# 2022–23 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gophers were led by second-year head coach Ben Johnson and played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 9–22, 2–17 in Big Ten play to finish in last place. They defeated Nebraska in the first round of the Big Ten tournament before losing to Maryland in the second round.

## Previous season

The Gophers finished the 2021–22 season 13–17, 4–16 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for last place. The team was almost entirely remade from the prior season, with 10 players transferring out of the program following the firing of former head coach Richard Pitino.
The Gophers began the season well, compiling a 10–1 record to begin the season, including the team's first road win against Michigan in Ann Arbor since 2011. The Gophers were unable to continue that success as the season wore on, losing 16 of their final 19 games and finishing the season with a 60–51 loss to Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Payton Willis | 0 | G | 6'4" | 200 | Graduate Student | Fayetteville, AR | Graduated |
| Eric Curry | 1 | F | 6'9" | 240 | RS Senior | Memphis, TN | Graduated |
| Abdoulaye Thiam | 2 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Freshman | Orlando, FL | Transferred to High Point |
| Joey Kern | 3 | G | 6'1" | 170 | Graduate Student | Norwalk, IA | Walk-on; graduated |
| Luke Loewe | 12 | G | 6'4" | 185 | Graduate Student | Fond du Lac, WI | Graduated |
| Charlie Daniels | 15 | F/C | 6'9" | 230 | Graduate Student | Jacksonville, FL | Graduated |
| Eylijah Stephens | 20 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Graduate Student | Plantation, FL | Graduated |
| Danny Ogele | 22 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Graduate Student | Chicago, IL | Graduated |
| Sean Sutherlin | 24 | G | 6'5" | 200 | RS Senior | New Brighton, MN | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Taurus Samuels | 0 | G | 6'1" | 190 | Graduate Student | Oceanside, CA | Dartmouth |
| Dawson Garcia | 3 | F | 6'11" | 235 | Sophomore | Prior Lake, MN | North Carolina |
| Ta'Lon Cooper | 55 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Junior | Roebuck, SC | Morehead State |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2022 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Braeden Carrington SG | Brooklyn Park, MN | Park Center High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Aug 4, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Pharrel Payne PF | Cottage Grove, MN | Park Senior High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Aug 22, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 75 ||||||
| Joshua Ola-Joseph PF | Osseo, MN | Osseo Senior High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Aug 30, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 75 ||||||
| Jaden Henley SF | Ontario, CA | Colony High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Dec 10, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| Kadyn Betts SF | Pueblo, CO | Central High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Jul 1, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 48 247Sports: 35 ||||||
| 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: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 27, 2022. ||||||

#### 2023 Recruiting class

College recruiting information (2023) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Cam Christie SG | Rolling Meadows, IL | Rolling Meadows High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Jul 29, 2022 |
| 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: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 28, 2022. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 2, 2022* 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | St. Olaf | W 71–55 | | 14 – Ola-Joseph | 9 – Thompson | 5 – Cooper | Williams Arena (8,869) Minneapolis, MN |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2022* 8:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Western Michigan | W 61–60 | 1–0 | 23 – Garcia | 8 – Tied | 10 – Cooper | Williams Arena (8,119) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 11, 2022* 6:00 p.m., BTN+ | | St. Francis Brooklyn | W 72–54 | 2–0 | 16 – Henley | 8 – Tied | 6 – Cooper | Williams Arena (8,232) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 14, 2022* 6:00 p.m., BTN | | DePaul Gavitt Tipoff Games | L 53–69 | 2–1 | 19 – Garcia | 6 – Garcia | 6 – Cooper | Williams Arena (8,426) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 17, 2022* 8:00 p.m., BTN | | Central Michigan SoCal Challenge campus-site game | W 68–60 | 3–1 | 17 – Garcia | 7 – Tied | 8 – Cooper | Williams Arena (8,096) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 21, 2022* 9:30 p.m., CBSSN | | vs. Cal Baptist SoCal Challenge Surf Division semifinals | W 62–61 $^{OT}$ | 4–1 | 15 – Payne | 13 – Payne | 7 – Cooper | The Pavilion at JSerra (900) San Juan Capistrano, CA |
| November 23, 2022* 9:30 p.m., CBSSN | | vs. UNLV SoCal Challenge Surf Division championship | L 62–71 | 4–2 | 17 – Battle | 9 – Battle | 7 – Cooper | The Pavilion at JSerra San Juan Capistrano, CA |
| November 28, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Virginia Tech ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 57–67 | 4–3 | 13 – Tied | 6 – Payne | 5 – Cooper | Cassell Coliseum (7,870) Blacksburg, VA |
| December 4, 2022 4:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 5 Purdue | L 70–89 | 4–4 (0–1) | 21 – Battle | 6 – Carrington | 8 – Cooper | Mackey Arena (14,876) West Lafayette, IN |
| December 8, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN | | Michigan | L 75–90 | 4–5 (0–2) | 16 – Cooper | 5 – Tied | 5 – Cooper | Williams Arena (10,004) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 11, 2022* 7:30 p.m., BTN | | No. 23 Mississippi State | L 51–69 | 4–6 | 20 – Garcia | 10 – Carrington | 4 – Cooper | Williams Arena (8,664) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 14, 2022* 7:00 p.m., BTN | | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 72–56 | 5–6 | 20 – Carrington | 7 – Garcia | 8 – Cooper | Williams Arena (8,127) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 22, 2022* 12:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Chicago State | W 58–55 | 6–6 | 18 – Garcia | 7 – Carrington | 9 – Cooper | Williams Arena (8,736) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 29, 2022* 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Alcorn State | Canceled due to travel complications at Alcorn State | Canceled due to travel complications at Alcorn State | Canceled due to travel complications at Alcorn State | Canceled due to travel complications at Alcorn State | Canceled due to travel complications at Alcorn State | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| January 3, 2023 8:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 14 Wisconsin | L 60–63 | 6–7 (0–3) | 16 – Cooper | 9 – Tied | 3 – Cooper | Kohl Center (13,850) Madison, WI |
| January 7, 2023 11:00 a.m., BTN | | Nebraska | L 79–81 $^{OT}$ | 6–8 (0–4) | 20 – Battle | 15 – Garcia | 4 – Cooper | Williams Arena (10,948) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 12, 2023 5:30 p.m., FS1 | | at Ohio State | W 70–67 | 7–8 (1–4) | 28 – Garcia | 11 – Cooper | 4 – Cooper | Value City Arena (11,202) Columbus, OH |
| January 16, 2023 5:00 p.m., BTN | | Illinois | L 60–78 | 7–9 (1–5) | 17 – Garcia | 7 – Payne | 4 – Tied | Williams Arena (9,874) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 19, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 3 Purdue | L 39–61 | 7–10 (1–6) | 13 – Ola–Joseph | 6 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Williams Arena (9,251) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 22, 2023 12:00 p.m., BTN | | at Michigan | L 56–60 | 7–11 (1–7) | 15 – Cooper | 10 – Cooper | 3 – Tied | Crisler Center (12,092) Ann Arbor, MI |
| January 25, 2023 8:00 p.m., BTN | | Indiana | L 57–61 | 7–12 (1–8) | 20 – Battle | 8 – Thompson | 6 – Cooper | Williams Arena (9,276) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 28, 2023 11:00 a.m., BTN | | at Northwestern | L 61–81 | 7–13 (1–9) | 20 – Battle | 7 – Ramberg | 5 – Cooper | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,064) Evanston, IL |
| February 1, 2023 7:30 p.m., BTN | | at Rutgers | L 55–90 | 7–14 (1–10) | 17 – Ola-Joseph | 9 – Cooper | 7 – Cooper | Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ |
| February 4, 2023 8:00 p.m., BTN | | Maryland | L 46–81 | 7–15 (1–11) | 14 – Payne | 7 – Henley | 4 – Tied | Williams Arena (9,255) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 12, 2023 12:00 p.m., FS1 | | Iowa | L 56–68 | 7–16 (1–12) | 11 – Ola-Joseph | 7 – Tied | 7 – Cooper | Williams Arena (10,683) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 15, 2023 6:00 p.m., BTN | | at Michigan State | Canceled due to shooting at Michigan State | Canceled due to shooting at Michigan State | Canceled due to shooting at Michigan State | Canceled due to shooting at Michigan State | Canceled due to shooting at Michigan State | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| February 18, 2023 6:00 p.m., BTN | | Penn State | L 69–76 | 7–17 (1–13) | 23 – Garcia | 10 – Payne | 8 – Cooper | Williams Arena (11,693) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 20, 2023 8:00 p.m., BTN | | at Illinois Rescheduled from February 7 | L 69–78 | 7–18 (1–14) | 31 – Battle | 8 – Garcia | 6 – Cooper | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| February 22, 2023 6:00 p.m., BTN | | at Maryland | L 70–88 | 7–19 (1–15) | 17 – Payne | 8 – Garcia | 8 – Cooper | Xfinity Center (14,263) College Park, MD |
| February 25, 2023 2:30 p.m., BTN | | at Nebraska | L 67–78 | 7–20 (1–16) | 12 – Tied | 14 – Garcia | 6 – Cooper | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,000) Lincoln, NE |
| March 2, 2023 6:00 p.m., FS1 | | Rutgers | W 75–74 | 8–20 (2–16) | 20 – Battle | 10 – Payne | 11 – Cooper | Williams Arena (9,010) Minneapolis, MN |
| March 5, 2023 6:30 p.m., FS1 | | Wisconsin | L 67–71 | 8–21 (2–17) | 19 – Garcia | 8 – Carrington | 8 – Cooper | Williams Arena (12,276) Minneapolis, MN |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 8, 2023 8:00 p.m., BTN | (14) | vs. (11) Nebraska First round | W 78–75 | 9–21 | 18 – Garcia | 13 – Garcia | 12 – Cooper | United Center (15,405) Chicago, IL |
| March 9, 2023 8:00 p.m., BTN | (14) | vs. (6) Maryland Second round | L 54–70 | 9–22 | 17 – Payne | 9 – Payne | 6 – Cooper | United Center (16,104) Chicago, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||