# 2015–16 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by third year head coach Richard Pitino, the Golden Gophers were members of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They finished the season 8–23, 2–16 in Big Ten play to finish in 13th place. They lost in the first round of the Big Ten tournament to Illinois.
The season was marred by the suspensions of three players, Kevin Dorsey, Nate Mason and Dupree McBrayer, on March 1, 2016 for allegedly posting a sex video online. The players were suspended for the rest of the season.

## Previous season

The Golden Gophers finished the 2014–15 Season with a record of 18–15, 6–12 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for 10th place. They won their first round game in the Big Ten tournament against Rutgers, but they lost their second round game to Ohio State.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Andre Hollins | 1 | G | 6'2" | 195 | Senior | Memphis, TN | Graduated |
| Deandre Mathieu | 4 | G | 5'9" | 170 | Senior | Knoxville, TN | Graduated |
| Daquein McNeil | 5 | G | 6'3" | 195 | Sophomore | Baltimore, MD | Suspended due to an assault |
| Kendal Shell | 12 | G | 6'0" | 185 | Senior | St. Louis, MO | Graduated |
| Maurice Walker | 15 | F | 6'10" | 250 | RS Senior | Scarborough, ON | Graduated |
| Elliott Eliason | 55 | C | 6'11" | 245 | RS Senior | Chadron, NE | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Davonte Fitzgerald | 20 | F | 6'7" | 209 | Junior | Tucker, GA | Transferred from Texas A&M. Under NCAA transfer rules, Fitzgerald will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Reggie Lynch | 22 | C | 6'10" | 255 | Junior | Edina, MN | Transferred from Illinois State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Lynch will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |

## Incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jarvis Johnson PG | Brooklyn Park, MN | De La Salle High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 12, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Kevin Dorsey PG | Port Tobacco, MD | Clinton Christian School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jul 12, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Dupree McBrayer SG | Jamaica, NY | Sunrise Christian Academy | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Aug 23, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Jordan Murphy SF | San Antonio, TX | William J. Brennan High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | May 16, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Ahmad Gilbert SF | Philadelphia, PA | Constitution High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Apr 23, 2015 |
| 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: "2015 Minnesota Signees". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 6, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 6, 2015. ||||||

### 2016 Recruiting Class

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Michael Hurt PF | Rochester, MN | John Marshall High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jan 16, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Eric Curry PF | Little Rock, AR | Southwest Christian Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Sep 23, 2015 |
| 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: "2016 Minnesota Signees". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 6, 2015. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 6, 2015. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 1, 2015* 4:00 pm | | Minnesota–Crookston | W 74–57 | | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| Nov 6, 2015* 7:00 pm | | Southwest Minnesota State | W 81–64 | | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 13, 2015* 8:00 pm | | UMKC | W 76–58 | 1–0 | Williams Arena (9,744) Minneapolis, MN |
| Nov 15, 2015* 2:00 pm, BTN | | Louisiana–Monroe | W 67–56 | 2–0 | Williams Arena (9,915) Minneapolis, MN |
| Nov 19, 2015* 10:30 am, ESPN2 | | vs. Temple Puerto Rico Tip-Off quarterfinals | L 70–75 | 2–1 | Roberto Clemente Coliseum (1,601) San Juan, PR |
| Nov 20, 2015* 9:30 am, ESPNU | | vs. Missouri State Puerto Rico Tip-Off consolation round | W 74–69 | 3–1 | Roberto Clemente Coliseum (1,814) San Juan, PR |
| Nov 22, 2015* 1:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Texas Tech Puerto Rico Tip-Off 5th place game | L 68–81 | 3–2 | Roberto Clemente Coliseum (1,492) San Juan, PR |
| Nov 27, 2015* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Nebraska–Omaha | W 93–90 | 4–2 | Williams Arena (9,976) Minneapolis, MN |
| Nov 30, 2015* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Clemson ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 89–83 | 5–2 | Williams Arena (10,229) Minneapolis, MN |
| Dec 5, 2015* 2:00 pm | | South Dakota | L 81–85 $^{2OT}$ | 5–3 | Williams Arena (10,754) Minneapolis, MN |
| Dec 8, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | South Dakota State | L 70–84 | 5–4 | Williams Arena (10,378) Minneapolis, MN |
| Dec 12, 2015* 7:30 pm, BTN | | vs. Oklahoma State Sioux Falls Showcase | L 60–62 | 5–5 | Sanford Pentagon (3,250) Sioux Falls, SD |
| Dec 16, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Chicago State | W 70–52 | 6–5 | Williams Arena (10,175) Minneapolis, MN |
| Dec 23, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Milwaukee | L 65–74 | 6–6 | Williams Arena (10,364) Minneapolis, MN |
| Big Ten regular season ||||||
| Dec 30, 2015 6:00 pm, BTN | | at Ohio State | L 63–78 | 6–7 (0–1) | Value City Arena (13,701) Columbus, OH |
| Jan 2, 2016 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 1 Michigan State | L 61–69 | 6–8 (0–2) | Williams Arena (12,836) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 5, 2016 6:00 pm, BTN | | at Penn State | L 77–86 | 6–9 (0–3) | Bryce Jordan Center (5,892) University Park, PA |
| Jan 9, 2016 1:30 pm, BTN | | Northwestern | L 52–77 | 6–10 (0–4) | Williams Arena (10,436) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 12, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN | | at Nebraska | L 59–84 | 6–11 (0–5) | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,628) Lincoln, NE |
| Jan 16, 2016 11:30 am, BTN | | Indiana | L 63–70 | 6–12 (0–6) | Williams Arena (11,176) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 20, 2016 7:30 pm, BTN | | at Michigan | L 69–74 | 6–13 (0–7) | Crisler Center (11,726) Ann Arbor, MI |
| Jan 23, 2016 7:30 pm, BTN | | Illinois | L 71–76 $^{OT}$ | 6–14 (0–8) | Williams Arena (11,026) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 27, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN | | No. 21 Purdue | L 64–68 | 6–15 (0–9) | Williams Arena (10,484) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 30, 2016 1:15 pm, BTN | | at No. 19 Indiana | L 68–74 | 6–16 (0–10) | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Feb 4, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN | | at Northwestern | L 58–84 | 6–17 (0–11) | Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,015) Evanston, IL |
| Feb 10, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN | | Michigan | L 74–82 | 6–18 (0–12) | Williams Arena (11,137) Minneapolis, MN |
| Feb 14, 2016 6:30 pm, BTN | | at No. 4 Iowa | L 71–75 | 6–19 (0–13) | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,400) Iowa City, IA |
| Feb 18, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN | | No. 6 Maryland | W 68–63 | 7–19 (1–13) | Williams Arena (10,768) Minneapolis, MN |
| Feb 23, 2016 6:00 pm, BTN | | Rutgers | W 83–61 | 8–19 (2–13) | Williams Arena (10,333) Minneapolis, MN |
| Feb 28, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN | | at Illinois | L 71–84 | 8–20 (2–14) | State Farm Center (12,008) Champaign, IL |
| Mar 2, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN | | Wisconsin | L 49–62 | 8–21 (2–15) | Williams Arena (12,275) Minneapolis, MN |
| Mar 5, 2016 12:00 pm, BTN | | at Rutgers | L 52–75 | 8–22 (2–16) | The RAC (4,473) Piscataway, NJ |
| Big Ten tournament ||||||
| Mar 9, 2016 3:30 pm, ESPN2 | (13) | vs. (12) Illinois First Round | L 52–85 | 8–23 | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (16,528) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||