# 2024–25 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 2024–25 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gophers, led by fourth-year head coach Ben Johnson, played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 15–17, 7–13 in Big Ten play to finish in a five-way tie for 12th place. As the No. 12 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost to Northwestern in the first round.
On March 13, 2025, the school fired head coach Ben Johnson.

## Previous season

The Gophers finished the 2023–24 season 19–15, 9–11 in Big Ten play, to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place. As a No. 9 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost in the second round to Michigan State. They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Butler in the first round before losing to Indiana State.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Elijah Hawkins | 0 | G | 5'11" | 165 | Junior | Washington, D.C. | Transferred to Texas Tech |
| Joshua Ola-Joseph | 1 | F | 6'7" | 215 | Sophomore | Brooklyn Park, MN | Transferred to California |
| Braden Carrington | 4 | G | 6'4" | 195 | Sophomore | Brooklyn Park, MN | Transferred to Tulsa |
| Isaiah Ihnen | 5 | F | 6'10" | 220 | Junior | Böblingen, Germany | Transferred to Liberty |
| Kris Keinys | 8 | F | 6'8" | 215 | Freshman | Klaipėda, Lithuania | Transferred to Pacific |
| Jackson Purcell | 11 | G | 6'5" | 195 | Sophomore | Apple Valley, MN | Walk-on; left the team |
| Pharrel Payne | 21 | F | 6'9" | 255 | Sophomore | Cottage Grove, MN | Transferred to Texas A&M |
| Cam Christie | 24 | G | 6'6" | 190 | Freshman | Arlington Heights, IL | Declared for 2024 NBA draft; selected 46th overall by Los Angeles Clippers |
| Will Ramberg | 25 | G | 6'5" | 205 | Senior | Grand Marais, MN | Walk-on; graduated |
| Jack Wilson | 33 | C | 6'11" | 285 | GS Senior | Montara, CA | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Frank Mitchell | 00 | F | 6'8" | 240 | Senior | Toronto, ON | Canisius |
| Trey Edmonds | 5 | F/C | 6'10" | 255 | Senior | Aurora, CO | UTSA |
| Caleb Williams | 6 | G | 6'2' | | Senior | Wild Rose, WI | Macalester College |
| Femi Odukale | 11 | G | 6'6" | 205 | GS Senior | Brooklyn, NY | New Mexico State |
| Brennan Rigsby | 24 | G/F | 6'5" | 195 | Senior | De Beque, CO | Oregon |
| Lu'Cye Patterson | 25 | G | 6'2" | 205 | Senior | Minneapolis, MN | Charlotte |
| Tyler Cochran | 28 | G | 6'2" | 225 | Senior | Bolingbrook, IL | Toledo |
| Lincoln Meister | 54 | F | 6'9" | 235 | GS Senior | Rochester, MN | Walk-on; Minnesota Duluth |

### Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Isaac Asuma #16 PG | Iron, MN | Cherry School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Mar 2, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82 ||||||
| Grayson Grove PF | Alexandria, MN | Alexandria Area High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | May 13, 2023 |
| 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: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 22, 2023. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 19, 2024* 12:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Bemidji State | W 90–65 | | 19 – Mitchell Jr. | 7 – Mitchell | 8 – Tied | Williams Arena (7,534) Minneapolis, MN |
| October 29, 2024* 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Hamline | W 79–57 | | 16 – Rigsby | 7 – Edmonds | 5 – Asuma | Williams Arena (8,027) Minneapolis, MN |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2024* 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Oral Roberts | W 80–57 | 1–0 | 30 – Garcia | 8 – Garcia | 9 – Mitchell Jr. | Williams Arena (6,975) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 9, 2024* 2:30 p.m., Peacock | | Omaha | W 68–64 | 2–0 | 24 – Garcia | 7 – Garcia | 6 – Patterson | Williams Arena (8,019) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 13, 2024* 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | | North Texas | L 51–54 | 2–1 | 24 – Garcia | 8 – Garcia | 3 – Odukale | Williams Arena (7,743) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 16, 2024* 3:00 p.m., BTN | | Yale | W 59–56 | 3–1 | 24 – Garcia | 7 – Mitchell | 6 – Patterson | Williams Arena (8,205) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 19, 2024* 6:00 p.m., BTN | | Cleveland State | W 58–47 | 4–1 | 18 – Fox | 12 – Odukale | 4 – Garcia | Williams Arena (7,051) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 25, 2024* 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Central Michigan | W 68–65 | 5–1 | 22 – Garcia | 11 – Garcia | 6 – Asuma | Williams Arena (7,349) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 28, 2024* 11:00 a.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Wichita State ESPN Events Invitational semifinals | L 66–68 $^{OT}$ | 5–2 | 14 – Patterson | 10 – Asuma | 8 – Odukale | State Farm Field House Bay Lake, FL |
| November 29, 2024* 11:00 a.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Wake Forest ESPN Events Invitational consolation game | L 51–57 | 5–3 | 12 – Patterson | 6 – Fox | 4 – Patterson | State Farm Field House Bay Lake, FL |
| December 1, 2024* 2:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Bethune–Cookman | W 79–62 | 6–3 | 23 – Garcia | 7 – Odukale | 6 – Asuma | Williams Arena (7,314) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 4, 2024 7:30 p.m., BTN | | Michigan State | L 72–90 | 6–4 (0–1) | 18 – Garcia | 11 – Garcia | 4 – Patterson | Williams Arena (8,424) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 9, 2024 5:30 p.m., BTN | | at Indiana | L 67–82 | 6–5 (0–2) | 22 – Garcia | 4 – Tied | 4 – Odukale | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN |
| December 21, 2024* 1:00 p.m., BTN | | Fairleigh Dickinson | W 74–60 | 7–5 | 18 – Tied | 10 – Garcia | 5 – Tied | Williams Arena (8,949) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 29, 2024* 1:00 p.m., Peacock | | Morgan State | W 90–68 | 8–5 | 22 – Mitchell Jr. | 8 – Garcia | 6 – Patterson | Williams Arena (8,107) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 2, 2025 7:00 p.m., FS1 | | No. 20 Purdue | L 61–81 | 8–6 (0–3) | 20 – Garcia | 8 – Patterson | 4 – Odukale | Williams Arena (9,754) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 6, 2025 8:00 p.m., FS1 | | Ohio State | L 88–89 $^{2OT}$ | 8–7 (0–4) | 21 – Fox | 6 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Williams Arena (7,611) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 10, 2025 6:00 p.m., Peacock | | at Wisconsin | L 59–80 | 8–8 (0–5) | 22 – Garcia | 10 – Garcia | 4 – Odukale | Kohl Center (14,239) Madison, WI |
| January 13, 2025 5:30 p.m., BTN | | at Maryland | L 71–77 | 8–9 (0–6) | 21 – Garcia | 8 – Odukale | 4 – Fox | Xfinity Center (10,271) College Park, MD |
| January 16, 2025 6:00 p.m., FS1 | | No. 20 Michigan | W 84–81 $^{OT}$ | 9–9 (1–6) | 27 – Garcia | 12 – Garcia | 7 – Odukale | Williams Arena (8,877) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 21, 2025 8:00 p.m., BTN | | at Iowa | W 72–67 | 10–9 (2–6) | 20 – Garcia | 8 – Odukale | 4 – Tied | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (8,004) Iowa City, IA |
| January 25, 2025 3:00 p.m., BTN | | No. 15 Oregon | W 77–69 | 11–9 (3–6) | 31 – Garcia | 11 – Fox | 10 – Mitchell Jr. | Williams Arena (11,062) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 28, 2025 7:00 p.m., Peacock | | at No. 7 Michigan State | L 51–73 | 11–10 (3–7) | 21 – Garcia | 5 – Garcia | 5 – Odukale | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| February 1, 2025 11:00 a.m., BTN | | Washington | L 68–71 | 11–11 (3–8) | 28 – Garcia | 7 – Mitchell | 5 – Odukale | Williams Arena (9,202) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 4, 2025 6:00 p.m., BTN | | at Penn State | W 69–61 | 12–11 (4–8) | 19 – Garcia | 14 – Garcia | 3 – Tied | Bryce Jordan Center (6,750) State College, PA |
| February 8, 2025 5:00 p.m., BTN | | No. 23 Illinois | L 74–95 | 12–12 (4–9) | 24 – Patterson | 6 – Garcia | 5 – Odukale | Williams Arena (10,091) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 15, 2025 3:00 p.m., BTN | | at USC | W 69–66 | 13–12 (5–9) | 25 – Patterson | 12 – Mitchell | 4 – Mitchell Jr. | Galen Center (6,426) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 18, 2025 9:30 p.m., FS1 | | at UCLA | W 64–61 | 14–12 (6–9) | 32 – Garcia | 8 – Garcia | 4 – Odukale | Pauley Pavilion (7,523) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 22, 2025 1:00 p.m., BTN | | Penn State | L 60–69 | 14–13 (6–10) | 15 – Odukale | 10 – Garcia | 4 – Tied | Williams Arena (11,292) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 25, 2025 6:00 p.m., Peacock | | Northwestern | L 63–75 | 14–14 (6–11) | 26 – Garcia | 9 – Garcia | 5 – Odukale | Williams Arena (8,890) Minneapolis, MN |
| March 1, 2025 1:00 p.m., BTN | | at Nebraska | W 67–65 | 15–14 (7–11) | 20 – Rigsby | 9 – Mitchell | 5 – Tied | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,749) Lincoln, NE |
| March 5, 2025 7:30 p.m., BTN | | No. 12 Wisconsin | L 67–74 | 15–15 (7–12) | 18 – Rigsby | 11 – Mitchell | 4 – Patterson | Williams Arena (14,625) Minneapolis, MN |
| March 9, 2025 12:00 p.m., BTN | | at Rutgers | L 67–75 $^{OT}$ | 15–16 (7–13) | 19 – Garcia | 11 – Mitchell | 4 – Tied | Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2025 2:30 p.m., Peacock | (12) | vs. (13) Northwestern First round | L 64–72 | 15–17 | 22 – Dawson | 7 – Tied | 4 – Odukale | Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||