# 2020–21 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gophers were led by eighth-year head coach Richard Pitino and played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Gophers finished the season 14–15, 6–14 in Big Ten play to finish in 13th place. They defeated Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten tournament before losing to Ohio State in the second round.
Following the season, the school fired Richard Pitino after eight years at the school. On March 23, 2021, the school named Minnesota alum and former Minnesota assistant coach Ben Johnson the new head coach.

## Previous season

The Gophers finished the 2019–20 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.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Payton Willis | 0 | G | 6'4" | 200 | RS Junior | Fayetteville, AR | Transferred to College of Charleston |
| Bryan Greenlee | 3 | G | 6'0" | 175 | Freshman | Gainesville, FL | Transferred to Florida Atlantic |
| Brady Rudrud | 10 | G | 6'2" | 190 | Senior | Eden Prairie, MN | Graduated, walk-on |
| Daniel Oturu | 25 | C | 6'10" | 225 | Sophomore | Woodbury, MN | Declared for NBA Draft |
| Alihan Demir | 30 | F | 6'9" | 235 | Senior | Ankara, Turkey | Graduated |
| Michael Hurt | 42 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Senior | Rochester, MN | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Brandon Johnson | F | 6'8" | 200 | Senior | Chicago, IL | Western Michigan |
| Liam Robbins | C | 7'0" | 235 | Junior | Davenport, IA | Drake |
| Both Gach | G | 6'6" | 183 | Junior | Austin, MN | Utah |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2020 recruiting class

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: 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: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| David Mutaf CG | Istanbul, Turkey | Fenerbahce Basketball Subesi | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | May 24, 2020 |
| 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: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

#### 2021 recruiting class

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 |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 6:00 p.m., BTN Plus | | Green Bay | W 99–69 | 1–0 | 35 – Carr | 9 – Robbins | 4 – Tied | Williams Arena (0) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 28, 2020* 5:00 p.m., BTN | | Loyola Marymount | W 88–73 | 2–0 | 28 – Carr | 8 – Robbins | 8 – Carr | Williams Arena (0) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 30, 2020* 7:00 p.m., BTN | | Loyola Marymount | W 67–64 | 3–0 | 26 – Carr | 7 – Carr | 4 – Gach | Williams Arena (0) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 4, 2020* 8:00 p.m., BTN | | North Dakota | W 76–67 | 4–0 | 21 – Gach | 9 – Gach | 9 – Carr | Williams Arena (0) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 8, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Boston College ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 85–80 $^{OT}$ | 5–0 | 22 – Carr | 9 – Gach | 6 – Carr | Williams Arena (0) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 10, 2020* 7:00 p.m., FS1 | | Kansas City | W 90–61 | 6–0 | 27 – Robbins | 11 – Ihnen | 7 – Carr | Williams Arena (0) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 15, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at No. 13 Illinois | L 65–92 | 6–1 (0–1) | 16 – Carr | 8 – Johnson | 4 – Carr | State Farm Center (173) Champaign, IL |
| December 20, 2020* 7:30 p.m., FS1 | | Saint Louis | W 90–82 | 7–1 | 32 – Carr | 10 – Ihnen | 7 – Carr | Williams Arena (0) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 25, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN | | No. 4 Iowa | W 102–95 $^{OT}$ | 8–1 (1–1) | 30 – Carr | 9 – Johnson | 8 – Carr | Williams Arena (0) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 28, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN | No. 21 | No. 17 Michigan State | W 81–56 | 9–1 (2–1) | 19 – Carr | 9 – Tied | 5 – Carr | Williams Arena (0) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 31, 2020 3:30 p.m., BTN | No. 21 | at No. 6 Wisconsin | L 59–71 | 9–2 (2–2) | 15 – Kalscheur | 9 – Tied | 7 – Carr | Kohl Center (0) Madison, WI |
| January 3, 2021 4:30 p.m., BTN | No. 21 | No. 25 Ohio State | W 77–60 | 10–2 (3–2) | 27 – Robbins | 14 – Robbins | 4 – Robbins | Williams Arena (0) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 6, 2021 7:30 p.m., BTN | No. 16 | at No. 10 Michigan | L 57–82 | 10–3 (3–3) | 14 – Carr | 6 – Johnson | 2 – Tied | Crisler Center (64) Ann Arbor, MI |
| January 10, 2021 1:30 p.m., BTN | No. 16 | at No. 5 Iowa | L 71–86 | 10–4 (3–4) | 13 – Tied | 8 – Johnson | 4 – Carr | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (569) Iowa City, IA |
| January 16, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 23 | No. 7 Michigan | W 75–57 | 11–4 (4–4) | 22 – Robbins | 8 – Robbins | 6 – Carr | Williams Arena (38) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 23, 2021 1:00 p.m., BTN | No. 17 | Maryland | L 49–63 | 11–5 (4–5) | 25 – Carr | 10 – Johnson | 3 – Tied | Williams Arena (44) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 30, 2021 6:30 p.m., BTN | No. 21 | at Purdue | L 62–81 | 11–6 (4–6) | 15 – Robbins | 7 – Robbins | 5 – Carr | Mackey Arena (250) West Lafayette, IN |
| February 4, 2021 8:00 p.m., FS1 | | at Rutgers | L 72–76 | 11–7 (4–7) | 18 – Carr | 10 – Robbins | 7 – Carr | Louis Brown Athletic Center (0) Piscataway, NJ |
| February 8, 2021 7:00 p.m., BTN | | Nebraska | W 79–61 | 12–7 (5–7) | 21 – Carr | 10 – Johnson | 8 – Carr | Williams Arena (29) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 11, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 24 Purdue | W 71–68 | 13–7 (6–7) | 19 – Carr | 10 – Robbins | 5 – Carr | Williams Arena (44) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 14, 2021 6:00 p.m., FS1 | | at Maryland | L 59–72 | 13–8 (6–8) | 14 – Mashburn Jr. | 7 – Ihnen | 3 – Mashburn Jr. | Xfinity Center (0) College Park, MD |
| February 17, 2021 8:00 p.m., BTN | | at Indiana | L 72–82 | 13–9 (6–9) | 19 – Tied | 7 – Johnson | 4 – Carr | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (0) Bloomington, IN |
| February 20, 2021 2:30 p.m., FOX | | No. 5 Illinois | L 63-94 | 13–10 (6–10) | 16 – Mashburn Jr. | 6 – Mashburn Jr. | 4 – Robbins | Williams Arena (56) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 25, 2021 8:00 p.m., BTN | | Northwestern | L 59–67 | 13–11 (6–11) | 21 – Carr | 8 – Curry | 7 – Carr | Williams Arena (23) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 27, 2021 6:00 p.m., BTN | | at Nebraska | L 74-78 | 13-12 (6-12) | 41 – Carr | 8 – Curry | 3 – Carr | Pinnacle Bank Arena (0) Lincoln, NE |
| March 3, 2021 6:00 p.m., BTN | | at Penn State | L 65–84 | 13–13 (6–13) | 22 – Carr | 10 – Ihnen | 4 – Carr | Bryce Jordan Center (258) University Park, PA |
| March 6, 2021 11:00 a.m., FOX | | Rutgers | L 70–77 $^{OT}$ | 13–14 (6–14) | 19 – Johnson | 11 – Johnson | 3 – Gach | Williams Arena (52) Minneapolis, MN |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2021 5:30 p.m., BTN | (13) | vs. (12) Northwestern First round | W 51–46 | 14–14 | 14 – Williams | 12 – Curry | 6 – Carr | Lucas Oil Stadium (5,909) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 11, 2021 1:00 p.m., BTN | (13) | vs. (5) No. 9 Ohio State Second round | L 75–79 | 14–15 | 24 – Carr | 8 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Lucas Oil Stadium (6,206) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | RV | RV | 21т | 16 | 23 | 17 | 21 | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | RV | 24т | 17 | 19 | 17 | 20 | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.