2007–08 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

2007–08 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
NIT First Round vs. Maryland, L 68–58
Conference Big Ten Conference
2007–08 record 20–14 (8–10 Big Ten)
Head coach Tubby Smith
Assistant coach Ron Jirsa
Assistant coach Saul Smith
Assistant coach Vince Taylor
Home arena Williams Arena

{{2007–08 Big Ten men's basketball standings}} The 2007–08 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the college basketball season of 2007–2008. The team's head coach, Tubby Smith began his first year at Minnesota after leaving Kentucky in March 2007. The Golden Gophers played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota and are members of the Big Ten Conference.

Season

On March 7, 2007, it was announced that Tubby Smith would be leaving Kentucky after ten years to coach at Minnesota.[1] Smith still had 4 years left on his contract, but elected to sign on for seven years with the Golden Gophers. The season was highlighted with a run in the Big Ten Tournament, where the Gophers defeated Northwestern in the first round, then shocked Indiana with a last second, miraculous jump shot by Blake Hoffarber to advance to the semifinals. Blake's shot earned him the second ESPY nomination of his career.[2] Minnesota would then lose to Illinois and be selected as a #4 seed in the National Invitation Tournament, where they made a first round exit on their home court.[3]

Roster

# Name Height Weight (lbs.) Position Class Hometown Previous Team(s)
0 Al Nolen 6'1" 180 G Fr. Minneapolis, MN, U.S. Minneapolis Henry HS
1 Lawrence McKenzie 6'2" 180 G RSr. Minneapolis, MN, U.S. Minneapolis Henry HS
Oklahoma
2 Ryan Saunders 6'1" 180 G RJr. Medina, MN, U.S. Wayzata HS
3 Kevin Payton 6'5" 215 G RSo. Camden, NJ, U.S. Camden HS
4 Travis Busch 6'4" 220 G/F RSo. Mounds View, MN, U.S. Mounds View HS
Cal Poly
11 Jon Williams 6'9" 285 C RJr. St. Cloud, MN, U.S. St. Cloud Apollo HS
Notre Dame Prep (MA)
13 Dan Coleman 6'9" 225 F RSr. Minneapolis, MN, U.S. Hopkins HS
20 Lawrence Westbrook 6'0" 195 G So. Chandler, AZ, U.S. Winchendon Prep
23 Brandon Smith 6'6" 220 G/F Jr. Minneapolis, MN, U.S. Minneapolis Henry HS
24 Blake Hoffarber 6'4" 200 G Fr. Minnetonka, MN, U.S. Hopkins HS
33 Jamal Abu-Shamala 6'5" 210 G/F Jr. Shakopee, MN, U.S. Shakopee HS
34 Damian Johnson 6'7" 195 F RSo. Thibodaux, LA, U.S. Thibodaux HS
50 Spencer Tollackson 6'9" 260 C Sr. Chaska, MN, U.S. Chaska HS

2007–08 Schedule and results

Date
Time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
City, State
Exhibition

November 1, 2007*
7:00 pm
Minnesota State W 94–68  –
Williams Arena (11,508)
Minneapolis, MN

November 6, 2007*
6:00 pm, BTN
Southwest Minnesota State W 88–52  –
Williams Arena (11,197)
Minneapolis, MN
Regular Season

November 10, 2007*
2:00 pm
Army W 84–52  1–0
Williams Arena (11,529)
Minneapolis, MN

November 20, 2007*
7:00 pm, Mediacom
at Iowa State W 68–58  2–0
Hilton Coliseum (13,709)
Ames, IA

November 24, 2007*
no, ESPN360
Central Michigan W 77–59  3–0
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN

November 27, 2007*
no, ESPN2
at Florida State
ACC–Big Ten Challenge
L 75–61  3–1
Donald L. Tucker Center 
Tallahassee, FL

December 1, 2007*
no, BTN
UC Riverside W 75–38  4–1
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN

December 3, 2007*
no, BTN
North Dakota State W 88–56  5–1
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN

December 8, 2007*
no, ESPN360
Colorado State W 91–74  6–1
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN

December 12, 2007*
no, BTN
South Dakota State W 78–72  7–1
William's Arena 
Minneapolis, MN

December 22, 2007*
no, ESPNU
Santa Clara W 68–50  8–1
William's Arena 
Minneapolis, MN

December 28, 2007*
no, no
vs. Nicholls State
Duel in the Desert
W 77–32  9–1
Thomas & Mack Center 
Paradise, NV

December 29, 2007*
no, no
vs. Kennesaw State
Duel in the Desert
W 83–66  10–1
Thomas & Mack Center 
Las Vegas, NV

December 30, 2007*
no, no
vs. UNLV
Duel in the Desert
L 81–64  10–2
Thomas & Mack Center 
Las Vegas, NV
Big Ten Regular Season

January 5, 2008
no, BTN
at No. 6 Michigan State L 65–59  10–3
(0–1)
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI

January 9, 2008
no, BTN
Northwestern W 82–63  11–3
(1–1)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN

January 12, 2008
no, BTN
at Penn State W 76–73  12–3
(2–1)
Bryce Jordan Center 
University Park, PA

January 17, 2008
no, ESPN
No. 9 Indiana L 65–60  12–4
(2–2)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN

January 20, 2008
no, BTN
No. 11 Michigan State L 78–73  12–5
(2–3)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN

January 26, 2008
no, BTN
at Ohio State L 76–60  12–6
(2–4)
Jerome Schottenstein Center 
Columbus, OH

January 31, 2008
no, BTN
at Michigan W 77–65  13–6
(3–4)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, MI

February 3, 2008
no, BTN
No. 13 Wisconsin L 63–47  13–7
(3–5)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN

February 6, 2008
no, BTN
at Northwestern W 92–72  14–7
(4–5)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL

February 9, 2008
no, ESPN
at Iowa W 63–50  15–7
(5–5)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN

February 12, 2008
no, BTN
Illinois L 84–60  15–8
(5–6)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN

February 16, 2008
no, BTN
at No. 15 Wisconsin L 65–56  15–9
(5–7)
Kohl Center 
Madison, WI

February 21, 2008
no, ESPN2
Michigan W 69–60  16–9
(6–7)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN

February 24, 2008
no, BTN
Penn State W 75–68  17–9
(7–7)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN

February 27, 2008
no, BTN
at No. 16 Purdue L 65–53  17–10
(7–8)
Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, IN

March 1, 2008
no, ESPN
Ohio State W 71–57  18–10
(8–8)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN

March 5, 2008
no, BTN
at No. 18 Indiana L 69–55  18–11
(8–9)
Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, IN

March 8, 2008
no, BTN
at Illinois L 67–58  18–12
(8–10)
Assembly Hall 
Champaign, IL
2008 Big Ten Tournament

March 13, 2008
no, ESPN2
vs. Northwestern
First Round
W 55–52  19–12
Conseco Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN

March 14, 2008
no, BTN
vs. No. 22 Indiana
Quarterfinals
W 59–58  20–12
Conseco Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN

March 15, 2008
no, CBS
vs. Illinois
Semifinals
L 50–54  20–13
Conseco Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
2008 National Invitation Tournament

March 18, 2008
no, ESPN
Maryland
First Round
L 68–58  20–14
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings

The 2007–08 Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball team was not ranked during the season.

References

  1. ↑ "Smith leaving Kentucky to coach Minnesota". Andy Katz. ESPN. March 22, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Hoffarber, Vonn receive ESPY award nominations". Star Tribune. July 1, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Maryland To Face Minnesota in 2008 MasterCard NIT". University of Maryland Athletics. March 16, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
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