# 2019–20 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gophers were led by seventh-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 15–16, 8–12 in Big Ten play to finish in 12th place. The Gophers defeated Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten tournament before the tournament was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. All other postseason tournaments including the NCAA tournament were later canceled effectively ending the season.

## Previous season

The Golden Gophers finished the 2018–19 season 22–14, 9–11 in Big Ten play to finish in seventh place. As the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Penn State in the second round. In the quarterfinals, they defeated Purdue for the second time on the season. In the semifinals, they lost to Michigan. The Gophers received a bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 10 seed in the East Region. There, they defeated seventh-seeded Louisville in the first round before losing to Michigan State in the second round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Dupree McBrayer | 1 | G | 6'5" | 195 | Senior | Queens, NY | Graduated |
| Jordan Murphy | 3 | F | 6'7" | 250 | Senior | San Antonio, TX | Graduated |
| Amir Coffey | 5 | G | 6'8" | 205 | Junior | Hopkins, MN | Declared for NBA Draft |
| Isaiah Washington | 11 | G | 6'1" | 195 | Sophomore | Harlem, NY | Transferred to Iona |
| Jarvis Johnson | 12 | G | 6'1" | 185 | Senior | Minneapolis, MN | Graduated |
| Brock Stull | 31 | G | 6'4" | 210 | RS Senior | Rockford, IL | Graduated |
| Matz Stockman | 35 | C | 7'0" | 245 | RS Senior | Oslo, Norway | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Alihan Demir | F | 6'9" | 232 | Senior | Ankara, Turkey | Drexel |

### Recruiting class
#### 2019 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Sam Freeman C | Justin, TX | Northwest High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 223 lb (101 kg) | Apr 4, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Bryan Greenlee PG | Gainesville, FL | The Rock School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Jun 13, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Isaiah Ihnen SF | Böblingen, Germany | N/A | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Apr 23, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Tre Williams SG | Mount Pleasant, UT | Wasatch Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Nov 13, 2018 |
| Star ratings: 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: "2019 Minnesota Commits". Rivals.com. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Future recruits
### 2020–21 team recruits

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Martice Mitchell PF | Chicago Heights, Illinois | Bloom High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Oct 7, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Jamal Mashburn Jr. CG | Miami, Florida | Brewster Academy | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Oct 14, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| 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: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2021–22 team recruits

College recruiting information (2021) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Treyton Thompson PF | Alexandria, Minnesota | La Lumiere School | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Nov 30, 2019 |
| Star ratings: 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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Oct 28, 2019* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus | | Southwest Minnesota State | W 73–48 | | 14 – Willis | 16 – Oturu | 6 – Tied | Williams Arena (7,387) Minneapolis, MN |
| Regular season |||||||||
| Nov 5, 2019* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus | | Cleveland State | W 85–50 | 1–0 | 18 – Carr | 10 – Oturu | 8 – Tied | Williams Arena (8,693) Minneapolis, MN |
| Nov 9, 2019* 7:00 pm, BTN | | vs. Oklahoma Sioux Falls Showcase | L 62–71 | 1–1 | 16 – Carr | 10 – Carr | 6 – Carr | Sanford Pentagon (3,445) Sioux Falls, SD |
| Nov 12, 2019* 7:30 pm, FS1 | | at Butler Gavitt Tipoff Games | L 56–64 | 1–2 | 24 – Oturu | 10 – Oturu | 7 – Carr | Hinkle Fieldhouse (7,879) Indianapolis, IN |
| Nov 15, 2019* 8:00 p.m., P12N | | at Utah | L 69–73 | 1–3 | 21 – Oturu | 18 – Oturu | 6 – Carr | Jon M. Huntsman Center (12,760) Salt Lake City, UT |
| Nov 21, 2019* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus | | Central Michigan | W 82-57 | 2–3 | 19 – Carr | 12 – Oturu | 7 – Carr | Williams Arena (8,566) Minneapolis, MN |
| Nov 24, 2019* 6:00 pm, BTN | | North Dakota | W 79–56 | 3–3 | 18 – Kalscheur | 9 – Omersa | 6 – Carr | Williams Arena (8,854) Minneapolis, MN |
| Nov 29, 2019* 2:00 pm, FS1 | | DePaul | L 68–73 | 3–4 | 19 – Oturu | 18 – Oturu | 4 – Carr | Williams Arena (10,260) Minneapolis, MN |
| Dec 2, 2019* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Clemson ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 78–60 | 4–4 | 24 – Carr | 6 – Demir | 9 – Carr | Williams Arena (10,148) Minneapolis, MN |
| Dec 9, 2019 7:00 pm, BTN | | at Iowa | L 52–72 | 4–5 (0–1) | 22 – Oturu | 12 – Oturu | 7 – Carr | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,442) Iowa City, IA |
| Dec 15, 2019 5:30 pm, BTN | | No. 3 Ohio State | W 84–71 | 5–5 (1–1) | 35 – Carr | 13 – Oturu | 7 – Carr | Williams Arena (9,854) Minneapolis, MN |
| Dec 21, 2019* 4:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. OSU BOK Center Basketball Showdown | W 86–66 | 6–5 | 34 – Kalscheur | 8 – Oturu | 8 – Carr | BOK Center (4,979) Tulsa, OK |
| Dec 28, 2019* 3:00 pm, BTN | | FIU | W 89–62 | 7–5 | 23 – Kalscheur | 20 – Oturu | 8 – Carr | Williams Arena (10,546) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 2, 2020 6:00 pm, BTN | | at Purdue | L 78–83 $^{2OT}$ | 7–6 (1–2) | 29 – Oturu | 18 – Oturu | 4 – Carr | Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN |
| Jan 5, 2020 6:30 pm, BTN | | Northwestern | W 77–68 | 8–6 (2–2) | 19 – Oturu | 16 – Oturu | 7 – Carr | Williams Arena (9,574) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 9, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 8 Michigan State | L 58–74 | 8–7 (2–3) | 22 – Oturu | 10 – Oturu | 6 – Carr | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 12, 2020 12:00 pm, BTN | | No. 19 Michigan | W 75–67 | 9–7 (3–3) | 30 – Oturu | 7 – Oturu | 12 – Carr | Williams Arena (10,453) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 15, 2020 8:00 pm, BTN | | Penn State | W 75–69 | 10–7 (4–3) | 27 – Carr | 14 – Oturu | 9 – Carr | Williams Arena (9,714) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 19, 2020 12:00 pm, BTN | | at Rutgers | L 56–64 | 10–8 (5–4) | 19 – Oturu | 9 – Oturu | 5 – Carr | Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,000) Piscataway, NJ |
| Jan 23, 2020 5:30 pm, FS1 | | at Ohio State | W 62–59 | 11–8 (5–4) | 21 – Carr | 7 – Carr | 2 – Tied | Value City Arena (13,234) Columbus, OH |
| Jan 26, 2020 2:00 pm, FOX | | No. 11 Michigan State | L 52–70 | 11–9 (5–5) | 19 – Oturu | 7 – Tied | 6 – Carr | Williams Arena (12,114) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 30, 2020 6:30 pm, FS1 | | at No. 19 Illinois | L 51–59 | 11–10 (5–6) | 20 – Oturu | 9 – Carr | 2 – Carr | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| Feb 5, 2020 8:00 pm, BTN | | Wisconsin | W 70–52 | 12–10 (6–6) | 21 – Willis | 14 – Oturu | 10 – Carr | Williams Arena (11,389) Minneapolis, MN |
| Feb 8, 2020 3:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 22 Penn State | L 66–73 | 12–11 (6–7) | 32 – Oturu | 16 – Oturu | 5 – Carr | Bryce Jordan Center (15,261) University Park, PA |
| Feb 16, 2020 12:00 pm, FS1 | | No. 21 Iowa | L 55–58 | 12–12 (6–8) | 15 – Oturu | 9 – Demir | 6 – Carr | Williams Arena (14,625) Minneapolis, MN |
| Feb 19, 2020 8:00 pm, BTN | | Indiana | L 56–68 | 12–13 (6–9) | 12 – Tied | 14 – Oturu | 7 – Carr | Williams Arena (9,686) Minneapolis, MN |
| Feb 23, 2020 2:00 pm, BTN | | at Northwestern | W 83–57 | 13–13 (7–9) | 22 – Oturu | 12 – Oturu | 7 – Carr | Welsh-Ryan Arena (5,815) Evanston, IL |
| Feb 26, 2020 8:00 pm, BTN | | No. 9 Maryland | L 73–74 | 13–14 (7–10) | 28 – Oturu | 11 – Oturu | 7 – Carr | Williams Arena (9,252) Minneapolis, MN |
| Mar 1, 2020 5:30 pm, BTN | | at Wisconsin | L 69–71 | 13–15 (7–11) | 26 – Oturu | 12 – Oturu | 4 – Carr | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Mar 4, 2020 6:00 pm, BTN | | at Indiana | L 67–72 | 13–16 (7–12) | 24 – Oturu | 16 – Oturu | 5 – Carr | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN |
| Mar 8, 2020 12:00 pm, BTN | | Nebraska | W 107–75 | 14–16 (8–12) | 26 – Kalscheur | 10 – Demir | 11 – Carr | Williams Arena (9,984) Minneapolis, MN |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| Mar 11, 2020 6:00 pm, BTN | (12) | vs. (13) Northwestern First Round | W 74–57 | 15–16 | 24 – Oturu | 8 – Tied | 5 – Carr | Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| Remaining Games Canceled |||||||||
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||