# 1981–82 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 1981–82 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach Jim Dutcher, the Gophers won the Big Ten title with a conference record of 14–4, and finished with an overall record of 23–6.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-Conference Regular season ||||||
| Nov 30, 1981* | No. 10 | San Francisco State | W 88–69 | 1–0 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Dec 2, 1981* | No. 10 | Dayton | W 90–74 | 2–0 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Dec 4, 1981* | No. 10 | at Loyola-Chicago | W 61–60 | 3–0 | Alumni Gym Chicago, Illinois |
| Dec 8, 1981* | No. 8 | Drake | W 80–55 | 4–0 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Dec 19, 1981* | No. 8 | at Marquette | W 76–54 | 5–0 | MECCA Arena Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Dec 21, 1981* | No. 8 | at Kansas State | L 52–62 | 5–1 | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| Dec 28, 1981* | No. 9 | Army Pillsbury Classic | W 79–37 | 6–1 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Dec 29, 1981* | No. 9 | Arizona Pillsbury Classic | W 91–62 | 7–1 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Jan 2, 1982* | No. 9 | Long Beach State | W 75–67 | 8–1 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Big Ten Conference Regular season ||||||
| Jan 7, 1982 | No. 6 | at Ohio State | L 47–49 | 8–2 (0–1) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Jan 9, 1982 | No. 6 | at Michigan State | W 64–58 | 9–2 (1–1) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| Jan 14, 1982 | No. 11 | No. 5 Iowa | W 61–56 | 10–2 (2–1) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Jan 16, 1982 | No. 11 | Michigan | W 67–58 | 11–2 (3–1) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Jan 21, 1982 | No. 5 | at Wisconsin | W 78–57 | 12–2 (4–1) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, Wisconsin |
| Jan 23, 1982 | No. 5 | Illinois | L 57–64 | 12–3 (4–2) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Jan 28, 1982 | No. 10 | at Northwestern | W 61–53 | 13–3 (5–2) | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois |
| Jan 30, 1982 | No. 10 | at Indiana | W 69–62 | 14–3 (6–2) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| Feb 4, 1982 | No. 6 | Purdue | W 73–50 | 15–3 (7–2) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Feb 6, 1982 | No. 6 | Indiana | L 55–58 | 15–4 (7–3) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Feb 11, 1982 | No. 9 | Wisconsin | W 71–60 | 16–4 (8–3) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Feb 13, 1982 | No. 9 | at Purdue | W 53–52 | 17–4 (9–3) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Feb 18, 1982 | No. 8 | Northwestern | W 76–66 | 18–4 (10–3) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Feb 20, 1982 | No. 8 | at Illinois | L 65–77 | 18–5 (10–4) | Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois |
| Feb 25, 1982 | No. 13 | at Michigan | W 61–50 | 19–5 (11–4) | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Feb 27, 1982 | No. 13 | at No. 11 Iowa | W 57–55 | 20–5 (12–4) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| Mar 4, 1982 | No. 7 | Michigan State | W 54–51 | 21–5 (13–4) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Mar 6, 1982 | No. 7 | Ohio State | W 87–75 | 22–5 (14–4) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1982* | (2 ME) No. 7 | vs. (10 ME) Chattanooga Second Round | W 62–61 | 23–5 | Market Square Arena Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Mar 18, 1982* | (2 ME) No. 7 | vs. (3 ME) No. 20 Louisville Mideast Regional semifinal | L 61–67 | 23–6 | Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center Birmingham, Alabama |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast. ||||||

## Team players in the 1982 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 6 | Trent Tucker | New York Knicks |