2006–07 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 2006–07 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the college basketball season of 2006–2007. The team's head coach, Dan Monson, began his eighth season with the Gophers only to resign after a 2 win, 5 loss start. Assistant coach Jim Molinari took over for the remainder of the season on an interim basis. The Golden Gophers played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota and are members of the Big Ten Conference.

2006–07 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record9–22 (3–13 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coachNiko Medved
Home arenaWilliams Arena
Seasons
2006–07 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 Ohio State 15 1   .938 35 4   .897
No. 6 Wisconsin 13 3   .813 30 6   .833
Indiana 10 6   .625 21 11   .656
Iowa 9 7   .563 17 14   .548
Purdue 9 7   .563 22 12   .647
Illinois 9 7   .563 23 12   .657
Michigan State 8 8   .500 23 12   .657
Michigan 8 8   .500 22 13   .629
Minnesota 3 13   .188 9 22   .290
Penn State 2 14   .125 13 18   .419
Northwestern 2 14   .125 11 19   .367
2007 Big Ten tournament winner
As of March 13, 2007
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Season

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Coming off of a short NIT run at the end of the previous season, the Gophers, with no seniors on the roster, began 2006 in a slump. After losing 4 straight games, the final 3 at the inaugural Old Spice Classic in Orlando to take last place, the Gophers were beaten badly at home by Clemson on November 29. Head coach Dan Monson announced the next day that he would resign from his coaching duties, stating, "It's time for somebody else to make the next step and that's to have more success on the court than I had."[2] Assistant coach Jim Molinari was appointed as interim head coach, but the Gophers could never quite get their season started, finishing with a disappointing 9 wins and 22 losses.

Roster

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# Name Height Weight (lbs.) Position Class Hometown Previous Team(s)
1 Lawrence McKenzie 6'2" 180 G RJr. Minneapolis, MN, U.S. Minneapolis Henry HS
Oklahoma
2 Ryan Saunders 6'1" 180 G Jr. Medina, MN, U.S. Wayzata HS
3 Kevin Payton 6'5" 200 G/F RFr. Camden, NJ, U.S. Camden HS
4 Travis Busch 6'4" 220 G/F So. Mounds View, MN, U.S. Mounds View HS
Cal Poly
5 Limar Wilson 5'11" 160 G Jr. Orlando, FL, U.S. Lyman HS
NE CC
12 Engen Nurumbi 6'7" 230 F Jr. Kinshasa, DR Congo Arizona Western
13 Dan Coleman 6'9" 225 F RJr. Minneapolis, MN, U.S. Hopkins HS
20 Lawrence Westbrook 6'0" 190 G Fr. Chandler, AZ, U.S. Winchendon Prep
23 Brandon Smith 6'6" 205 G/F So. Minneapolis, MN, U.S. Minneapolis Henry HS
30 Jon Williams 6'9" 285 F RSo. St. Cloud, MN, U.S. St. Cloud Apollo HS
Notre Dame Prep (MA)
33 Jamal Abu-Shamala 6'5" 200 G So. Shakopee, MN, U.S. Shakopee HS
34 Damian Johnson 6'7" 192 F RFr. Thibodaux, LA, U.S. Thibodaux HS
50 Spencer Tollackson 6'9" 267 C Jr. Chaska, MN, U.S. Chaska HS
54 Bryce Webster 6'9" 240 F/C Fr. St. Paul, MN, U.S. St. Thomas Academy

2006–07 Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Exhibition
November 3, 2006*
7 p.m., no
Bemidji State W 88–32 
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
November 8, 2006*
7 p.m., no
Winona State L 69–64 
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
Regular Season
November 13, 2006*
7 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North
North Dakota State W 63–49  1–0
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
November 17, 2006*
7 p.m., no
Long Island W 70–54  2–0
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
November 21, 2006*
7 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North
Iowa State L 68–63  2–1
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
November 23, 2006*
1 p.m., ESPN2
vs. Marist
Old Spice Classic – Quarterfinal
L 63–56  2–2
HP Field House 
Orlando, FL
November 24, 2006*
11:30 a.m., ESPN2
vs. Southern Illinois
Old Spice Classic – Consolation round
L 69–53  2–3
HP Field House 
Orlando, FL
November 26, 2006*
no, ESPNU
vs. Montana
Old Spice Classic – 7th place
L 72–65  2–4
HP Field House 
Orlando, FL
November 29, 2006*
8:30 p.m., ESPN2
Clemson
ACC – Big Ten Challenge
L 90–68  2–5
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
December 2, 2006*
1 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North
Arizona State W 66–63  3–5
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
December 5, 2006*
7 p.m., no
at Alabama–Birmingham L 88–81 2OT 3–6
Bartow Arena 
Birmingham, AL
December 7, 2006*
1 p.m., no
South Dakota State W 77–53  4–6
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
December 9, 2006*
1 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North
Arkansas–Little Rock L 67–66  4–7
William's Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
December 12, 2006*
7 p.m., no
Central Florida W 74–63  5–7
William's Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
December 22, 2006*
9 p.m., ESPN Plus/Mtn network
at UNLV L 62–58  5–8
Thomas & Mack Center 
Paradise, NV
December 30, 2006*
no, no
SE Louisiana W 63–61  6–8
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
Big Ten Regular Season
January 3, 2007
7 p.m., ESPN Plus/KSTC-45
Purdue W 65–59  7–8
(1–0)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
January 6, 2007
3:37 p.m., ESPN Plus/KSTC-45
at No. 4 Wisconsin L 68–45  7–9
(1–1)
Kohl Center 
Madison, WI
January 13, 2007
3:37 p.m., ESPN Plus/KSTC-45
at Iowa L 60–49  7–10
(1–2)
Carver–Hawkeye Arena 
Iowa City, IA
January 17, 2007
6 p.m., ESPN2
Illinois L 64–52  7–11
(1–3)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
January 20, 2007
1:30 p.m., ESPN Plus/KSTC-45
Northwestern L 55–40  7–12
(1–4)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
January 24, 2007
6 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North
at No. 6 Michigan State L 70–46  7–13
(1–5)
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
January 27, 2007
11:15 a.m., ESPN Plus/KSTC-45
Penn State W 65–60  8–13
(2–5)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
January 31, 2007
7 p.m., ESPN Plus/KSTC-45
at Northwestern W 62–55  9–13
(3–5)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
February 3, 2007
7 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North Tape-Delay
at Illinois L 59–49  9–14
(3–6)
Assembly Hall 
Champaign, IL
February 7, 2007
7 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North
Iowa L 91–78  9–15
(3–7)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
February 10, 2007
7 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North
at Michigan L 82–80  9–16
(3–8)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, MI
February 14, 2007
7 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North Tape-Delay
No. 3 Wisconsin L 75–62  9–17
(3–9)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
February 18, 2007
12 p.m., CBS
No. 2 Ohio State L 85–67  9–18
(3–10)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
February 21, 2007
6 p.m., ESPN Plus/KSTC-45
at Indiana L 71–59  9–19
(3–11)
Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, IN
February 24, 2007
1:32 p.m., ESPN Plus/KSTC-45
Michigan L 62–51  9–20
(3–12)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
February 28, 2007
8 p.m., ESPN Plus/FSN North
at Purdue L 66–47  9–21
(3–13)
Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, IN
2007 Big Ten tournament
March 8, 2007
11 a.m., ESPN2
(9) vs. (8) Michigan
First Round
L 49–40  9–22
Conseco Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings

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The 2006–07 Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball team was not ranked during the season.

References

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  1. ^ "2007 Final AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. March 13, 2007.
  2. ^ "Monson resigns as coach at Minnesota". ESPN.com. November 30, 2006. Retrieved December 15, 2011.