12 (1–8)	20 – Battle	8 – Thompson	6 – Cooper	Williams Arena (9,276) Minneapolis, MN
January 28, 2023 11:00 a.m., BTN		at Northwestern	L 61–81	7–13 (1–9)	20 – Battle	7 – Ramberg	5 – Cooper	Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,064) Evanston, IL
February 1, 2023 7:30 p.m., BTN		at Rutgers	L 55–90	7–14 (1–10)	17 – Ola-Joseph	9 – Cooper	7 – Cooper	Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ
February 4, 2023 8:00 p.m., BTN		Maryland	L 46–81	7–15 (1–11)	14 – Payne	7 – Henley	4 – Tied	Williams Arena (9,255) Minneapolis, MN
February 12, 2023 12:00 p.m., FS1		Iowa	L 56–68	7–16 (1–12)	11 – Ola-Joseph	7 – Tied	7 – Cooper	Williams Arena (10,683) Minneapolis, MN
February 15, 2023 6:00 p.m., BTN		at Michigan State	Canceled due to shooting at Michigan State					Breslin Center  East Lansing, MI
February 18, 2023 6:00 p.m., BTN		Penn State	L 69–76	7–17 (1–13)	23 – Garcia	10 – Payne	8 – Cooper	Williams Arena (11,693) Minneapolis, MN
February 20, 2023 8:00 p.m., BTN		at Illinois Rescheduled from February 7	L 69–78	7–18 (1–14)	31 – Battle	8 – Garcia	6 – Cooper	State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL
February 22, 2023 6:00 p.m., BTN		at Maryland	L 70–88	7–19 (1–15)	17 – Payne	8 – Garcia	8 – Cooper	Xfinity Center (14,263) College Park, MD
February 25, 2023 2:30 p.m., BTN		at Nebraska	L 67–78	7–20 (1–16)	12 – Tied	14 – Garcia	6 – Cooper	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,000) Lincoln, NE
March 2, 2023 6:00 p.m., FS1		Rutgers	W 75–74	8–20 (2–16)	20 – Battle	10 – Payne	11 – Cooper	Williams Arena (9,010) Minneapolis, MN
March 5, 2023 6:30 p.m., FS1		Wisconsin	L 67–71	8–21 (2–17)	19 – Garcia	8 – Carrington	8 – Cooper	Williams Arena (12,276) Minneapolis, MN
Big Ten tournament
March 8, 2023 8:00 p.m., BTN	(14)	vs. (11) Nebraska First round	W 78–75	9–21	18 – Garcia	13 – Garcia	12 – Cooper	United Center (15,405) Chicago, IL
March 9, 2023 8:00 p.m., BTN	(14)	vs. (6) Maryland Second round	L 54–70	9–22	17 – Payne	9 – Payne	6 – Cooper	United Center (16,104) Chicago, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.