# 2007–08 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 2007–08 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the college basketball season of 2007–2008. The team's head coach, Tubby Smith began his first year at Minnesota after leaving Kentucky in March 2007. The Golden Gophers played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota and are members of the Big Ten Conference.

## Season

On March 7, 2007, it was announced that Tubby Smith would be leaving Kentucky after ten years to coach at Minnesota. Smith still had 4 years left on his contract, but elected to sign on for seven years with the Golden Gophers. The season was highlighted with a run in the Big Ten tournament, where the Gophers defeated Northwestern in the first round, then shocked Indiana with a last second, miraculous jump shot by Blake Hoffarber to advance to the semifinals. Blake's shot earned him the second ESPY nomination of his career. Minnesota would then lose to Illinois and be selected as a #4 seed in the National Invitation Tournament, where they made a first round exit on their home court.

## Roster

| # | Name | Height | Weight (lbs.) | Position | Class | Hometown | Previous Team(s) |
| 0 | Al Nolen | 6'1" | 180 | G | Fr. | Minneapolis, MN, U.S. | Minneapolis Henry HS |
| 1 | Lawrence McKenzie | 6'2" | 180 | G | RSr. | Minneapolis, MN, U.S. | Minneapolis Henry HS Oklahoma |
| 2 | Ryan Saunders | 6'1" | 180 | G | RJr. | Medina, MN, U.S. | Wayzata HS |
| 3 | Kevin Payton | 6'5" | 215 | G | RSo. | Camden, NJ, U.S. | Camden HS |
| 4 | Travis Busch | 6'4" | 220 | G/F | RSo. | Mounds View, MN, U.S. | Mounds View HS Cal Poly |
| 11 | Jon Williams | 6'9" | 285 | C | RJr. | St. Cloud, MN, U.S. | St. Cloud Apollo HS Notre Dame Prep (MA) |
| 13 | Dan Coleman | 6'9" | 225 | F | RSr. | Minneapolis, MN, U.S. | Hopkins HS |
| 20 | Lawrence Westbrook | 6'0" | 195 | G | So. | Chandler, AZ, U.S. | Winchendon Prep |
| 23 | Brandon Smith | 6'6" | 220 | G/F | Jr. | Minneapolis, MN, U.S. | Minneapolis Henry HS |
| 24 | Blake Hoffarber | 6'4" | 200 | G | Fr. | Minnetonka, MN, U.S. | Hopkins HS |
| 33 | Jamal Abu-Shamala | 6'5" | 210 | G/F | Jr. | Shakopee, MN, U.S. | Shakopee HS |
| 34 | Damian Johnson | 6'7" | 195 | F | RSo. | Thibodaux, LA, U.S. | Thibodaux HS |
| 50 | Spencer Tollackson | 6'9" | 260 | C | Sr. | Chaska, MN, U.S. | Chaska HS |

## 2007–08 Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 1, 2007* 7:00 pm | | Minnesota State | W 94–68 | – | Williams Arena (11,508) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 6, 2007* 6:00 pm, BTN | | Southwest Minnesota State | W 88–52 | – | Williams Arena (11,197) Minneapolis, MN |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 10, 2007* 2:00 pm | | Army | W 84–52 | 1–0 | Williams Arena (11,529) Minneapolis, MN |
| November 20, 2007* 7:00 pm, Mediacom | | at Iowa State | W 68–58 | 2–0 | Hilton Coliseum (13,709) Ames, IA |
| November 24, 2007* no, ESPN360 | | Central Michigan | W 77–59 | 3–0 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| November 27, 2007* no, ESPN2 | | at Florida State ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 75–61 | 3–1 | Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, FL |
| December 1, 2007* no, BTN | | UC Riverside | W 75–38 | 4–1 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| December 3, 2007* no, BTN | | North Dakota State | W 88–56 | 5–1 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| December 8, 2007* no, ESPN360 | | Colorado State | W 91–74 | 6–1 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| December 12, 2007* no, BTN | | South Dakota State | W 78–72 | 7–1 | William's Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| December 22, 2007* no, ESPNU | | Santa Clara | W 68–50 | 8–1 | William's Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| December 28, 2007* no, no | | vs. Nicholls State Duel in the Desert | W 77–32 | 9–1 | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV |
| December 29, 2007* no, no | | vs. Kennesaw State Duel in the Desert | W 83–66 | 10–1 | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV |
| December 30, 2007* no, no | | vs. UNLV Duel in the Desert | L 81–64 | 10–2 | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV |
| Big Ten Regular Season ||||||
| January 5, 2008 no, BTN | | at No. 6 Michigan State | L 65–59 | 10–3 (0–1) | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| January 9, 2008 no, BTN | | Northwestern | W 82–63 | 11–3 (1–1) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| January 12, 2008 no, BTN | | at Penn State | W 76–73 | 12–3 (2–1) | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, PA |
| January 17, 2008 no, ESPN | | No. 9 Indiana | L 65–60 | 12–4 (2–2) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| January 20, 2008 no, BTN | | No. 11 Michigan State | L 78–73 | 12–5 (2–3) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| January 26, 2008 no, BTN | | at Ohio State | L 76–60 | 12–6 (2–4) | Jerome Schottenstein Center Columbus, OH |
| January 31, 2008 no, BTN | | at Michigan | W 77–65 | 13–6 (3–4) | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI |
| February 3, 2008 no, BTN | | No. 13 Wisconsin | L 63–47 | 13–7 (3–5) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| February 6, 2008 no, BTN | | at Northwestern | W 92–72 | 14–7 (4–5) | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, IL |
| February 9, 2008 no, ESPN | | at Iowa | W 63–50 | 15–7 (5–5) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| February 12, 2008 no, BTN | | Illinois | L 84–60 | 15–8 (5–6) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| February 16, 2008 no, BTN | | at No. 15 Wisconsin | L 65–56 | 15–9 (5–7) | Kohl Center Madison, WI |
| February 21, 2008 no, ESPN2 | | Michigan | W 69–60 | 16–9 (6–7) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| February 24, 2008 no, BTN | | Penn State | W 75–68 | 17–9 (7–7) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| February 27, 2008 no, BTN | | at No. 16 Purdue | L 65–53 | 17–10 (7–8) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| March 1, 2008 no, ESPN | | Ohio State | W 71–57 | 18–10 (8–8) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| March 5, 2008 no, BTN | | at No. 18 Indiana | L 69–55 | 18–11 (8–9) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN |
| March 8, 2008 no, BTN | | at Illinois | L 67–58 | 18–12 (8–10) | Assembly Hall Champaign, IL |
| 2008 Big Ten tournament ||||||
| March 13, 2008 no, ESPN2 | (6) | vs. (11) Northwestern First Round | W 55–52 | 19–12 | Conseco Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| March 14, 2008 no, BTN | (6) | vs. (3) No. 22 Indiana Quarterfinals | W 59–58 | 20–12 | Conseco Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| March 15, 2008 no, CBS | (6) | vs. (10) Illinois Semifinals | L 50–54 | 20–13 | Conseco Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| 2008 National Invitation tournament ||||||
| March 18, 2008 no, ESPN | (4) | (5) Maryland First Round | L 68–58 | 20–14 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Rankings

The 2007–08 Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball team was not ranked during the season.