2017–18 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gophers were led by fifth-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 15–17, 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.

2017–18 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
Conference	Big Ten Conference
2017–18 record	15–17 (4–14 Big Ten)
Head coach	Richard Pitino (5th season)
Assistant coaches	Ed Conroy (2nd season) Ben Johnson (5th season) Kimani Young (5th season)
Home arena	Williams Arena

2017–18 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 5 Michigan State	16	–	2		.889			30	–	5		.857
No. 11 Purdue	15	–	3		.833			30	–	7		.811
No. 17 Ohio State	15	–	3		.833			25	–	9		.735
No. 7 Michigan †	13	–	5		.722			33	–	8		.805
Nebraska	13	–	5		.722			22	–	11		.667
Penn State	9	–	9		.500			26	–	13		.667
Indiana	9	–	9		.500			16	–	15		.516
Maryland	8	–	10		.444			19	–	13		.594
Wisconsin	7	–	11		.389			15	–	18		.455
Northwestern	6	–	12		.333			15	–	17		.469
Minnesota	4	–	14		.222			15	–	17		.469
Illinois	4	–	14		.222			14	–	18		.438
Iowa	4	–	14		.222			14	–	19		.424
Rutgers	3	–	15		.167			15	–	19		.441
† 2018 Big Ten Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Golden Gophers finished the 2016–17 season 24–10, 11–7 in Big Ten play to finish in fourth place. In the Big Ten Tournament, they beat Michigan State in the quarterfinals before losing to Michigan in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 5 seed. The bid marked their first trip to the Tournament since 2013.[1] In the First Round, they were upset by No. 12-seeded Middle Tennessee.

Head coach Richard Pitino was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.[2] Reggie Lynch was named defensive player of the year.[3] Nate Mason was named to the All-Big Ten First Team.[4]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Akeem Springs	0	G	6'4"	210	RS Senior	Waukegan, IL	Graduated
Darin Haugh	10	G	5'10"	170	RS Senior	Prior Lake, MN	Graduated, walk-on
Stephon Sharp	15	G	6'3"	195	Sophomore	Bloomington, MN	Retired from basketball, walk-on
Ahmad Gilbert	32	F	6'6"	210	Sophomore	Philadelphia, PA	Transferred to Rider

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Matz Stockman	35	C	7'0"	240	Senior	Oslo, Norway	Transferred from Louisville. Under NCAA transfer rules, Stockman will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.

Recruiting classes

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Isaiah Washington PG	Bronx, NY	St. Raymond School For Boys	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	162 lb (73 kg)	Sep 11, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jamir Harris CG	Elizabeth, NJ	The Patrick School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sep 21, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   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: "2017 Minnesota Commits". Rivals.com. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	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
	Recruiting star 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
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jarvis Thomas PF	Orono, MN	Orono High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jul 18, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   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: "2018 Minnesota Commits". Rivals.com. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Preseason

In its annual preseason preview, the Blue Ribbon Yearbook ranked Minnesota No. 18 in the country.[5]

Roster

2017–18 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 5 Amir Coffey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Hopkins Hopkins, MN G 13 Hunt Conroy (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Jesuit New Orleans, LA F 24 Eric Curry   6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Southwest Christian Academy Memphis, TN F 41 Gaston Diedhiou 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr Canarias Academy Dakar, Senegal F 20 Davonte Fitzgerald 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Sr Tucker Texas A&M Atlanta, GA G 4 Jamir Harris 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr The Patrick School North Brunswick, NJ F 42 Michael Hurt 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So John Marshall Rochester, MN C 21 Bakary Konaté 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Sunrise Christian Academy Bamako, Mali C 22 Reggie Lynch (S) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 265 lb (120 kg) RS Sr Edina Illinois State Edina, MN G 2 Nate Mason (C) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Arlington Country Day Decatur, GA G 1 Dupree McBrayer 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Sunrise Christian Academy Queens, NY F 3 Jordan Murphy (C) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Jr Brennan San Antonio, TX G 10 Brady Rudrud (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Eden Prairie Eden Prairie, MN C 35 Matz Stockman (I)  7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Canarias Academy Louisville Oslo, Norway G 11 Isaiah Washington 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr St. Raymond Harlem, NY	Head coach Richard Pitino (Providence) Assistant coach(es) Ed Conroy (The Citadel) Ben Johnson (Minnesota) Kimani Young (UTEP) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Regular season

Alabama game - playing five on three

One of their most notable games of the season came on November 25, 2017 against No. 25 Alabama. During that game, Alabama's bench players left the bench to scuffle with Minnesota players midway through the second half.[6] Because the players left the bench, every one of the players was ejected leaving Alabama with only five eligible players. Not long after the scuffle, Alabama's Dazon Ingram fouled out with 11:37 left in the game, which left Alabama with only four players.[7] Shortly thereafter, Alabama's John Petty turned his ankle and was unable return for the rest of the game, leaving Alabama with only three players with 10:41 left in the match. While Minnesota was up by as many as 15 points under three-on-five competition, their lead diminished to as little as three points at one point due, in part, to Collin Sexton's 40-point game.[8] However, the Golden Gophers would ultimately win 89–84 over the short-handed Crimson Tide. The game would be considered one of the strangest games in college basketball history.[9]

Reggie Lynch suspension

On January 5, 2018, Reggie Lynch was suspended from the University of Minnesota due to multiple sexual assault allegations that had occurred in 2016.[10] The school's Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Office suspended Lynch from the University until 2020.[11] Lynch appealed the finding and cannot play in any games, but was allowed to practice with the team.[12]

Schedule and results

The 2018 Big Ten Tournament will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.[13] Due to the Big East's use of that venue for their conference tournament, the Big Ten Tournament will take place one week earlier than usual, ending the week before Selection Sunday.[14] The Gophers were initially slated to hold only one public exhibition game against Concordia-St. Paul, in addition to a closed scrimmage against Creighton. However, in response to the devastation from hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, the NCAA announced that it would allow Division I basketball teams to apply for a waiver to play a third exhibition game if the proceeds were donated to charity.[15] The Gophers took advantage of the opportunity, scheduling an additional exhibition game against Wisconsin-Green Bay. The game was scheduled to be played at Maturi Pavilion, with all proceeds being donated to the American Red Cross hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico.[16]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 2, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus	No. 15	Concordia-St. Paul	W 106–58		22 – Murphy	11 – Murphy	6 – Coffey	Williams Arena (9,838) Minneapolis, MN
Nov 5, 2017* 12:00 pm, BTN Plus	No. 15	Green Bay ARC hurricane relief benefit	W 115–86		26 – Coffey	11 – Murphy	6 – Washington	Maturi Pavilion (2,381) Minneapolis, MN
Regular season
Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus	No. 15	USC Upstate	W 92–77	1–0	35 – Murphy	15 – Murphy	5 – Washington	Williams Arena (10,836) Minneapolis, MN
Nov 13, 2017* 5:30 pm, FS1	No. 14	at Providence Gavitt Tipoff Games	W 86–74	2–0	23 – Murphy	14 – Murphy	2 – Tied	Dunkin' Donuts Center (10,214) Providence, RI
Nov 15, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus	No. 14	Niagara	W 107–81	3–0	18 – Tied	12 – Lynch	11 – Mason	Williams Arena (10,093) Minneapolis, MN
Nov 19, 2017* 3:30 pm, FS1	No. 14	Western Carolina Barclays Center Classic	W 92–64	4–0	23 – Murphy	11 – Murphy	4 – Tied	Williams Arena (11,107) Minneapolis, MN
Nov 21, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN	No. 14	Alabama A&M Barclays Center Classic	W 100–57	5–0	20 – Murphy	10 – Murphy	8 – Tied	Williams Arena (10,704) Minneapolis, MN
Nov 24, 2017* 11:00 am, Stadium	No. 14	vs. Massachusetts Barclays Center Classic	W 69–51	6–0	16 – Murphy	11 – Murphy	6 – Mason	Steinberg Wellness Center (1,350) Brooklyn, NY
Nov 25, 2017* 4:00 pm, Stadium	No. 14	vs. No. 25 Alabama Barclays Center Classic	W 89–84	7–0	20 – Mason	14 – Murphy	8 – McBrayer	Barclays Center (3,469) Brooklyn, NY
Nov 29, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 12	No. 10 Miami (FL) ACC–Big Ten Challenge	L 81–86	7–1	23 – Coffey	14 – Murphy	5 – Mason	Williams Arena (14,625) Minneapolis, MN
Dec 3, 2017 5:00 pm, BTN	No. 12	Rutgers	W 89–67	8–1 (1–0)	26 – Mason	16 – Murphy	7 – Tied	Williams Arena (11,097) Minneapolis, MN
Dec 5, 2017 8:00 pm, BTN	No. 14	at Nebraska	L 68–78	8–2 (1–1)	20 – Mason	12 – Murphy	3 – Mason	Pinnacle Bank Arena (13,847) Lincoln, NE
Dec 9, 2017* 4:45 pm, SECN	No. 14	at Arkansas	L 79–95	8–3	20 – Murphy	10 – Murphy	6 – Mason	Bud Walton Arena (17,583) Fayetteville, AR
Dec 11, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN		Drake	W 68–67	9–3	24 – Murphy	18 – Murphy	5 – Mason	Williams Arena (11,319) Minneapolis, MN
Dec 21, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus		Oral Roberts	W 77–63	10–3	17 – Murphy	10 – Murphy	7 – Coffey	Williams Arena (11,234) Minneapolis, MN
Dec 23, 2017* 2:30 pm, BTN		Florida Atlantic	W 95–60	11–3	17 – Mason	11 – Murphy	8 – Coffey	Williams Arena (12,357) Minneapolis, MN
Dec 30, 2017* 1:00 pm, BTN		Harvard	W 65–55	12–3	15 – McBrayer	13 – Washington	5 – Coffey	Williams Arena (14,625) Minneapolis, MN
Jan 3, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN		Illinois	W 77–67	13–3 (2–1)	17 – Tied	17 – Murphy	6 – Mason	Williams Arena (11,597) Minneapolis, MN
Jan 6, 2018 4:15 pm, ESPN2		Indiana	L 71–75	13–4 (2–2)	22 – Mason	10 – Murphy	9 – Mason	Williams Arena (12,956) Minneapolis, MN
Jan 10, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN		at Northwestern	L 60–83	13–5 (2–3)	14 – McBrayer	5 – Washington	5 – Tied	Allstate Arena (5,514) Rosemont, IL
Jan 13, 2018 11:00 am, ESPN2		No. 5 Purdue	L 47–81	13–6 (2–4)	11 – Washington	7 – Konate	3 – Tied	Williams Arena (12,459) Minneapolis, MN
Jan 15, 2018 6:00 pm, BTN		at Penn State	W 95–84 ^OT	14–6 (3–4)	25 – Mason	19 – Murphy	3 – Mason	Bryce Jordan Center (6,361) University Park, PA
Jan 18, 2018 7:30 pm, FS1		at Maryland	L 66–77	14–7 (3–5)	19 – Murphy	14 – Murphy	5 – Tied	Xfinity Center (13,736) College Park, MD
Jan 20, 2018 11:00 am, BTN		vs. No. 22 Ohio State B1G Super Saturday	L 49–67	14–8 (3–6)	13 – Murphy	9 – Mason	2 – 3 tied	Madison Square Garden (4,136) New York City, NY
Jan 23, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN		Northwestern	L 69–77	14–9 (3–7)	25 – Mason	9 – Murphy	9 – Mason	Williams Arena (14,625) Minneapolis, MN
Jan 30, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN		at Iowa	L 80–94	14–10 (3–8)	21 – Murphy	17 – Murphy	7 – Washington	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,371) Iowa City, IA
Feb 3, 2018 1:30 pm, FOX		at No. 24 Michigan	L 73–76 ^OT	14–11 (3–9)	26 – Washington	9 – Fitzgerald	3 – Washington	Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI
Feb 6, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN		Nebraska	L 85–91	14–12 (3–10)	34 – Mason	12 – Murphy	8 – Washington	Williams Arena (11,193) Minneapolis, MN
Feb 9, 2018 6:30 pm, FS1		at Indiana	L 56–80	14–13 (3–11)	18 – Mason	9 – Murphy	2 – Murphy	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN
Feb 13, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN2		No. 2 Michigan State	L 57–87	14–14 (3–12)	18 – Washington	7 – Murphy	4 – Mason	Williams Arena (12,218) Minneapolis, MN
Feb 19, 2018 8:00 pm, FS1		at Wisconsin	L 63–73 ^OT	14–15 (3–13)	16 – Murphy	11 – Murphy	5 – Mason	Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI
Feb 21, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN		Iowa	W 86–82	15–15 (4–13)	33 – Mason	10 – Tied	6 – Mason	Williams Arena (11,732) Minneapolis, MN
Feb 25, 2018 3:00 pm, FS1		at No. 9 Purdue	L 60–84	15–16 (4–14)	18 – Mason	10 – Murphy	3 – Mason	Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN
Big Ten Tournament
Feb 28, 2018 7:00 pm, BTN	(11)	vs. (14) Rutgers First round	L 54–65	15–17	18 – Washington	9 – Murphy	7 – Mason	Madison Square Garden (14,681) New York City, NY
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

Main article: 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

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

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

Awards and honors

In-season awards

Jordan Murphy

• Big Ten Player of the Week, November 13, 2017
• Big Ten Player of the Week, November 20, 2017
• Big Ten Player of the Week, November 27, 2017

Isaiah Washington

• Big Ten Freshman of the Week, February 5, 2018

Postseason awards

Nate Mason

• All-Big Ten Honorable Mention

Jordan Murphy

• All-Big Ten Second Team (media)
• All-Big Ten Third Team (coaches)

References

1. "Minnesota Gophers receive 5-seed at NCAA tournament". Retrieved 2017-03-17.
2. "Richard Pitino is Big Ten coach of the year as Gophers haul in awards". Twin Cities. 2017-03-07. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
3. "Reggie Lynch named Defensive Player of the Year!". The Daily Gopher. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
4. "Gophers' Nate Mason named All-Big Ten, Reggie Lynch is Defensive Player of the Year". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
5. "Arizona Tops Blue Ribbon's 37th Annual Preseason Rankings". Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
6. "WATCH: Alabama finishes game with three players after brawl with Minnesota". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
7. "Alabama played 3-on-5 for 10 minutes and nearly came back". SI.com. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
8. "Alabama Played Minnesota Three on Five—and Almost Won". The Ringer. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
9. "Minnesota vs. Alabama – Game Recap – November 25, 2017 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
10. Press, The Associated (2018). "Minnesota's Reggie Lynch Suspended in Alleged Assault". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
11. "Gophers' Lynch gets indefinite ban, still on team". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
12. Cox, Peter. "Gophers' Lynch appeals dates set in sexual misconduct cases". Retrieved 2018-01-29.
13. "Big Ten tournament at MSG in 2018". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
14. "Izzo concerned about '18 Big Ten tournament in New York". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
15. "NCAA will allow college basketball teams extra exhibition game for Hurricane Relief". Retrieved 2017-10-29.
16. "Gophers to Host Green Bay in Hurricane Relief Exhibition". Retrieved 2017-10-29.