# 2006–07 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 2006–07 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the college basketball season of 2006–2007. The team's head coach, Dan Monson, began his eighth season with the Gophers only to resign after a 2 win, 5 loss start. Assistant coach Jim Molinari took over for the remainder of the season on an interim basis. The Golden Gophers played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota and are members of the Big Ten Conference.

## Season

Coming off of a short NIT run at the end of the previous season, the Gophers, with no seniors on the roster, began 2006 in a slump. After losing 4 straight games, the final 3 at the inaugural Old Spice Classic in Orlando to take last place, the Gophers were beaten badly at home by Clemson on November 29. Head coach Dan Monson announced the next day that he would resign from his coaching duties, stating, "It's time for somebody else to make the next step and that's to have more success on the court than I had." Assistant coach Jim Molinari was appointed as interim head coach, but the Gophers could never quite get their season started, finishing with a disappointing 9 wins and 22 losses.

## Roster

| # | Name | Height | Weight (lbs.) | Position | Class | Hometown | Previous Team(s) |
| 1 | Lawrence McKenzie | 6'2" | 180 | G | RJr. | Minneapolis, MN, U.S. | Minneapolis Henry HS Oklahoma |
| 2 | Ryan Saunders | 6'1" | 180 | G | Jr. | Medina, MN, U.S. | Wayzata HS |
| 3 | Kevin Payton | 6'5" | 200 | G/F | RFr. | Camden, NJ, U.S. | Camden HS |
| 4 | Travis Busch | 6'4" | 220 | G/F | So. | Mounds View, MN, U.S. | Mounds View HS Cal Poly |
| 5 | Limar Wilson | 5'11" | 160 | G | Jr. | Orlando, FL, U.S. | Lyman HS NE CC |
| 12 | Engen Nurumbi | 6'7" | 230 | F | Jr. | Kinshasa, DR Congo | Arizona Western |
| 13 | Dan Coleman | 6'9" | 225 | F | RJr. | Minneapolis, MN, U.S. | Hopkins HS |
| 20 | Lawrence Westbrook | 6'0" | 190 | G | Fr. | Chandler, AZ, U.S. | Winchendon Prep |
| 23 | Brandon Smith | 6'6" | 205 | G/F | So. | Minneapolis, MN, U.S. | Minneapolis Henry HS |
| 30 | Jon Williams | 6'9" | 285 | F | RSo. | St. Cloud, MN, U.S. | St. Cloud Apollo HS Notre Dame Prep (MA) |
| 33 | Jamal Abu-Shamala | 6'5" | 200 | G | So. | Shakopee, MN, U.S. | Shakopee HS |
| 34 | Damian Johnson | 6'7" | 192 | F | RFr. | Thibodaux, LA, U.S. | Thibodaux HS |
| 50 | Spencer Tollackson | 6'9" | 267 | C | Jr. | Chaska, MN, U.S. | Chaska HS |
| 54 | Bryce Webster | 6'9" | 240 | F/C | Fr. | St. Paul, MN, U.S. | St. Thomas Academy |

## 2006–07 Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 3, 2006* 7 p.m., no | | Bemidji State | W 88–32 | | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| November 8, 2006* 7 p.m., no | | Winona State | L 69–64 | | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 13, 2006* 7 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North | | North Dakota State | W 63–49 | 1–0 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| November 17, 2006* 7 p.m., no | | Long Island | W 70–54 | 2–0 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| November 21, 2006* 7 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North | | Iowa State | L 68–63 | 2–1 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| November 23, 2006* 1 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Marist Old Spice Classic – Quarterfinal | L 63–56 | 2–2 | HP Field House Orlando, FL |
| November 24, 2006* 11:30 a.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Southern Illinois Old Spice Classic – Consolation round | L 69–53 | 2–3 | HP Field House Orlando, FL |
| November 26, 2006* no, ESPNU | | vs. Montana Old Spice Classic – 7th place | L 72–65 | 2–4 | HP Field House Orlando, FL |
| November 29, 2006* 8:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | Clemson ACC – Big Ten Challenge | L 90–68 | 2–5 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| December 2, 2006* 1 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North | | Arizona State | W 66–63 | 3–5 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| December 5, 2006* 7 p.m., no | | at Alabama–Birmingham | L 88–81 $^{2OT}$ | 3–6 | Bartow Arena Birmingham, AL |
| December 7, 2006* 1 p.m., no | | South Dakota State | W 77–53 | 4–6 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| December 9, 2006* 1 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North | | Arkansas–Little Rock | L 67–66 | 4–7 | William's Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| December 12, 2006* 7 p.m., no | | Central Florida | W 74–63 | 5–7 | William's Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| December 22, 2006* 9 p.m., ESPN Plus/Mtn network | | at UNLV | L 62–58 | 5–8 | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV |
| December 30, 2006* no, no | | SE Louisiana | W 63–61 | 6–8 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| Big Ten Regular Season ||||||
| January 3, 2007 7 p.m., ESPN Plus/KSTC-45 | | Purdue | W 65–59 | 7–8 (1–0) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| January 6, 2007 3:37 p.m., ESPN Plus/KSTC-45 | | at No. 4 Wisconsin | L 68–45 | 7–9 (1–1) | Kohl Center Madison, WI |
| January 13, 2007 3:37 p.m., ESPN Plus/KSTC-45 | | at Iowa | L 60–49 | 7–10 (1–2) | Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA |
| January 17, 2007 6 p.m., ESPN2 | | Illinois | L 64–52 | 7–11 (1–3) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| January 20, 2007 1:30 p.m., ESPN Plus/KSTC-45 | | Northwestern | L 55–40 | 7–12 (1–4) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| January 24, 2007 6 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North | | at No. 6 Michigan State | L 70–46 | 7–13 (1–5) | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| January 27, 2007 11:15 a.m., ESPN Plus/KSTC-45 | | Penn State | W 65–60 | 8–13 (2–5) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| January 31, 2007 7 p.m., ESPN Plus/KSTC-45 | | at Northwestern | W 62–55 | 9–13 (3–5) | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, IL |
| February 3, 2007 7 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North Tape-Delay | | at Illinois | L 59–49 | 9–14 (3–6) | Assembly Hall Champaign, IL |
| February 7, 2007 7 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North | | Iowa | L 91–78 | 9–15 (3–7) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| February 10, 2007 7 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North | | at Michigan | L 82–80 | 9–16 (3–8) | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI |
| February 14, 2007 7 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North Tape-Delay | | No. 3 Wisconsin | L 75–62 | 9–17 (3–9) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| February 18, 2007 12 p.m., CBS | | No. 2 Ohio State | L 85–67 | 9–18 (3–10) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| February 21, 2007 6 p.m., ESPN Plus/KSTC-45 | | at Indiana | L 71–59 | 9–19 (3–11) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN |
| February 24, 2007 1:32 p.m., ESPN Plus/KSTC-45 | | Michigan | L 62–51 | 9–20 (3–12) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| February 28, 2007 8 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North | | at Purdue | L 66–47 | 9–21 (3–13) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| 2007 Big Ten tournament ||||||
| March 8, 2007 11 a.m., ESPN2 | (9) | vs. (8) Michigan First Round | L 49–40 | 9–22 | Conseco Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Rankings

The 2006–07 Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball team was not ranked during the season.