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.[1] In the First Round, they lost to No. 12-seeded Middle Tennessee.

2016–17 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
NCAA tournament, First Round
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record24–10 (11–7 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Ed Conroy (1st year)
  • Ben Johnson (4th year)
  • Kimani Young (4th year)
Home arenaWilliams Arena
Seasons
2016–17 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 15 Purdue 14 4   .778 27 8   .771
No. 25 Wisconsin 12 6   .667 27 10   .730
Maryland 12 6   .667 24 9   .727
Minnesota 11 7   .611 24 10   .706
No. 23 Michigan 10 8   .556 26 12   .684
Northwestern 10 8   .556 24 12   .667
Michigan State 10 8   .556 20 15   .571
Iowa 10 8   .556 19 15   .559
Illinois 8 10   .444 20 15   .571
Ohio State 7 11   .389 17 15   .531
Indiana 7 11   .389 18 16   .529
Penn State 6 12   .333 15 18   .455
Nebraska 6 12   .333 12 19   .387
Rutgers 3 15   .167 15 18   .455
2017 Big Ten tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Head coach Richard Pitino was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.[2] Reggie Lynch was named defensive player of the year.[3] Nate Mason was named to the All-Big Ten First Team.[4]

Previous season

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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.[5][6] The players were suspended for the rest of the season.[7]

Offseason

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In May, 2016, Illinois State transfer, Reggie Lynch, was arrested by University police on suspicion of rape.[8] In August, it was determined that charges would not be filed against Lynch.[9] Lynch was reinstated to the team in September.[10][11]

Departures

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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[12]
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

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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

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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

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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:

2018 recruiting class

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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:

Roster

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2016–17 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Akeem Springs 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Waukegan
Milwaukee
Waukegan, IL
G 1 Dupree McBrayer 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Sunrise Christian Academy Queens, NY
G 2 Nate Mason 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Arlington Country Day Decatur, GA
F 3 Jordan Murphy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Brennan San Antonio, TX
G 4 Brady Rudrud (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Eden Prairie Eden Prairie, MN
G 5 Amir Coffey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Hopkins Hopkins, MN
G 10 Darin Haugh (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Sr Bethany Lutheran Prior Lake, MN
G 15 Stephon Sharp (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Hopkins Bloomington, MN
F 20 Davonte Fitzgerald   6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr Tucker
Texas A&M
Atlanta, GA
C 21 Bakary Konaté 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Sunrise Christian Academy Bamako, Mali
C 22 Reggie Lynch 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 260 lb (118 kg) RS Jr Edina
Illinois State
Edina, MN
F 24 Eric Curry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Southwest Christian Academy Little Rock, AR
F 32 Ahmad Gilbert 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Constitution Philadelphia, PA
F 41 Gaston Diedhiou 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Canarias Academy Dakar, Senegal
F 42 Michael Hurt 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr John Marshall Rochester, MN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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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

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP24RVNot released
Coaches24RV

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

References

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  1. ^ "Minnesota Gophers receive 5-seed at NCAA tournament". Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  2. ^ "Richard Pitino is Big Ten coach of the year as Gophers haul in awards". Twin Cities. March 7, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  3. ^ "Reggie Lynch named Defensive Player of the Year!". The Daily Gopher. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  4. ^ "Gophers' Nate Mason named All-Big Ten, Reggie Lynch is Defensive Player of the Year". Star Tribune. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  5. ^ "3 Gophers Basketball Players Suspended For Remainder Of Season". Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  6. ^ Petchesky, Barry. "Minnesota Suspends Three Players After One Tweets Sex Tapes". Deadspin. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  7. ^ Mullen, Mike. "Minnesota basketball players suspended through end of season for sex-tape tweet | City Pages". City Pages. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  8. ^ "Gophers' Reggie Lynch arrested, suspended from team". Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  9. ^ "Charges will not be filed against Gophers basketball player Reggie Lynch". Star Tribune. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  10. ^ "Center Reggie Lynch reinstated to Gophers basketball team". Star Tribune. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  11. ^ "Minnesota reinstates center Reggie Lynch". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  12. ^ "Jarvis Johnson's story: Life, death and basketball". StarTribune. Retrieved June 2, 2016.