2007–08 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

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.

2007–08 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
NIT First Round vs. Maryland, L 68–58
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record20–14 (8–10 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaWilliams Arena
Seasons
2007–08 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 6 Wisconsin 16 2   .889 31 5   .861
No. 20 Purdue 15 3   .833 25 9   .735
Indiana 14 4   .778 25 8   .758
No. 18 Michigan State 12 6   .667 27 9   .750
Ohio State 10 8   .556 24 13   .649
Minnesota 8 10   .444 20 14   .588
Penn State 7 11   .389 15 16   .484
Iowa 6 12   .333 13 19   .406
Illinois 5 13   .278 16 19   .457
Michigan 5 13   .278 10 22   .313
Northwestern 1 17   .056 8 22   .267
2008 Big Ten tournament winner
As of March 23, 2008
Rankings from AP poll[1]

Season

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On March 7, 2007, it was announced that Tubby Smith would be leaving Kentucky after ten years to coach at Minnesota.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]

Roster

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# 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

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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
(6) vs. (11) Northwestern
First Round
W 55–52  19–12
Conseco Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
March 14, 2008
no, BTN
(6) vs. (3) No. 22 Indiana
Quarterfinals
W 59–58  20–12
Conseco Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
March 15, 2008
no, CBS
(6) vs. (10) Illinois
Semifinals
L 50–54  20–13
Conseco Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
2008 National Invitation tournament
March 18, 2008
no, ESPN
(4) (5) Maryland
First Round
L 68–58  20–14
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings

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

References

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  1. ^ "2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings - Postseason (Mar. 23)". ESPN. March 23, 2008.
  2. ^ "Smith leaving Kentucky to coach Minnesota". Andy Katz. ESPN. March 22, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  3. ^ "Hoffarber, Vonn receive ESPY award nominations". Star Tribune. July 1, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2010.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Maryland To Face Minnesota in 2008 MasterCard NIT". University of Maryland Athletics. March 16, 2008. Archived from the original on May 15, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2010.