2015–16 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 2015–16 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . Led by third year head coach Richard Pitino , the Golden Gophers were members of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota . They finished the season 8–23, 2–16 in Big Ten play to finish in 13th place. 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.[ 1] [ 2] The players were suspended for the rest of the season.[ 3]
Previous season
The Golden Gophers finished the 2014–15 Season with a record of 18–15, 6–12 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for 10th place. They won their first round game in the Big Ten tournament against Rutgers , but they lost their second round game to Ohio State .
Departures
Incoming transfers
Name
Number
Pos.
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
Previous School
Davonte Fitzgerald
20
F
6'7"
209
Junior
Tucker, GA
Transferred from Texas A&M . Under NCAA transfer rules, Fitzgerald will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Reggie Lynch
22
C
6'10"
255
Junior
Edina, MN
Transferred from Illinois State . Under NCAA transfer rules, Lynch will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Incoming recruits
College recruiting information
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Jarvis Johnson PG
Brooklyn Park, MN
De La Salle High School
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Sep 12, 2014
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN :
Kevin Dorsey PG
Port Tobacco, MD
Clinton Christian School
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Jul 12, 2014
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN :
Dupree McBrayer SG
Jamaica, NY
Sunrise Christian Academy
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Aug 23, 2014
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN :
Jordan Murphy SF
San Antonio, TX
William J. Brennan High School
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
May 16, 2014
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN :
Ahmad Gilbert SF
Philadelphia, PA
Constitution High School
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Apr 23, 2015
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 Recruiting Class
Roster
2015–16 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
1
Dupree McBrayer (S)
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Fr
Sunrise Christian Academy
Queens, NY
G
2
Nate Mason (S)
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
So
Arlington Country Day
Decatur, GA
F
3
Jordan Murphy
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
Fr
Brennan
San Antonio, TX
G
4
Kevin Dorsey (S)
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Fr
Clinton Christian School
Waldorf, MD
G
10
Darin Haugh (W)
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
RS Jr
Bethany Lutheran
Prior Lake, MN
G
12
Jarvis Johnson
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Fr
DeLaSalle
Minneapolis, MN
G
15
Stephon Sharp (W)
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Fr
Hopkins
Bloomington, MN
F
20
Davonte Fitzgerald (I)
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
Jr
Tucker Texas A&M
Atlanta, GA
C
21
Bakary Konaté
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
So
Sunrise Christian Academy
Bamako, Mali
C
22
Reggie Lynch (I)
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
260 lb (118 kg)
Jr
Edina Illinois State
Edina, MN
F
23
Charles Buggs
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
RS Jr
Hargrave Military Academy
Arlington, TX
F
24
Joey King
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
Sr
Eastview Drake
Eagan, MN
G
25
Mike Lukashewich (W)
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
So
Appleton North
Appleton, WI
G
32
Ahmad Gilbert
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Fr
Constitution
Philadelphia, PA
F
41
Gaston Diedhiou
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
So
Canarias Academy
Dakar, Senegal
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 1, 2015 *4:00 pm
Minnesota–Crookston
W 74–57
Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN
Nov 6, 2015 *7:00 pm
Southwest Minnesota State
W 81–64
Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN
Non-conference regular season
Nov 13, 2015 *8:00 pm
UMKC
W 76–58
1–0
Williams Arena (9,744)Minneapolis, MN
Nov 15, 2015 *2:00 pm, BTN
Louisiana–Monroe
W 67–56
2–0
Williams Arena (9,915)Minneapolis, MN
Nov 19, 2015 *10:30 am, ESPN2
vs. Temple Puerto Rico Tip-Off quarterfinals
L 70–75
2–1
Roberto Clemente Coliseum (1,601)San Juan, PR
Nov 20, 2015 *9:30 am, ESPNU
vs. Missouri State Puerto Rico Tip-Off consolation round
W 74–69
3–1
Roberto Clemente Coliseum (1,814)San Juan, PR
Nov 22, 2015 *1:30 pm, ESPNU
vs. Texas Tech Puerto Rico Tip-Off 5th place game
L 68–81
3–2
Roberto Clemente Coliseum (1,492)San Juan, PR
Nov 27, 2015 *2:00 pm, ESPN3
Nebraska–Omaha
W 93–90
4–2
Williams Arena (9,976)Minneapolis, MN
Nov 30, 2015 *8:00 pm, ESPN2
Clemson ACC–Big Ten Challenge
W 89–83
5–2
Williams Arena (10,229)Minneapolis, MN
Dec 5, 2015 *2:00 pm
South Dakota
L 81–85 2OT
5–3
Williams Arena (10,754)Minneapolis, MN
Dec 8, 2015 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
South Dakota State
L 70–84
5–4
Williams Arena (10,378)Minneapolis, MN
Dec 12, 2015 *7:30 pm, BTN
vs. Oklahoma State Sioux Falls Showcase
L 60–62
5–5
Sanford Pentagon (3,250)Sioux Falls, SD
Dec 16, 2015 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
Chicago State
W 70–52
6–5
Williams Arena (10,175)Minneapolis, MN
Dec 23, 2015 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
Milwaukee
L 65–74
6–6
Williams Arena (10,364)Minneapolis, MN
Big Ten regular season
Dec 30, 2015 6:00 pm, BTN
at Ohio State
L 63–78
6–7 (0–1)
Value City Arena (13,701)Columbus, OH
Jan 2, 2016 2:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 1 Michigan State
L 61–69
6–8 (0–2)
Williams Arena (12,836)Minneapolis, MN
Jan 5, 2016 6:00 pm, BTN
at Penn State
L 77–86
6–9 (0–3)
Bryce Jordan Center (5,892)University Park, PA
Jan 9, 2016 1:30 pm, BTN
Northwestern
L 52–77
6–10 (0–4)
Williams Arena (10,436)Minneapolis, MN
Jan 12, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN
at Nebraska
L 59–84
6–11 (0–5)
Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,628)Lincoln, NE
Jan 16, 2016 11:30 am, BTN
Indiana
L 63–70
6–12 (0–6)
Williams Arena (11,176)Minneapolis, MN
Jan 20, 2016 7:30 pm, BTN
at Michigan
L 69–74
6–13 (0–7)
Crisler Center (11,726)Ann Arbor, MI
Jan 23, 2016 7:30 pm, BTN
Illinois
L 71–76 OT
6–14 (0–8)
Williams Arena (11,026)Minneapolis, MN
Jan 27, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN
No. 21 Purdue
L 64–68
6–15 (0–9)
Williams Arena (10,484)Minneapolis, MN
Jan 30, 2016 1:15 pm, BTN
at No. 19 Indiana
L 68–74
6–16 (0–10)
Assembly Hall (17,472)Bloomington, IN
Feb 4, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN
at Northwestern
L 58–84
6–17 (0–11)
Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,015)Evanston, IL
Feb 10, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN
Michigan
L 74–82
6–18 (0–12)
Williams Arena (11,137)Minneapolis, MN
Feb 14, 2016 6:30 pm, BTN
at No. 4 Iowa
L 71–75
6–19 (0–13)
Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,400)Iowa City, IA
Feb 18, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN
No. 6 Maryland
W 68–63
7–19 (1–13)
Williams Arena (10,768)Minneapolis, MN
Feb 23, 2016 6:00 pm, BTN
Rutgers
W 83–61
8–19 (2–13)
Williams Arena (10,333)Minneapolis, MN
Feb 28, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN
at Illinois
L 71–84
8–20 (2–14)
State Farm Center (12,008)Champaign, IL
Mar 2, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN
Wisconsin
L 49–62
8–21 (2–15)
Williams Arena (12,275)Minneapolis, MN
Mar 5, 2016 12:00 pm, BTN
at Rutgers
L 52–75
8–22 (2–16)
The RAC (4,473)Piscataway, NJ
Big Ten tournament
Mar 9, 2016 3:30 pm, ESPN2
(13)
vs. (12) Illinois First Round
L 52–85
8–23
Bankers Life Fieldhouse (16,528)Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Central Time .
See also
References
Venues Culture & lore People Seasons Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics