# 2005–06 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 2005–06 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the college basketball season of 2005–2006. The team's head coach, Dan Monson, was in his seventh season with the Gophers and the team played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota and are members of the Big Ten Conference.

## Season

After making the NCAA tournament the previous year, the Gophers had mixed results throughout the season. The team was able to win only two games on the road, but defeated three top 20 teams at home in conference play. After losing to eventual conference tournament winner Iowa, the Gophers accepted an invitation to the NIT where they would give their home fans one final win before being defeated on the road by Cincinnati in the second round.

## Roster

| # | Name | Height | Weight (lbs.) | Position | Class | Hometown | Previous Team(s) |
| 1 | Lawrence McKenzie | 6'2" | 180 | G | Jr. | Minneapolis, MN, U.S. | Minneapolis Henry HS Oklahoma |
| 2 | Ryan Saunders | 6'1" | 193 | G | So. | Wayzata, MN, U.S. | Wayzata HS |
| 3 | Kevin Payton | 6'5" | 200 | G/F | Fr. | Camden, NJ, U.S. | Camden HS |
| 11 | Maurice Hargrow | 6'5" | 200 | G | RSr. | St. Paul, MN, U.S. | Highland Park HS |
| 13 | Dan Coleman | 6'9" | 225 | F | RSo. | Minneapolis, MN, U.S. | Hopkins HS |
| 15 | Vincent Grier | 6'5" | 210 | G/F | Sr. | Charlotte, NC, U.S. | Dixie State JC |
| 21 | J'son Stamper | 6'6" | 235 | F | Sr. | Bronx, NY, U.S. | Independence Community College |
| 23 | Brandon Smith | 6'6" | 205 | G/F | Fr. | Minneapolis, MN, U.S. | Minneapolis Henry HS |
| 24 | Rico Tucker | 6'0" | 190 | G | So. | San Diego, CA, U.S. | University HS |
| 30 | Jon Williams | 6'9" | 275 | F | RFr. | St. Cloud, MN, U.S. | St. Cloud Apollo HS Notre Dame Prep (MA) |
| 31 | Adam Boone | 6'2" | 200 | G | RSr. | Minnetonka, MN, U.S. | Minnetonka HS North Carolina |
| 32 | Zach Puchtel | 6'6" | 250 | F | RJr. | Minnetonka, MN, U.S. | Hopkins HS |
| 33 | Jamal Abu-Shamala | 6'5" | 200 | G | Fr. | Shakopee, MN, U.S. | Shakopee HS |
| 34 | Damian Johnson | 6'7" | 192 | F | Fr. | Thibodaux, LA, U.S. | Thibodaux HS |
| 50 | Spencer Tollackson | 6'9" | 267 | C | So. | Chaska, MN, U.S. | Chaska HS |

## 2005–06 Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 5, 2005* no | | SW Minnesota State | W 59–50 | | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| November 10, 2005* 7 p.m. | | Minnesota–Duluth | W 78–64 | | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 18, 2005* 6 p.m., FSN North | | North Dakota State | W 70–57 | 1–0 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| November 26, 2005* 3 p.m., ESPN Regional/FSN North | | Tennessee–Chattanooga | W 67–46 | 2–0 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| November 28, 2005* 7 p.m., no | | Gardner–Webb | L 73–72 | 2–1 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| November 30, 2005* 6:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | at No. 23 Maryland ACC – Big Ten Challenge | L 83–66 | 2–2 | Comcast Center College Park, MD |
| December 3, 2005* 12 p.m., no | | Coastal Carolina | W 75–57 | 3–2 | William's Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| December 5, 2005* 9:30 p.m., FSN | | at Arizona State | W 85–79 $^{OT}$ | 4–2 | Wells Fargo Arena Tempe, AZ |
| December 10, 2005* 12 p.m., ESPN Regional/FSN North | | UNLV | W 72–67 | 5–2 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| December 14, 2005* 7 p.m., ESPN Regional/FSN North | | Alabama–Birmingham | W 69–68 | 6–2 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| December 21, 2005* 7 p.m., no | | Grambling State | W 88–64 | 7–2 | William's Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| December 23, 2005* 7 p.m., no | | South Dakota State | W 80–61 | 8–2 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| December 31, 2005* 1 p.m., no | | Oral Roberts | W 67–54 | 9–2 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| Big Ten Regular Season ||||||
| January 7, 2006 1 p.m., ESPN Regional/KSTC-45 | | Northwestern | L 57–49 | 9–3 (0–1) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| January 10, 2006 6 p.m., ESPN | | No. 21 Wisconsin | L 64–62 | 9–4 (0–2) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| January 14, 2006 7 p.m., ESPN Regional/FSN North-Delay | | at Purdue | L 72–55 | 9–5 (0–3) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| January 18, 2006 7 p.m., ESPN Regional/FSN North-Delay | | at No. 23 Iowa | L 76–72 $^{3OT}$ | 9–6 (0–4) | Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA |
| January 21, 2006 7 p.m., ESPN Regional/FSN North | | Michigan | L 71–55 | 9–7 (0–5) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| January 25, 2006 8 p.m., ESPN Regional/FSN North | | at No. 8 Illinois | L 77–53 | 9–8 (0–6) | Assembly Hall Champaign, IL |
| January 29, 2006 12 p.m., CBS | | No. 13 Indiana | W 61–42 | 10–8 (1–6) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| February 4, 2006 2 p.m., ESPN Regional/KSTC-45 | | at No. 20 Ohio State | L 67–53 | 10–9 (1–7) | Value City Arena Columbus, OH |
| February 8, 2006 7 p.m., ESPN Regional/FSN North | | at Penn State | W 77–66 | 11–9 (2–7) | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, PA |
| February 11, 2006 1:30 p.m., ESPN Regional/KSTC-45 | | No. 12 Michigan State | W 69–55 | 12–9 (3–7) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| February 15, 2006 6 p.m., ESPN Regional/FSN North | | at Michigan | L 72–50 | 12–10 (3–8) | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI |
| February 18, 2006 3:30 p.m., ESPN Regional/KSTC-45 | | No. 18 Iowa | W 74–61 | 13–10 (4–8) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| February 22, 2006 8 p.m., ESPN Regional/FSN North | | Purdue | W 62–50 | 14–10 (5–8) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| February 26, 2006 1 p.m., ESPN Regional/FSN North | | at Wisconsin | L 80–74 | 14–11 (5–9) | Kohl Center Madison, WI |
| February 28, 2006 8 p.m., ESPN | | No. 10 Illinois | L 71–65 | 14–12 (5–10) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| March 4, 2006 8 p.m., ESPN Regional/FSN North-Delay | | at Northwestern | L 57–53 | 14–13 (5–11) | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, ILL |
| 2006 Big Ten tournament ||||||
| March 9, 2006 2:30 p.m., ESPN2 | (10) | vs. (7) Michigan First Round | W 59–55 | 15–13 | Conseco Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| March 10, 2006 6:40 p.m., ESPN Regional | (10) | vs. (2) No. 20 Iowa Quarterfinal | L 67–57 | 15–14 | Conseco Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| 2006 National Invitation tournament ||||||
| March 15, 2006 7 p.m., ESPN2 | (4 C) | (5 C) Wake Forest First Round | W 73–58 | 16–14 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| March 21, 2006 8 p.m., ESPN | (4 C) | at (1 C) Cincinnati Second Round | L 76–62 | 16–15 | Fifth Third Arena Cincinnati, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Rankings

The 2005–06 Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball team was not ranked during the season.