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2008–09 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

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2008–09 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record22–11 (9–9 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaWilliams Arena
Seasons
2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 8 Michigan State 15 3   .833 31 7   .816
No. 17 Purdue 11 7   .611 27 10   .730
Illinois 11 7   .611 24 10   .706
Penn State 10 8   .556 27 11   .711
Ohio State 10 8   .556 22 11   .667
Wisconsin 10 8   .556 20 13   .606
Minnesota 9 9   .500 22 11   .667
Michigan 9 9   .500 21 14   .600
Northwestern 8 10   .444 17 14   .548
Iowa 5 13   .278 15 17   .469
Indiana 1 17   .056 6 25   .194
2009 Big Ten tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2008–09 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the college basketball season of 2008–2009. The team's head coach was Tubby Smith. This was Smith's second year as Minnesota's head coach. The Golden Gophers played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Big Ten Network included the team in a two-and-a-half-hour special that featured Midnight Madness events from several Big Ten campuses on October 17, 2008; the Minnesota event to kick off the season was called "Tubby's Tipoff".[1] The Gophers started the season on a twelve-game winning streak for the first time since the 1948–49 season.[2] The team became ranked on December 22, the first time the team had been ranked since the 2002–03 season.[3]

Recruit Royce White signed with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, but did not play due to shoplifting and trespassing charges. He transferred to Iowa State in July 2010.[4]

Roster

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# Name Height Weight (lbs.) Position Class Hometown Previous Team(s)
0 Al Nolen 6'1" 180 G So. Minneapolis, MN, U.S. Minneapolis Henry HS
1 Paul Carter 6'8" 195 F So. Little Rock, AR, U.S. Little Rock Mills HS
Missouri State-West Plains
3 Kevin Payton 6'5" 215 G/F RJr. Camden, NJ, U.S. Camden HS
4 Travis Busch 6'4" 220 G/F Jr. Mounds View, MN, U.S. Mounds View HS
5 Devoe Joseph 6'3" 170 G Fr. Ajax, ON, Canada Pickering HS
11 Jonathan Williams 6'9" 250 G Sr. St. Cloud, MN, U.S. Notre Dame Prep
St. Cloud Apollo HS
20 Lawrence Westbrook 6'0" 195 G Jr. Chandler, AZ, U.S. Winchendon Prep
22 Devron Bostick 6'5" 210 G Jr. Racine, WI, U.S. St. Catharine's HS
SW Illinois
24 Blake Hoffarber 6'4" 200 G So. Minnetonka, MN, U.S. Hopkins HS
33 Jamal Abu-Shamala 6'5" 210 G/F Sr. Shakopee, MN, U.S. Shakopee HS
34 Damian Johnson 6'7" 195 F RJr. Thibodaux, LA, U.S. Thibodaux HS
45 Colton Iverson 6'10" 235 F/C Fr. Yankton, SD, U.S. Yankton HS
50 Ralph Sampson III 6'11" 220 F/C Fr. Duluth, GA, U.S. Northview HS

Incoming signees

[edit]
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Ralph Sampson III
C
Duluth, Georgia Northview HS 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Oct 25, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 89
Devoe Joseph
SG
Ajax, Ontario Picking HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Nov 21, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 76
Colton Iverson
PF/C
Yankton, South Dakota Yankton HS 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 238 lb (108 kg) Sep 19, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 88
Paul Carter
F
West Plains, Missouri Missouri State – West Plains 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Aug 21, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: n/a
Devron Bostick
SF
Belleville, Illinois Southwestern Illinois 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Oct 11, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: n/a
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 27   Rivals: 23
  • 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:

  • "Minnesota Commit List for 2008". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
  • "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
  • "ESPN – Minnesota Golden Gophers Basketball Recruiting 2008". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
  • "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 20, 2008.

2008–09 Schedule and Results

[edit]
Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Exhibition
November 3, 2008*
7:00 pm
St. Cloud State W 88–80 
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
November 6, 2008*
7:00 pm
Northern State W 92–62 
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
Regular Season
November 14, 2008*
7:00 pm
Concordia, St. Paul
NABC Classic
W 76–51  1–0
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
November 15, 2008*
7:00 pm
Bowling Green
NABC Classic
W 68–61  2–0
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
November 16, 2008*
7:00
Georgia State
NABC Classic
W 60–52  3–0
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
November 22, 2008*
9:00, The Mtn.
at Colorado State W 72–71  4–0
Moby Arena 
Fort Collins, CO
November 26, 2008*
7:30, BTN
Eastern Washington W 88–67  5–0
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
November 29, 2008*
1:00, BTN
North Dakota State W 90–76  6–0
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
December 2, 2008*
8:30, ESPN2
Virginia
ACC–Big Ten Challenge
W 66–56  7–0
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
December 6, 2008*
1:00
Cornell W 71–54  8–0
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
December 10, 2008*
8:00, BTN
South Dakota State W 74–60  9–0
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
December 20, 2008*
1:00, FSN North
vs. No. 9 Louisville
Stadium Shootout
W 70–64  10–0
University of Phoenix Stadium 
Glendale, AZ
December 23, 2008*
8:00, ESPNU
No. 23 Southeastern Louisiana W 80–71  11–0
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
December 28, 2008*
7:00, ESPNU
No. 23 High Point W 82–56  12–0
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
Big Ten Regular Season
December 31, 2008
11:00am[5], BTN
No. 21 No. 10 Michigan State L 58–70  12–1
(0–1)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
January 3, 2009
11:00am, BTN
No. 21 No. 24 Ohio State W 68–59  13–1
(1–1)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
January 8, 2009
6:00, ESPN2
No. 22 at Iowa W 52–49  14–1
(2–1)
Carver-Hawkeye Arena 
Iowa City, IA
January 11, 2009
2:30, BTN
No. 22 Penn State W 79–59  15–1
(3–1)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
January 15, 2009
8:00, BTN
No. 18 at Wisconsin W 78–74 (OT) 16–1
(4–1)
Kohl Center 
Madison, WI
January 18, 2009
1:00, BTN
No. 18 at Northwestern L 65–74  16–2
(4–2)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
January 22, 2009
6:00, ESPN2
No. 21 No. 18 Purdue L 62–70  16–3
(4–3)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
January 25, 2009
11:00am, BTN
No. 21 at Indiana W 67–63  17–3
(5–3)
Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, IN
January 29, 2009
8:00, BTN
No. 19 Illinois W 59–36  18–3
(6–3)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
February 4, 2009
7:30, BTN
No. 19 at No. 13 Michigan State L 47–76  18–4
(6–4)
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
February 7, 2009
7:00, BTN
No. 19 at Ohio State L 58–64  18–5
(6–5)
Schottenstein Center 
Columbus, OH
February 10, 2009
8:00, BTN
Indiana W 62–54  19–5
(7–5)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
February 14, 2009
12:30, BTN
at Penn State L 63–68  19–6
(7–6)
Bryce Jordan Center 
State College, PA
February 19, 2009
6:00, BTN
at Michigan W 74–62  19–7
(7–7)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, MI
February 22, 2009
6:00, BTN
Northwestern W 72–45  20–7
(8–7)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
February 26, 2009
6:00, BTN
at No. 20 Illinois L 41–52  20–8
(8–8)
Assembly Hall 
Champaign, IL
March 4, 2009
7:30, BTN
Wisconsin W 51–46  21–8
(9–8)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
March 7, 2009
11:00am, ESPN
Michigan L 64–67  21–9
(9–9)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
2009 Big Ten tournament
March 12, 2009*
11:00am, BTN
(8) vs. (9) Northwestern
First Round
W 66–53  22–9
Conseco Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
March 13, 2009*
11:00am, ESPN
(8) vs. (1) No. 7 Michigan State
Quarterfinal
L 56–64  22–10
Conseco Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
2009 NCAA Men's Basketball tournament
March 19, 2009*
6:10, CBS
(10 E) vs. (7 E) Texas
First Round
L 62–76  22–11
Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

[edit]
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 23 21 22 18 21 NR 19 NR
Coaches 23 21 19 17 20 24 19 NR

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Pucin, Diane (October 17, 2008). "No 'Midnight Madness' for UCLA, USC basketball teams". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 1, 2008.
  2. ^ "Gophers Finish Non-Conference Slate Undefeated". December 28, 2008. Archived from the original on January 3, 2009. Retrieved December 29, 2008.
  3. ^ "Gophers Enter Poll For First Time Since 2002 - Gophersports.com Official Web Site of University of Minnesota Athletics". Archived from the original on December 27, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2008.
  4. ^ "Minnesota standout Royce White signs with Iowa St". Associated Press. CBS Sports. July 12, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  5. ^ "Gophers/Spartans Tip on Dec. 31 Changed to 11 a.m. - Gophersports.com Official Web Site of University of Minnesota Athletics". Archived from the original on December 14, 2008. Retrieved December 11, 2008.