# 2016–17 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gophers, led by fourth-year head coach Richard Pitino, were members of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They finished the season 24–10, 11–7 in Big Ten play to finish in fourth place. In the Big Ten tournament, they beat Michigan State in the quarterfinals before losing to Michigan in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 5 seed. The bid marked their first trip to the Tournament since 2013. In the First Round, they lost to No. 12-seeded Middle Tennessee.
Head coach Richard Pitino was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. Reggie Lynch was named defensive player of the year. Nate Mason was named to the All-Big Ten First Team.

## Previous season

The Golden Gophers finished the 2015–16 season with a record of 8–23, 2–16 in Big Ten play to finish in 13th place in conference. They lost in the first round of the Big Ten tournament to Illinois.
The season was marred by the suspensions of three players, Kevin Dorsey, Nate Mason and Dupree McBrayer, on March 1, 2016 for allegedly posting a sex video online. The players were suspended for the rest of the season.

## Offseason

In May, 2016, Illinois State transfer, Reggie Lynch, was arrested by University police on suspicion of rape. In August, it was determined that charges would not be filed against Lynch. Lynch was reinstated to the team in September.

### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Kevin Dorsey | 4 | G | 6'0" | 175 | Freshman | Waldforf, MD | Transferred to Colorado State |
| Jarvis Johnson | 12 | G | 6'1" | 185 | Freshman | Minneapolis, MN | Retired from basketball due to a heart condition |
| Charles Buggs | 23 | F | 6'9" | 220 | RS Junior | Arlington, TX | Graduate transferred to USC |
| Joey King | 24 | F | 6'9" | 235 | Senior | Eagan, MN | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Akeem Springs | 0 | G | 6'4" | 210 | RS Senior | Waukegan, IL | Transferred from Milwaukee. Will be eligible to play since Springs graduated from UW–Milwaukee. |

### 2016 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Amir Coffey SG | Hopkins, MN | Hopkins High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Sep 21, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Eric Curry PF | Little Rock, AR | Southwest Christian Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Sep 23, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Michael Hurt SF | Rochester, MN | John Marshall High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jan 16, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| 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: "2016 Minnesota Signees". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 2, 2016. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 2, 2016. ||||||

### 2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Isaiah Washington PG | Bronx, NY | St. Raymond School For Boys | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 162 lb (73 kg) | Sep 11, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Jamir Harris CG | Elizabeth, NJ | The Patrick School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 21, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| 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: "2017 Minnesota Commits". Rivals.com. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Daniel Oturu PF | St. Paul, MN | Cretin-Derham Hall | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 211 lb (96 kg) | Jan 19, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| 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

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 3, 2016* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | Bemidji State | W 83–59 | | 22 – Murphy | 14 – Curry | 5 – Coffey | Williams Arena (8,014) Minneapolis, MN |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 11, 2016* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | Louisiana–Lafayette | W 86–74 | 1–0 | 15 – Tied | 8 – Tied | 7 – Mason | Williams Arena (8,453) Minneapolis, MN |
| Nov 14, 2016* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | Texas–Arlington Golden Gopher Showcase | W 84–67 | 2–0 | 14 – Lynch | 12 – Murphy | 7 – Mason | Williams Arena (7,986) Minneapolis, MN |
| Nov 16, 2016* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | Mount St. Mary's Golden Gopher Showcase | W 80–56 | 3–0 | 18 – Murphy | 12 – Murphy | 5 – Lynch | Williams Arena (7,940) Minneapolis, MN |
| Nov 18, 2016* 8:00 pm, BTN | | St. John's Gavitt Tipoff Games | W 92–86 | 4–0 | 30 – Coffey | 11 – Lynch | 7 – Mason | Williams Arena (8,873) Minneapolis, MN |
| Nov 22, 2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Arkansas Golden Gopher Showcase | W 85–71 | 5–0 | 19 – Coffey | 7 – Tied | 7 – Mason | Williams Arena (8,997) Minneapolis, MN |
| Nov 25, 2016* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | Southern Illinois Golden Gopher Showcase | W 57–45 | 6–0 | 13 – Coffey | 11 – Curry | 6 – McBrayer | Williams Arena (9,603) Minneapolis, MN |
| Nov 28, 2016* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Florida State ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 67–75 | 6–1 | 11 – Tied | 8 – Curry | 3 – Tied | Donald L. Tucker Center (5,993) Tallahassee, FL |
| Dec 3, 2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Vanderbilt Sioux Falls Showcase | W 56–52 | 7–1 | 16 – Murphy | 14 – Murphy | 6 – McBrayer | Sanford Pentagon (3,250) Sioux Falls, SD |
| Dec 6, 2016* 7:00 pm, BTN | | NJIT | W 74–68 | 8–1 | 19 – Springs | 8 – Coffey | 3 – Tied | Williams Arena (8,189) Minneapolis, MN |
| Dec 9, 2016* 8:00 pm, BTN | | Georgia Southern | W 86–49 | 9–1 | 18 – McBrayer | 8 – Konate | 9 – Mason | Williams Arena (8,790) Minneapolis, MN |
| Dec 11, 2016* 4:00 pm, BTN | | Northern Illinois | W 77–57 | 10–1 | 18 – Lynch | 11 – Lynch | 6 – Mason | Williams Arena (8,625) Minneapolis, MN |
| Dec 14, 2016* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | LIU Brooklyn | W 76–66 | 11–1 | 21 – McBrayer | 8 – Curry | 7 – Mason | Williams Arena (8,461) Minneapolis, MN |
| Dec 23, 2016* 6:00 pm, BTN | | Arkansas State | W 82–75 | 12–1 | 19 – McBrayer | 8 – Murphy | 7 – Mason | Williams Arena (9,588) Minneapolis, MN |
| Big Ten regular season |||||||||
| Dec 27, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Michigan State | L 74–75 $^{OT}$ | 12–2 (0–1) | 18 – Mason | 21 – Murphy | 4 – Mason | Williams Arena (11,407) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 1, 2017 3:30 pm, BTN | | at No. 15 Purdue | W 91–82 $^{OT}$ | 13–2 (1–1) | 31 – Mason | 7 – Curry | 11 – Mason | Mackey Arena (14,428) West Lafayette, IN |
| Jan 5, 2017 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Northwestern | W 70–66 | 14–2 (2–1) | 17 – Coffey | 8 – Lynch | 7 – Mason | Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,215) Evanston, IL |
| Jan 8, 2017 6:30 pm, BTN | | Ohio State | W 78–68 | 15–2 (3–1) | 19 – Coffey | 11 – Murphy | 5 – Tied | Williams Arena (11,267) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 11, 2017 6:00 pm, BTN | No. 24 | at Michigan State | L 47–65 | 15–3 (3–2) | 14 – Mason | 6 – Tied | 2 – Coffey | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 14, 2017 11:00 am, ESPNU | No. 24 | at Penn State | L 50–52 | 15–4 (3–3) | 12 – Lynch | 7 – Coffey | 4 – Mason | Bryce Jordan Center (11,759) University Park, PA |
| Jan 21, 2017 3:30 pm, BTN | | No. 17 Wisconsin | L 76–78 $^{OT}$ | 15–5 (3–4) | 19 – Coffey | 7 – Lynch | 10 – Mason | Williams Arena (14,625) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 25, 2017 6:00 pm, BTN | | at Ohio State | L 72–78 | 15–6 (3–5) | 21 – Mason | 10 – Springs | 4 – Tied | Value City Arena (11,206) Columbus, OH |
| Jan 28, 2017 1:15 pm, BTN | | No. 22 Maryland | L 78–85 | 15–7 (3–6) | 23 – Springs | 10 – Tied | 9 – Coffey | Williams Arena (11,191) Minneapolis, MN |
| Feb 4, 2017 3:00 pm, BTN | | at Illinois | W 68–59 | 16–7 (4–6) | 15 – Lynch | 6 – Tied | 3 – Tied | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| Feb 8, 2017 8:00 pm, BTN | | Iowa | W 101–89 $^{2OT}$ | 17–7 (5–6) | 25 – Tied | 19 – Murphy | 7 – Mason | Williams Arena (11,481) Minneapolis, MN |
| Feb 11, 2017 11:00 am, ESPNU | | at Rutgers | W 72–63 | 18–7 (6–6) | 17 – Murphy | 11 – Murphy | 5 – Tied | Louis Brown Athletic Center (6,008) Piscataway, NJ |
| Feb 15, 2017 8:00 pm, BTN | | Indiana | W 75–74 | 19–7 (7–6) | 30 – Mason | 15 – Murphy | 4 – Tied | Williams Arena (11,658) Minneapolis, MN |
| Feb 19, 2017 6:00 pm, BTN | | Michigan | W 83–78 $^{OT}$ | 20–7 (8–6) | 16 – Murphy | 15 – Murphy | 8 – Mason | Williams Arena (12,091) Minneapolis, MN |
| Feb 22, 2017 7:30 pm, BTN | | at No. 24 Maryland | W 89–75 | 21–7 (9–6) | 18 – McBrayer | 8 – Murphy | 3 – Tied | Xfinity Center (17,349) College Park, MD |
| Feb 25, 2017 2:00 pm, BTN | | Penn State | W 81–71 | 22–7 (10–6) | 16 – Tied | 16 – Murphy | 8 – Mason | Williams Arena (14,625) Minneapolis, MN |
| Mar 2, 2017 6:00 pm, ESPN | | Nebraska | W 88–73 | 23–7 (11–6) | 25 – Mason | 11 – Murphy | 6 – McBrayer | Williams Arena (12,321) Minneapolis, MN |
| Mar 5, 2017 5:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 22 Wisconsin | L 49–66 | 23–8 (11–7) | 17 – Mason | 8 – Lynch | 4 – Coffey | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| Mar 10, 2017 1:30 pm, ESPN | (4) | vs. (5) Michigan State Quarterfinals | W 63–58 | 24–8 | 16 – Lynch | 13 – Murphy | 3 – Mason | Verizon Center (12,334) Washington, D.C. |
| Mar 11, 2017 12:00 pm, CBS | (4) | vs. (8) Michigan Semifinals | L 77–84 | 24–9 | 23 – Mason | 9 – Murphy | 4 – Tied | Verizon Center (13,984) Washington, D.C. |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 16, 2017* 3:00 pm, TNT | (5 S) | vs. (12 S) Middle Tennessee First Round | L 72–81 | 24–10 | 17 – Coffey | 9 – Murphy | 5 – McBrayer | BMO Harris Bradley Center (17,303) Milwaukee, WI |
| *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 :
| | 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 24 | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 24 | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings