2021–22 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

2021–22 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
2021–22 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
Asheville Championship champions
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	13–17 (4–16 Big Ten)
Head coach	Ben Johnson (1st season);
Assistant coaches	Dave Thorson (1st season); Jason Kemp (1st season); Marcus Jenkins (1st season);
Home arena	Williams Arena
	Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 Big Ten Conference
men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 19 Illinois	15	–	5	.750	23	–	10	.697
No. 14 Wisconsin	15	–	5	.750	25	–	8	.758
No. 10 Purdue	14	–	6	.700	29	–	8	.784
Rutgers	12	–	8	.600	18	–	14	.563
No. 16 Iowa †	12	–	8	.600	26	–	10	.722
Ohio State	12	–	8	.600	20	–	12	.625
Michigan State	11	–	9	.550	23	–	13	.639
Michigan	11	–	9	.550	19	–	15	.559
Indiana	9	–	11	.450	21	–	14	.600
Maryland	7	–	13	.350	15	–	17	.469
Penn State	7	–	13	.350	14	–	17	.452
Northwestern	7	–	13	.350	15	–	16	.484
Nebraska	4	–	16	.200	10	–	22	.313
Minnesota	4	–	16	.200	13	–	17	.433

† Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 2021–22 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gophers were led by first-year head coach Ben Johnson and played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 13–17, 4–16 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for last place. As the No. 14 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost to Penn State in the first round.

Previous season

In a season that was restricted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Gophers concluded the 2020–21 season with a record of 14-15, including a 6-14 performance in Big Ten play that landed them in 13th place. They managed to secure a victory against Northwestern in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament, but unfortunately suffered a defeat at the hands of Ohio State in the subsequent round.

After the conclusion of the season, the school made the decision to terminate the employment of head coach Richard Pitino following his tenure of eight years at the institution. On March 23, 2021, the school officially announced the appointment of Minnesota alumni and former assistant coach Ben Johnson as the new head coach.^[1] On March 23, 2021, the school named Minnesota alum and former Minnesota assistant coach Ben Johnson the new head coach.^[2]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Liam Robbins	0	C	7'0"	235	Junior	Davenport, IA	Transferred to Vanderbilt
Tre' Williams	1	G	6'5"	195	Sophomore	Dallas, TX	Transferred to Oregon State
Martice Mitchell	2	F	6'10"	190	Freshman	Chicago, IL	Transferred to Northern Illinois
Jamal Mashburn Jr.	4	G	6'2"	175	Freshman	Miami, FL	Transferred to New Mexico
Marcus Carr	5	G	6'2"	195	RS Junior	Toronto, ON	Graduate transferred to Texas
Both Gach	11	G	6'6"	185	Junior	Austin, MN	Transferred to Utah
Hunt Conroy	13	G	5'10"	165	Senior	New Orleans, LA	Walk-on; graduated
Jarvis Omersa	21	F	6'6"	235	Junior	Orono, MN	Transferred to St. Thomas
Gabe Kalscheur	22	G	6'4"	200	Junior	Edina, MN	Transferred to Iowa State
Brandon Johnson	23	F	6'8"	220	RS Senior	Chicago, IL	Graduate transferred to DePaul
Sam Freeman	32	C	6'10"	240	Sophomore	Dallas, TX	Transferred to Pacific

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Payton Willis	0	G	6'4"	200	Graduate Student	Fayetteville, AR	College of Charleston
Abdoulaye Thiam	2	G	6'3"	180	Sophomore	Orlando, FL	Indian River State College
Joey Kern	3	G	6'1"	170	Graduate Student	Norwalk, IA	Johns Hopkins
Jamison Battle	10	F	6'7"	225	Junior	Robbinsdale, MN	George Washington
Luke Loewe	12	G	6'4'	185	Graduate Student	Fond du Lac, WI	William & Mary
Charlie Daniels	15	F	6'9"	230	Graduate Student	Jacksonville, FL	Stephen F. Austin
Eylijah Stephens	20	G	6'3"	175	Graduate Student	Plantation, FL	Lafayette
Danny Ogele	22	F	6'7"	220	Graduate Student	Chicago, IL	Mercyhurst
Parker Fox	23	F	6'8"	210	RS Senior	Mahtomedi, MN	Northern State
Sean Sutherlin	24	G	6'5"	200	RS Senior	New Brighton, MN	New Hampshire
Will Ramberg	25	G	6'5"	195	Junior	Grand Marais, MN	McGill

Recruiting classes

2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Treyton Thompson PF	Alexandria, Minnesota	La Lumiere School	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Nov 30, 2019
Treyton Thompson PF	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports:
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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2022 Recruiting class

College recruiting information (2022)
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Braeden Carrington SG	Brooklyn Park, MN	Park Center High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Aug 4, 2021
Braeden Carrington SG	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A
Pharrel Payne PF	Cottage Grove, MN	Park Senior High School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Aug 22, 2021
Pharrel Payne PF	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A
Joshua Ola-Joseph SF	Osseo, MN	Osseo Senior High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Aug 30, 2021
Joshua Ola-Joseph SF	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A
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: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2021–22 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Payton Willis	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	GS	Fayetteville College of Charleston	Fayetteville, AR
F	1	Eric Curry (C)	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	RS Sr	Southwest Christian Academy	Memphis, TN
G	2	Abdoulaye Thiam	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Dr. Phillips Indian River State College	Orlando, FL
G	3	Joey Kern (W)	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	GS	Dowling Catholic Johns Hopkins	Norwalk, IA
F	5	Isaiah Ihnen	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jr	IBA Munich	Böblingen, Germany
F	10	Jamison Battle	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	So	DeLaSalle High School George Washington	Robbinsdale, MN
G	11	Jackson Purcell (W)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Eastview	Apple Valley, MN
G	12	Luke Loewe	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	GS	Fond du Lac William & Mary	Fond du Lac, WI
F/C	15	Charlie Daniels	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	GS	The Potter's House Christian Academy Stephen F. Austin	Jacksonville, FL
G	20	Eylijah Stephens	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	GS	St. Thomas Aquinas Lafayette	Plantation, FL
F	22	Danny Ogele	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	GS	St. Ignatius College Prep Mercyhurst	Chicago, IL
F	23	Parker Fox	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	RS Jr	Mahtomedi Northern State	Mahtomedi, MN
G	24	Sean Sutherlin	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Sr	Irondale HS New Hampshire	New Brighton, MN
G	25	Will Ramberg	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	DeLaSalle High School McGill	Grand Marais, MN
C	42	Treyton Thompson	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	La Lumiere School	Glenwood, MN

Head coach

Ben Johnson (Minnesota)

Assistant coach(es)

Dave Thorson (Hamline)
Jason Kemp (UW–La Crosse)
Marcus Jenkins (Air Force)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN+		Concordia–St. Paul	W 80–67		24 – Battle	8 – Battle	5 – Willis	Williams Arena (9,470) Minneapolis, MN
Regular season
November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN+		Kansas City	W 71–56	1–0	18 – Battle	7 – Curry	6 – Willis	Williams Arena (8,975) Minneapolis, MN
November 12, 2021* 5:30 p.m., ESPNU		vs. Western Kentucky Asheville Championship semifinals	W 73–69	2–0	20 – Battle	7 – Curry	5 – Loewe	Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, NC
November 14, 2021* 6:30 p.m., ESPN2		vs. Princeton Asheville Championship final	W 87–80 ^2OT	3–0	29 – Willis	11 – Battle	2 – Tied	Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, NC
November 19, 2021* 6:00 p.m., BTN+		Purdue Fort Wayne	W 78–49	4–0	19 – Sutherlin	7 – Sutherlin	5 – Tied	Williams Arena (9,451) Minneapolis, MN
November 24, 2021* 8:00 p.m., BTN		Jacksonville	W 55–44	5–0	17 – Willis	8 – Curry	3 – Tied	Williams Arena (9,250) Minneapolis, MN
November 30, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Pittsburgh ACC–Big Ten Challenge	W 54–53	6–0	16 – Battle	7 – Battle	3 – Tied	Petersen Events Center (7,736) Pittsburgh, PA
December 5, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Mississippi State	W 81–76	7–0	24 – Willis	5 – Tied	7 – Willis	Humphrey Coliseum (6,965) Starkville, MS
December 8, 2021 8:00 p.m., BTN		No. 19 Michigan State	L 67–75	7–1 (0–1)	18 – Curry	8 – Battle	5 – Willis	Williams Arena (11,178) Minneapolis, MN
December 11, 2021 5:30 p.m., FS1		at Michigan	W 75–65	8–1 (1–1)	27 – Battle	7 – Battle	1 – Tied	Crisler Center (12,461) Ann Arbor, MI
December 14, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN		Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	W 79–71	9–1	17 – Willis	12 – Curry	5 – Loewe	Williams Arena (9,001) Minneapolis, MN
December 22, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN		Green Bay	W 72–56	10–1	23 – Battle	10 – Curry	10 – Willis	Williams Arena (10,302) Minneapolis, MN
December 29, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN+		Alcorn State	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Alcorn State					Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN
January 4, 2022 6:00 p.m., FS1		Illinois	L 53–76	10–2 (1–2)	10 – Tied	5 – Tied	4 – Stephens	Williams Arena (10,112) Minneapolis, MN
January 9, 2022 11:00 a.m., BTN		at Indiana	L 60–73	10–3 (1–3)	19 – Battle	8 – Curry	4 – Loewe	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN
January 12, 2022 6:00 p.m., BTN		at No. 10 Michigan State	L 69–71	10–4 (1–4)	19 – Curry	7 – Tied	4 – Stephens	Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI
January 16, 2022 1:00 p.m., BTN		Iowa	L 71–81	10–5 (1–5)	22 – Stephens	8 – Battle	4 – Willis	Williams Arena (10,925) Minneapolis, MN
January 22, 2022 11:00 a.m., BTN		Rutgers	W 68–65	11–5 (2–5)	32 – Willis	6 – Tied	7 – Willis	Williams Arena (10,794) Minneapolis, MN
January 27, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN		No. 16 Ohio State	L 64–75	11–6 (2–6)	15 – Battle	6 – Battle	7 – Willis	Williams Arena (10,179) Minneapolis, MN
January 30, 2022 12:00 p.m., BTN		at No. 11 Wisconsin	L 60–66	11–7 (2–7)	17 – Willis	10 – Battle	2 – Willis	Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI
February 2, 2022 6:00 p.m., BTN		No. 4 Purdue	L 73–88	11–8 (2–8)	24 – Willis	5 – Willis	10 – Willis	Williams Arena (9,975) Minneapolis, MN
February 6, 2022 3:30 p.m., BTN		at Iowa	L 59–71	11–9 (2–9)	19 – Loewe	8 – Willis	3 – Tied	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,558) Iowa City, IA
February 9, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN		at Nebraska	L 65–78	11–10 (2–10)	21 – Battle	10 – Battle	6 – Willis	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,303) Lincoln, NE
February 12, 2022 7:30 p.m., BTN		Penn State	W 76–70	12–10 (3–10)	22 – Curry	6 – Willis	10 – Willis	Williams Arena (9,948) Minneapolis, MN
February 15, 2022 7:30 p.m., BTN		at No. 18 Ohio State	L 45–70	12–11 (3–11)	12 – Loewe	7 – Willis	3 – Curry	Value City Arena (12,360) Columbus, OH
February 17, 2022 7:30 p.m., BTN		at Penn State Rescheduled from January 19	L 46–67	12–12 (3–12)	16 – Battle	7 – Sutherlin	2 – Tied	Bryce Jordan Center (7,726) University Park, PA
February 19, 2022 3:00 p.m., BTN		Northwestern	W 77–60	13–12 (4–12)	24 – Loewe	14 – Battle	7 – Loewe	Williams Arena (10,570) Minneapolis, MN
February 23, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN		No. 13 Wisconsin	L 67–68	13–13 (4–13)	17 – Battle	5 – Curry	6 – Willis	Williams Arena (11,761) Minneapolis, MN
February 27, 2022 5:00 p.m., ESPN2		Indiana	L 79–84	13–14 (4–14)	28 – Willis	7 – Tied	7 – Willis	Williams Arena (11,585) Minneapolis, MN
March 2, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN		at Maryland	L 73–84	13–15 (4–15)	39 – Battle	8 – Stephens	2 – Tied	Xfinity Center (13,015) College Park, MD
March 6, 2022 6:30 p.m., BTN		at Northwestern	L 62–75	13–16 (4–16)	20 – Battle	8 – Willis	7 – Willis	Welsh–Ryan Arena (4,551) Evanston, IL
Big Ten tournament
March 9, 2022 7:30 p.m., BTN	(14)	vs. (11) Penn State First round	L 51–60	13–17	19 – Battle	6 – Tied	6 – Curry	Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[3]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Not released
Coaches	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

^ "Minnesota fires coach Richard Pitino after eight seasons leading Gophers basketball program". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
^ "Ben Johnson named Gophers men's basketball coach". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
^ "2021–22 Men's Basketball Schedule". gophersports.com. Retrieved September 10, 2021.

[1] "Minnesota fires coach Richard Pitino after eight seasons leading Gophers basketball program". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 17, 2021.

[2] "Ben Johnson named Gophers men's basketball coach". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 29, 2021.

[3] "2021–22 Men's Basketball Schedule". gophersports.com. Retrieved September 10, 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
Venues	On-campus YMCA (1895–1896) UM Armory (1896–1925) Kenwood Armory (1925–1928) Williams Arena (1928–present)
Culture & lore	Goldy Gopher "Minnesota Rouser" Scandal
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics