2011–12 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

2011–12 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
NIT Runner-up vs. Stanford, L 75–51
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record23–15 (6–12 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaWilliams Arena
Seasons
2011–12 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 5 Michigan State† 13 – 5   .722 29 – 8   .784
No. 13 Michigan 13 – 5   .722 24 – 10   .706
No. 7 Ohio State 13 – 5   .722 31 – 8   .795
No. 14 Wisconsin 12 – 6   .667 26 – 10   .722
No. 16 Indiana 11 – 7   .611 27 – 9   .750
Purdue 10 – 8   .556 22 – 13   .629
Northwestern 8 – 10   .444 19 – 14   .576
Iowa 8 – 10   .444 18 – 17   .514
Illinois 6 – 12   .333 17 – 15   .531
Minnesota 6 – 12   .333 23 – 15   .605
Nebraska 4 – 14   .222 12 – 18   .400
Penn State 4 – 14   .222 12 – 20   .375
† 2012 Big Ten tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2011–12 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the college basketball season of 2011–2012. The team's head coach, Tubby Smith was in his fifth year at Minnesota. The Golden Gophers played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., and are members of the newly expanded Big Ten Conference.

Season

With the departure of seniors Blake Hoffarber and Al Nolen, the Gophers entered the season under the leadership of returning members, including veterans Trevor Mbakwe and Ralph Sampson III.

The Gophers also lost junior Colton Iverson, who transferred to play for the Colorado State Rams at the end of the previous season.[1]

On November 27, during the championship game of the Old Spice Classic, Trevor Mbakwe tore his ACL and missed the remainder of the season.[2]

Freshman guard Andre Hollins was named to the All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the Big Ten tournament championship game on March 11.[3]

Roster

# Name Height Weight (lbs.) Position Class Hometown Previous team(s)
00 Julian Welch 6'3" 195 G Jr. Elk Grove, CA, U.S. Franklin HS
1 Andre Hollins 6'1" 200 G Fr. Memphis, TN, U.S. White Station HS
10 Oto Osenieks 6'8" 205 F RFr. Riga, Latvia Brehm Prep
11 Joe Coleman 6'4" 208 G Fr. Minneapolis, MN, U.S. Hopkins HS
13 Maverick Ahanmisi 6'2" 192 G So. Santa Clarita, CA, U.S. Stoneridge Prep
15 Maurice Walker 6'10" 289 F So. Scarborough, Ontario, Canada Brewster Academy
20 Austin Hollins 6'4" 185 G So. Germantown, TN, U.S. Germantown HS
22 Chris Halvorsen 6'8" 214 F RSo. St. Paul, MN, U.S. Henry Sibley HS
23 Chip Armelin 6'3" 198 G So. Sulphur, LA, U.S. Sulphur HS
30 Andre Ingram 6'7" 213 F Jr. Minneapolis, MN, U.S. Minnesota Transitions
32 Trevor Mbakwe 6'8" 245 F RSr. Saint Paul, MN, U.S. St. Bernard's HS
Miami Dade College
33 Rodney Williams 6'7" 200 F Jr. Minneapolis, MN, U.S. Robbinsdale Cooper HS
34 Kendal Shell 6'0" 190 G Fr. St. Louis, MO, U.S. Webster Groves HS
50 Ralph Sampson III 6'11" 241 F/C Sr. Duluth, GA, U.S. Northview HS
55 Elliott Eliason 6'11" 260 C RFr. Chadron, NE, U.S. Chadron HS

2011–12 schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2011*
7:00 pm 		Bemidji W 71–58  —
 Williams Arena (10,653)
Minneapolis, MN
November 7, 2011*
7:00 pm 		Augustana (SD) W 72–60  —
 Williams Arena (10,644)
Minneapolis, MN
Regular season
November 11, 2011*
7:00 pm 		Bucknell W 70–58  1–0
 Williams Arena (11,976)
Minneapolis, MN
November 14, 2011*
7:00 pm 		South Dakota State W 71–55  2–0
 Williams Arena (10,460)
Minneapolis, MN
November 17, 2011*
6:00 pm, BTN 		Fairfield W 67–57  3–0
 Williams Arena (10,641)
Minneapolis, MN
November 21, 2011*
7:00 pm 		Mount St. Mary's W 85–56  4–0
 Williams Arena (10,487)
Minneapolis, MN
November 24, 2011*
1:30 pm, ESPN2 		vs. DePaul
Old Spice Classic Quarterfinal 		W 86–85  5–0
 HP Field House (3,170)
Orlando, FL
November 25, 2011*
11:00 am, ESPN 		vs. Indiana State
Old Spice Classic Semifinal 		W 76–69  6–0
 HP Field House (3,377)
Orlando, FL
November 27, 2011*
6:00 pm, ESPN2 		vs. Dayton
Old Spice Classic Championship 		L 70–86  6–1
 HP Field House (3,874)
Orlando, FL
November 30, 2011*
8:15 pm, ESPN2 		Virginia Tech
ACC – Big Ten Challenge 		W 58–55  7–1
 Williams Arena (10,487)
Minneapolis, MN
December 3, 2011*
1:15 pm, BTN 		USC W 55–40  8–1
 Williams Arena (11,762)
Minneapolis, MN
December 6, 2011*
7:00 pm, BTN 		Appalachian State W 70–56  9–1
 Williams Arena (10,782)
Minneapolis, MN
December 10, 2011*
12:00 pm 		Saint Peter's W 69–47  10–1
 Williams Arena (11,007)
Minneapolis, MN
December 13, 2011*
8:00 pm, ESPN 		Central Michigan W 76–56  11–1
 Williams Arena (10,290)
Minneapolis, MN
December 22, 2011*
7:00 pm 		North Dakota State W 63–59  12–1
 Williams Arena (11,681)
Minneapolis, MN
Big Ten regular season
December 27, 2011
6:30 pm, BTN 		at Illinois L 72–81 2OT 12–2
(0–1) 		Assembly Hall (15,549)
Champaign, IL
January 1, 2012
3:00 pm, BTN 		at No. 18 Michigan L 56–61  12–3
(0–2) 		Crisler Arena (12,721)
Ann Arbor, MI
January 4, 2012
8:00 pm, BTN 		Iowa L 62–64  12–4
(0–3) 		Williams Arena (12,018)
Minneapolis, MN
January 8, 2012
5:00 pm, BTN 		Purdue L 66–79  12–5
(0–4) 		Williams Arena (11,761)
Minneapolis, MN
January 12, 2012
7:00 pm, BTN 		at No. 7 Indiana W 77–74  13–5
(1–4) 		Assembly Hall (17,373)
Bloomington, IN
January 15, 2012
3:00 pm, BTN 		at Penn State W 80–66  14–5
(2–4) 		Bryce Jordan Center (9,065)
University Park, PA
January 22, 2012
3:00 pm, BTN 		Northwestern W 75–52  15–5
(3–4) 		Williams Arena (12,219)
Minneapolis, MN
January 25, 2012
7:30 pm, BTN 		at No. 10 Michigan State L 52–68  15–6
(3–5) 		Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
January 28, 2012
7:00 pm, BTN 		Illinois W 77–72 OT 16–6
(4–5) 		Williams Arena (14,625)
Minneapolis, MN
February 1, 2012
7:30 pm, BTN 		at Iowa L 59–63  16–7
(4–6) 		Carver-Hawkeye Arena (11,232)
Iowa City, IA
February 5, 2012
12:00 pm, BTN 		at Nebraska W 69–61  17–7
(5–6) 		Bob Devaney Sports Center (9,857)
Lincoln, NE
February 9, 2012
6:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 21 Wisconsin L 61–68 OT 17–8
(5–7) 		Williams Arena (14,625)
Minneapolis, MN
February 14, 2012
8:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 6 Ohio State L 68–78  17–9
(5–8) 		Williams Arena (13,245)
Minneapolis, MN
February 18, 2012
6:00 pm, BTN 		at Northwestern L 53–64  17–10
(5–9) 		Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,522)
Evanston, IL
February 22, 2012
7:30 pm, BTN 		No. 6 Michigan State L 61–66  17–11
(5–10) 		Williams Arena (13,331)
Minneapolis, MN
February 26, 2012
12:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 23 Indiana L 50–69  17–12
(5–11) 		Williams Arena (11,421)
Minneapolis, MN
February 28, 2012
7:00 pm, BTN 		at No. 14 Wisconsin L 45–52  17–13
(5–12) 		Kohl Center (17,230)
Madison, WI
March 3, 2012
11:30 am, BTN 		Nebraska W 81–69  18–13
(6–12) 		Williams Arena (11,262)
Minneapolis, MN
Big Ten tournament
March 8, 2012
4:30 pm, ESPN2 		(10) vs. (7) Northwestern
First Round 		W 75–68 OT 19–13
 Bankers Life Fieldhouse (17,257)
Indianapolis, IN
March 9, 2012
5:30 pm, BTN 		(10) vs. (2) No. 10 Michigan
Quarterfinals 		L 69–73 OT 19–14
 Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,484)
Indianapolis, IN
NIT
March 14, 2012*
6:00 pm, ESPN2 		(6) at (3) La Salle
First Round 		W 70–61  20–14
 Tom Gola Arena (3,023)
Philadelphia, PA
March 19, 2012*
8:00 pm, ESPN 		(6) at (2) Miami (FL)
Second Round 		W 78–60  21–14
 BankUnited Center (1,649)
Coral Gables, FL
March 21, 2012*
6:00 pm, ESPN2 		(6) at (4) Middle Tennessee
Quarterfinals 		W 78–72  22–14
 Murphy Center (10,521)
Murfreesboro, TN
March 27, 2012*
8:00 pm, ESPN2 		(6) vs. (1) Washington
Semifinals 		W 68–67 OT 23–14
 Madison Square Garden (7,574)
New York, NY
March 29, 2012*
6:00 pm, ESPN 		(6) vs. (3) Stanford
Championship 		L 51–75  23–15
 Madison Square Garden (5,494)
New York, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

See also: 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Poll Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16 Wk 17 Wk 18 Final
AP RV RV RV NR
Coaches NR
  Increase in ranking     Decrease in ranking     No change   RV   Received votes   NR   Not ranked

References

  1. ^ "CSU basketball adds Minnesota transfer Iverson". Danny Mattie. Colorado State University. April 11, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  2. ^ "Gophers lose Trevor Mbakwe for season". Myron Medcalf. ESPN.com. November 28, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  3. ^ "Michigan State-Ohio State Postgame Notes". BigTen.org. CBS Interactive. March 11, 2012. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2012.