# 2018–19 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gophers, led by sixth-year head coach Richard Pitino, played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota as members of the Big Ten Conference. The team was led by 2019 First team All-Big Ten selection Jordan Murphy and third team selection Amir Coffey. They finished the season 22-14, 9-11 in Big Ten Play to finish in 7th place. They defeated Penn State and Purdue to advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament where they lost to Michigan. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Louisville in the First Round before losing in the Second Round to Michigan State.

## Previous season

The Golden Gophers finished the 2017–18 season 15–17, 4–14 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for 11th place. As the No. 11 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost in the first round to Rutgers.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Nate Mason | 2 | G | 6'2" | 190 | Senior | Decatur, GA | Graduated |
| Jamir Harris | 4 | G | 6'0" | 190 | Freshman | North Brunswick, NJ | Transferred to American |
| Davonte Fitzgerald | 20 | F | 6'8" | 225 | RS Senior | Atlanta, GA | Transferred to Stephen F. Austin |
| Bakary Konaté | 21 | C | 6'11" | 240 | Senior | Bamako, Mali | Graduated |
| Reggie Lynch | 22 | C | 6'10" | 265 | RS Senior | Edina, MN | Dismissed from school |
| Gaston Diedhiou | 41 | F | 6'10" | 245 | Senior | Dakar, Senegal | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Payton Willis | G | 6'4" | 182 | Junior | Fayetteville, AR | Vanderbilt |
| Marcus Carr | G | 6'1 | 185 | Sophomore | Toronto, ON | Pittsburgh |
| Brock Stull | G | 6'4 | 194 | RS Senior | Rockford, IL | Milwaukee |

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Daniel Oturu C | St. Paul, MN | Cretin-Derham Hall | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 216 lb (98 kg) | Jan 19, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Gabe Kalscheur SG | Minneapolis, MN | DeLaSalle High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 182 lb (83 kg) | Jul 25, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Jarvis Omersa PF | Orono, MN | Orono High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Jul 18, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 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: "2018 Minnesota Commits". Rivals.com. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

The 2018–19 season will mark the first time in Big Ten history that the teams will play a 20-game conference schedule, setting a precedent for all Division I basketball. The new schedule will also include a regional component to increase the frequency of games among teams in similar areas. Over the course of a six-year cycle (12 playing opportunities), in-state rivals will play each other 12 times, regional opponents will play 10 times, and all other teams will play nine times. Three in-state series will be guaranteed home-and-homes: Illinois and Northwestern, Indiana and Purdue, and Michigan and Michigan State will always play twice.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 1, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | Minnesota–Duluth | W 109–53 | – | 18 – Washington | 10 – Oturu | 6 – Stull | Williams Arena (7,481) Minneapolis, MN |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | Omaha | W 104–76 | 1–0 | 18 – Coffey | 10 – Murphy | 11 – Washington | Williams Arena (8,883) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 12, 2018* 8:00 pm, BTN | | Utah | W 78–69 | 2–0 | 19 – Kalscheur | 17 – Murphy | 6 – Tied | Williams Arena (11,554) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 18, 2018* 9:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Texas A&M Vancouver Showcase | W 69–64 | 3–0 | 14 – Murphy | 9 – Oturu | 3 – Washington | Vancouver Convention Centre (3,107) Vancouver, BC |
| November 20, 2018* 8:00 pm, BTN | | vs. Santa Clara Vancouver Showcase | W 80–66 | 4–0 | 25 – Kalscheur | 17 – Murphy | 6 – Murphy | Vancouver Convention Centre (3,070) Vancouver, BC |
| November 21, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN | | vs. Washington Vancouver Showcase | W 68–66 | 5–0 | 18 – Murphy | 11 – Murphy | 2 – Tied | Vancouver Convention Centre (1,680) Vancouver, BC |
| November 26, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Boston College ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 56–68 | 5–1 | 16 – Murphy | 11 – Murphy | 3 – Washington | Conte Forum (4,389) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| November 30, 2018* 9:00 pm, BTN | | vs. Oklahoma State U.S. Bank Stadium Classic | W 83–76 | 6–1 | 24 – Murphy | 16 – Murphy | 4 – Washington | U.S. Bank Stadium (12,357) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 2, 2018 6:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 16 Ohio State | L 59–79 | 6–2 (0–1) | 19 – Coffey | 7 – Tied | 3 – Washington | Value City Arena (11,668) Columbus, OH |
| December 5, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN | | No. 24 Nebraska | W 85–78 | 7–2 (1–1) | 32 – Coffey | 13 – Murphy | 6 – Coffey | Williams Arena (9,624) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 8, 2018* 3:00 pm, BTN+ | | Arkansas State | W 72–56 | 8–2 | 19 – Oturu | 12 – Tied | 6 – Coffey | Williams Arena (10,257) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 11, 2018* 8:00 pm, BTN | | North Florida | W 80–71 | 9–2 | 20 – Murphy | 18 – Murphy | 13 – Washington | Williams Arena (9,212) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 21, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | North Carolina A&T | W 86–67 | 10–2 | 30 – Murphy | 16 – Murphy | 10 – Washington | Williams Arena (10,144) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 30, 2018* 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | Mount St. Mary's | W 71–53 | 11–2 | 15 – McBrayer | 10 – Oturu | 3 – Tied | Williams Arena (10,767) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 3, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 22 Wisconsin | W 59–52 | 12–2 (2–1) | 21 – Coffey | 11 – Murphy | 3 – Coffey | Kohl Center (16,687) Madison, WI |
| January 8, 2019 6:00 pm, BTN | | Maryland | L 67–82 | 12–3 (2–2) | 16 – Coffey | 11 – Oturu | 5 – Coffey | Williams Arena (9,919) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 12, 2019 11:30 am, BTN | | Rutgers | W 88–70 | 13–3 (3–2) | 29 – Coffey | 16 – Murphy | 10 – McBrayer | Williams Arena (10,837) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 16, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN | | at Illinois | L 68–95 | 13–4 (3–3) | 17 – Oturu | 8 – Oturu | 4 – Washington | State Farm Center (11,503) Champaign, IL |
| January 19, 2019 7:30 pm, BTN | | Penn State | W 65–64 | 14–4 (4–3) | 19 – Murphy | 21 – Murphy | 6 – Murphy | Williams Arena (11,042) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 22, 2019 6:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 5 Michigan | L 57–59 | 14–5 (4–4) | 15 – Murphy | 11 – Murphy | 4 – McBrayer | Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI |
| January 27, 2019 4:00 pm, FS1 | | No. 19 Iowa | W 92–87 | 15–5 (5–4) | 23 – Tied | 11 – Murphy | 7 – McBrayer | Williams Arena (11,582) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 30, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN | | Illinois | W 86–75 | 16–5 (6–4) | 18 – Coffey | 10 – Murphy | 6 – Coffey | Williams Arena (9,565) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 3, 2019 11:00 am, BTN | | at No. 17 Purdue | L 63–73 | 16–6 (6–5) | 22 – Coffey | 10 – Murphy | 5 – Washington | Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN |
| February 6, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN | | No. 19 Wisconsin | L 51–56 | 16–7 (6–6) | 16 – Murphy | 19 – Murphy | 5 – McBrayer | Williams Arena (14,625) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 9, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 9 Michigan State | L 55–79 | 16–8 (6–7) | 17 – Kalscheur | 7 – Oturu | 4 – Coffey | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| February 13, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN | | at Nebraska | L 61–62 | 16–9 (6–8) | 19 – Murphy | 13 – Murphy | 4 – McBrayer | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,642) Lincoln, NE |
| February 16, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Indiana | W 84–63 | 17–9 (7–8) | 23 – Murphy | 11 – Murphy | 7 – Coffey | Williams Arena (11,639) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 21, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 7 Michigan | L 60–69 | 17-10 (7-9) | 18 – Tied | 15 – Murphy | 4 – Coffey | Williams Arena (11,084) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 24, 2019 5:30 pm, BTN | | at Rutgers | L 64–68 | 17–11 (7–10) | 21 – Kalscheur | 8 – Oturu | 3 – Coffey | Louis Brown Athletic Center (7,270) Piscataway, NJ |
| February 28, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Northwestern | W 62–50 | 18–11 (8–10) | 32 – Coffey | 12 – Coffey | 3 – Coffey | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,869) Evanston, IL |
| March 5, 2019 7:00 pm, BTN | | No. 11 Purdue | W 73–69 | 19–11 (9–10) | 32 – Coffey | 14 – Murphy | 4 – Tied | Williams Arena (10,062) Minneapolis, MN |
| March 8, 2019 5:30 pm, FS1 | | at No. 24 Maryland | L 60–69 | 19–12 (9–11) | 23 – Coffey | 11 – Oturu | 6 – Coffey | Xfinity Center (16,662) College Park, MD |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2019 6:00 pm, BTN | (7) | vs. (10) Penn State Second Round | W 77–72 $^{OT}$ | 20–12 | 22 – Coffey | 14 – Murphy | 5 – Tied | United Center (16,207) Chicago, IL |
| March 15, 2019 6:00 pm, BTN | (7) | vs. (2) No. 13 Purdue Quarterfinals | W 75–73 | 21–12 | 27 – Murphy | 10 – Oturu | 4 – Tied | United Center (18,575) Chicago, IL |
| March 16, 2019 2:30 pm, CBS | (7) | vs. (3) No. 10 Michigan Semifinals | L 49–76 | 21–13 | 14 – Coffey | 6 – Murphy | 7 – McBrayer | United Center (18,468) Chicago, IL |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 21, 2019* 11:15 am, CBS | (10 E) | vs. (7 E) Louisville First Round | W 86–76 | 22–13 | 24 – Kalscheur | 8 – Kalscheur | 4 – McBrayer | Wells Fargo Arena (16,512) Des Moines, IA |
| Mar 23, 2019* 6:45 pm, CBS | (10 E) | vs. (2 E) No. 5 Michigan State Second Round | L 50–70 | 22–14 | 27 – Coffey | 7 – Omersa | 4 – Coffey | Wells Fargo Arena (16,770) Des Moines, IA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | 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 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | | | | RV | | RV | RV | | | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | Not released |
| Coaches | | | RV | RV | | | | | | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | RV |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings